After seeing 32 three pointers go up and only nine free throws attempted, this doesn’t seem like a Carolina basketball team. But that might be the identity of this particular team.

North Carolina shot 15 of 32 from beyond the three-point line to open the Maui Invitational with a 95-49 shellacking of Mississippi State. The Tar Heels play Butler at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

It marked the first time since 1996 that Mississippi State has scored below 50 points in a game.

The Tar Heels nearly got to 50 in the first half when P.J. Hairston banked in a 60-footer at the buzzer to make it 49-17 at the break.

Hairston had four three pointers on his way to 18 points. But it was Leslie McDonald who poured in six three pointers to lead the Tar Heels with 21 points. Those two contributed greatly to Carolina’s 51 points off the bench.

The problem with shooting teams is that eventually you’ll be cold against a good team and lose. The Tar Heels, so far at least, don’t shoot well from the free throw line – averaging just over 50 percent – so maybe it’s good they don’t get to the line a lot.

Still, you’ve got to figure that this team is going to need some strong inside play from James Michael McAdoo, Joel James and somebody else – Desmond Hubert or Brice Johnson – to have a chance at winning the ACC regular season or tournament title, and going deep in the NCAA tournament.

For more on the game, please click here.