Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at North Carolina Tar Heels

No. 7 North Carolina beats Tennessee Tech 108-58

The North Carolina junior immediately flipped the ball behind his back to Cameron Johnson for a corner 3-pointer, one of several blowout-producing baskets for the seventh-ranked Tar Heels after halftime in Friday night's 108-58 win against Tennessee Tech.

It was part of an encouraging night for UNC (4-0) at the point, where Woods and freshman starter Coby White need to develop into reliable tempo-pushing floor leaders if the Tar Heels are going to contend for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship after the departure of multi-year starter and former Final Four most outstanding player Joel Berry II.

Yes, this was a blowout against an overmatched team, but Woods and White both had solid games by setting up teammates for scores and avoiding turnovers.

"I'm pretty doggone pleased with our point guard position," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "I'm never going to be satisfied. ... I want both of them to keep playing and getting better and better."

White, a McDonald's All-American who set an in-state prep career scoring record, had 11 points and four assists with two turnovers in 20 minutes. But Woods perhaps stood out more, simply by standing out at all.

He's a gifted athlete who arrived at UNC known as a YouTube dunking sensation, but he had struggled to find a steady role while averaging just 1.4 points through his first two seasons. But he had seven points and a career-best eight assists, including the crowd-wower to Johnson for a 65-30 lead with 15:54 left.

"It's definitely a confidence builder," Woods said. "It's just trying to build off it in every way possible. And I realize I still have to get better on both ends of the court."

BIG PICTURE

"We just want to compete our tails off and get better," Payne said. "It's hard to. We're a little down. And tonight was a little hard, but I thought we kept fighting, even to the end. ... But right now, we're just not ready. And it's my job to get them ready for it. We'll keep pushing."

UNC: The Tar Heels are making offense look easy early. This was their second 100-point output in four games, and they scored 50 points in each half Friday despite shooting just 5 of 23 from behind the arc. Luke Maye's 15 points led six players in double figures.

BLOWOUT NUMBERS

WILLIAMS' INJURY

UNC senior Kenny Williams left the game after rolling his right ankle while landing on someone's foot while pursuing a rebound with 7:54 left. Roy Williams seemed to think the guard's injury wasn't serious afterward.

UP NEXT

Tennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles visit No. 11 Michigan State on Sunday.

UNC: The Tar Heels host St. Francis (Pa.) on Monday.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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• TV Channel: Tennessee Tech at North Carolina 2021 College Basketball, week 2, is broadcasted on ACCNX.
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