UNC vs. Wake Forest - Player of the Game: Cole Anthony

It was senior night, and as is tradition at UNC, all of the seniors (or at least as many as possible this year) were in the starting lineup. However, when it came to sealing the win, it was a freshman that led the way.

Cole Anthony finished as the game’s leading scorer against Wake Forest, finishing with 28 points. He also brought over his hot shooting from the Syracuse game, scoring those points on 8-14 shot attempts, going 4-5 from three, and a perfect 8-8 at the free throw line. In addition to that, he dished out seven assists, and if you factor in the points scored from those, Anthony was directly involved of 43 of the Tar Heels’ 93 points. To round out his box score, he also grabbed four rebounds, and just turned the ball over once.

Anthony did his best work in the second half. In the final 20 minutes, he scored 19 of his points, missing just two shots. In total, the Tar Heels shot 64.3% from the field in the half. In addition, he was the Carolina player most often fouled in the end of game free throw parade, and as mentioned, he was perfect from the line, so there weren’t a ton of issues there. Of course, Wake Forest managed to stick around longer than they should’ve due to what was happening at the other end of the court, but the offense was really good, and Anthony was a big part of that.

As for other possible winners for this, Garrison Brooks had another big game. The junior went for 25 points on 9-12 shooting, while grabbing seven rebounds. He also had another decent game from the free throw line, making 7-11 attempts.

There was also Brandon Robinson, who showed out for the seniors on their night. He scored 18 points, knocking down five three-point attempts, while also putting up four rebounds and three assists.

Anthony and the Tar Heels haven’t had the season they or any of us would’ve wanted. It’s a shame, because game’s like this one prove that at the very least, they could be solid. It also proves that he is a very good player when he’s on. Stupid injuries.