Heel of a night

Wednesday night delivered the goods. North Carolina had an historic half, Arkansas delighted its home crowd, there was a triple OT game in the Big 5, and Colorado State is officially the best in its state.

And there’s more coming tonight. Don’t miss the opening game of The Field of 68 Tip-Off between Florida Atlantic and Liberty.

Let's dive in.

1. ‘It was pretty special.’

North Carolina played a perfect half against the nation’s best defense on Wednesday night.

Then things got interesting.

Dalton Knecht scored 22 of his career-best 37 points after halftime as No. 10 Tennessee made a run at the No. 17 Tar Heels, but fell short in the end, 100-92. Knecht left the game after turning an ankle with 1:39 remaining, and the Vols down by 6.

RJ Davis (27 points) and Elliot Cadeau (10 assists, 0 turnovers) hit enough free throws to seal the win.

So. About that first half. The Vols (4-3) entered the night as the most efficient defense in D-I, per kenpom.com. It didn’t look like it, as UNC (6-1) shot 57.6% from the field and then became the first team to score 60 in a half vs. the Vols since 2006. Prior to this game, Tennessee hadn’t allowed more than 35 in any half this season.

“Worst half of basketball I've ever had from a team I've been coaching. I haven't seen a team with as much talent as we have play that bad," said Vols coach Rick Barnes. "I didn't recognize the first half. It was just our mindset to start the game. I'm still baffled by it, to be honest."

Still, a game does have two halves. And the second half saw the Vols shoot 60 percent from the field, including 8-of-15 from deep. They ended up making 74% of their 2s on 35 makes, a rarity for a losing team.

That’s how it goes when you have a magical first half.

“From an offensive standpoint, it was one of the better halves since I've been here for 12 years as an assistant and a head coach," UNC coach Hubert Davis said. "It was pretty special.”

2. Arkansas helps salvage the SEC’s night

Terrence Oglesby was this close to taking a victory lap. Then the SEC came through with three late wins in its Challenge vs the ACC and both leagues ended up with seven victories.

None of those was bigger than Arkansas beating No. 7 Duke, 80-75.

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