College basketball is finally back. On Monday night , the North Carolina Tar Heels welcomed Western Carolina to Chapel Hill for their season opener.
Monday was a little more special than your typical opener, with Michael Malone officially making his UNC head-coaching debut . Malone led North Carolina to a pair of preseason wins in three tries, with plenty to like and plenty to fix.
Monday was ugly, but the Tar Heels found a way to win. Anchored by strong second-half free throw shooting and a balanced scoring attack, UNC withstood multiple Catamount charges for an 80-72 victory.
North Carolina (1-0) shot 25-of-35 from the charity stripe, making 17 attempts in the second half alone, including five straight that extended a 64-62 advantage to seven points. Utah transfer Terrence Brown, who finished his Tar Heel debut with 14, made a game-high eight free throws.
Matt Able (18), Neo Avdalas (13) and Maximo Adams (10) each scored in double-figures, showcasing the depth Malone praised after UNC's preseason opener . This helped counter a horrific night on the glass for North Carolina, out-rebounded by nine against a much-smaller Western Carolina (0-1) team.
The Tar Heels aren't known for their perimeter defense, which struggled again on Monday night. The Catamounts nailed 42% of their attempts from deep, with star guard Jaeden Roberts making four before fouling out late. UNC held Western to just two field goals on its final 10 attempts, though, closing a near-shocker on Night One.
How'd social media reacts to North Carolina's win in its season-opener? Take a look below...are they any different from yours?
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: How social media reacted to UNC surviving Western Carolina in opener
