It was a frustrating night for the Tar Heels, who have now lost back-to-back games, after falling to Wake Forest 67-66 last night, in their fourth straight loss in Winston-Salem. The Heels were looking to bounce back from the home loss to Stanford from over the weekend, but another poof offensive showing held them back, in an ugly, defensive game. Both teams shot 40% from the field last night, even though Carolina made four more field goals than Wake Forest, and shot better from behind the arc, going 8-32 (25%), compared to 2-15 (13%) for the home team. The big difference was the foul line, UNC failed to shoot a foul shot in the second half and was just 6-10 from the line. On the flipside, Wake Forest took 11 free throws in the second half and was 21-27 for the game. As much as it’s fair to question the officiating, the simple truth is Carolina settled for far too many perimeter shots, taking 18 threes, as compared to 16 two-point shots, meaning they didn’t put enough pressure on the rim, to put themselves in position to draw fouls.
Only two Tar Heels scored in double figures last night, led by RJ Davis, who scored a game-high 21 points, on 8-16 shooting, but was 3-9 from long range. Elliot Cadeau was the only other UNC player to tally double figures, in arguably his most complete game as a Carolina basketball player, scoring 14 points, and handed out 13 assists, in 3 8 minutes. Ian Jackson scored 7 first-half points, and it appeared that he had broken out of his shooting slump from the Stanford game, but he failed to score in the second half.
Carolina led at the half, something they’ve done in 7 of their 8 ACC games so far this season, but like on Saturday against Stanford, they weren’t able to win the game. They fell behind by double digits in the second half, before a Jae’Lyn Withers three, put Carolina up 54-53 with over 5 minutes left to play. Wake Forest would respond with the next 6 points to regain the lead, and control of the game, and never looked back. The Heels are now 5-4 in one-possession games this season, including 3-2 in conference play.
At 12-8, and coming off back-to-back losses, it’s fair to say that the sky is falling in Chapel Hill and that the season is on life support, with the first Duke game just right around the corner, but last night was another example of the reality of this team. They are good enough to play with anybody, but not good enough to beat everybody, including a Wake Forest team that still has work to do if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.
Free Throws: The fact that Carolina didn’t take a foul shot in the second half, tells you everything you need to know about the mindset around this team right now. There is no scenario that should exist in which Wake Forest shoots 17 more free throws than you, but that is exactly what happened. The officiating was suspect in the first half, but Carolina never adjusted to the tight whistle defensively and refused to attack the basket on the other end. With how compressed the floor is, Hubert Davis has to do a better job opening driving lanes for his guards, so they can get in the paint, and either score at the rim, or go to the foul line.
Rebounding: Carolina had the advantage on paper on the glass entering the game, but got outworked, and outhustled on the glass, 41-33 last night. Carolina was outrebounded on the defensive glass 31-25, and on the offensive glass 10-8, with Ven-Allen Lubin leading the team with 7 rebounds off the bench.
Turnovers: Carolina didn’t protect the ball the way they needed to last night, turning it over 12 times, leading to 14 points for Wake Forest. Every starter committed at least one turnover, highlighted by Elliot Cadeau’s 3. While the volume of turnovers is concerning, their timing was more problematic, with Cadeau turning it over with less than minutes left while trying to mount a comeback and multiple RJ Davis turnovers at critical junctures in the game. With how slim the margin of error is for Carolina, they simply can’t afford to turn it over the way they did last night, and expect to win.
Poor Perimeter Shooting: Not that we didn’t already know this, but last night was another example of how bad of a shooting team this, as they were 8-32 from behind the arc. The two starting freshmen combined to go 1-11 from deep, as RJ carried the load, going 3-9. Steve Forbes played zone throughout the game, including in the final minutes, and it forced Carolina to take long jump shots, that they continued to miss. It’s apparent Ian Jackson has hit the freshman wall, and it’s unlikely that RJ Davis ever break out of his season-long shooting slump, making it that much harder for this team to play high-level offense.
Cadeau Can’t Cash In: Elliot Cadeau played arguably his best game as a Tar Heel, but it’s all for naught in a losing effort. Cadeau registered a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double in 38 minutes, and at one point, scored 8 straight points in the first half.
Up Next: Carolina is back at home on Saturday, as they will host Boston College at 2:15 on the CW Network.
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