For the first time in nearly 70 years, UNC basketball played its first true road game in January.

The eighth-ranked Tar Heels also carried a top-10 ranking into a new calendar year for the first time since 2016. UNC made the most of both opportunities in its first game of 2024 and left Pittsburgh with a 70-57 win on Tuesday night.

In a low-scoring, grind-it-out game at the Petersen Events Center, UNC (10-3, 2-0 ACC) snapped a three-game losing streak against Pitt (9-5, 0-3) in the first of three straight ACC road games.

Armando Bacot had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead four Tar Heels in double figures. Bacot is the seventh Tar Heel to reach 2,000 career points. Here are three takeaways from the Tar Heels’ first road win of the season.

Harrison Ingram’s rebounding for UNC basketball

Harrison Ingram averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in his first 12 games with the Tar Heels. Despite missing his first 11 shots against Pitt, Ingram boosted UNC’s rebounding numbers with a career-high 15 boards. He finished with double-digit rebounds for the first time since UNC’s win against Arkansas in the Bahamas. The Panthers entered the game 18th in the nation in rebound margin (+9.2). UNC out-rebounded Pitt 51-41 and had an 15-1 advantage in second-chance points.

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RJ Davis sees scoring streak end for Tar Heels

In UNC’s final game of 2023, senior guard RJ Davis became the first Tar Heel in program history to log 20 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and no turnovers in a game. With shot-making at a minimum, Davis managed to drop 15 points on the Panthers, ending his streak of eight consecutive games with 20 or more points.

Seth Trimble paces Tar Heels in rough shooting half

Sophomore guard Seth Trimble had nine points and five rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench to lead the Tar Heels in a low-scoring first half. Trimble caught a lob and drilled a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. UNC missed its first 10 shots and both teams shot under 40%, but Davis buried a trey with three defenders around him to give the Heels a 31-28 halftime lead. Trimble finished with 10 points.

Clemson up next for UNC

UNC will continue its three-game road trip at No. 16 Clemson (11-1, 1-0) on Saturday (noon, ESPN2).

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Harrison Ingram, rebounding stand out in UNC basketball's win at Pitt