Seth Trimble erupted for a career-high 30 points, powering North Carolina to victory. Hubert Davis lauds his offensive explosion and defensive prowess.
No. 24 gave No. 18 North Carolina a run for their money, but the Tar Heels prevailed 77-74 in front of 20,577 fans at Dean E. Smith Center on Monday night.
UNC was without Caleb Wilson, still on the bench with a hand injury.
The Tar Heels needed somebody to step up, and senior Seth Trimble delivered, scoring a career-high 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting to go along with four rebounds and four assists.
During his postgame news conference, UNC head coach Hubert Davis praised Trimble for being a playmaker on defense and offense.
"Seth was huge for us tonight on both ends of the floor. He had the responsibility of guarding (Mikel) Brown, and what a responsibility that is," Davis said, via USA Today.
"But against their defense — they’re long, they’re athletic, very versatile — you have to find ways to be able to break down their defense and be able to consistently score. Seth was our guy. The thing that I loved about him was he was thinking attack."
Davis wanted Trimble to attack the rim.
"One of the things that I’ve told him is when you come off a ball screen, you’re 100 percent thinking score, and then let the defense dictate whether you make a pass or you go to the basket," Trimble said.
"And Seth’s ability to be able to get downhill, he was able to score, draw fouls, just a huge difference maker for us.”
Davis wanted to change up how he used Trimble after North Carolina's start against Syracuse on Saturday, when the Tar Heels had just a five point advantage on the Orange.
"We talked at halftime against Syracuse, and I was like, ‘It just doesn’t work without you, Seth.’ And it’s not just from an offensive standpoint," Davis said. I mean, he just, he can impact winning in so many different ways.
"And I just challenged him to do it, and to do it consistently. And he really stepped up in the second half against Syracuse, and then again for us tonight.”
Henri Veesaar was a big help for UNC too. He finished with 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
Trimble is averaging 14.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game this season.
With Wilson out, UNC needed to find someone who can make a difference on offense. Trimble appears to be the guy, and the could help in the NCAA Tournament even if Wilson returns.