UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Crumble Under Pressure

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

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The Tar Heels basketball team looked to extend their undefeated win streak to 60-0 against Clemson on Saturday night. In the first half, the Heels executed well on both ends of the floor and led by 10 points going into halftime. Brandon Robinson led the way with 19 points at halftime.

Defensively they were excellent holding Clemson to just 34% from the field for the half. In the second half, UNC led the entire way until the final seconds when Clemson tied the game with a three. North Carolina led by 7 with less than two minutes left in regulation, but they had three crucial turnovers down the stretch that kept Clemson in the game.

Clemson hit a three with 5 seconds left in regulation, which sent the game into overtime. Clemson outscored Carolina in overtime 9-6 and pulled off the upset of winning for the first time in the Dean Dome.

UNC Game Stats

1          2          OT       T

North Carolina          39        31        6          76

Clemson                    29        41        9          79

North Carolina

                             Pts  FG   3FG    FT    REB    A       TO       Min     +/-

1 BLACK           5    2-8    1-4    0-1      6        5         3         41       -3

3 PLATEK        8    4-10   0-5    0-0     8       6          1         39        6

4 ROBINSON  27 9-17  5-13   4-4     4       4          3         41        -4

5 BACOT          21   7-10   0-0  7-10    5       1          1          37        -9

15 BROOKS    13   6-15   0-1   1-3      11        1          1         37        -11

30 SMITH        0     0-1     0-0  0-0      0        0          0          4          0

32 PIERCE      0     0-3     0-2  0-0      2         1          1          16        14

55 KEELING  2      0-2     0-1   2-2      2        0         0          10        -8

TOTALS       76  28-66 6-2614-20  39      18        10       225

Clemson

                                 Pts    FG    3FG    FT    REB    A     TO     Min     +/-

0 TRAPP              4     2-12   0-4    0-2      6       3       0        28        0

2 DAWES             8      3-8    2-4    0-0      4       2        2        30        1

13 MACK             17    7-15  3-9     0-0      4       0        1        31        2

15 NEWMAN III 17  7-12   2-3      1-1      6        4        2       43        3

25 SIMMS          20   7-13  3-6     3-4      8        6        3       42        4

5 TYSON             5     2-2     1-1      0-0      3       0         1        14        1

10 SCOTT           8     1-5     1-4      5-6      3        1          1        32        5

21 MOORE          0    0-0    0-0     0-0      1        0          1          2          0

55 JEMISON     0    0-0    0-0      0-0      1        0         0          3         -1

TOTALS         79    29-67 12-31 9-13    39      16        11       225

UNC Bright Spots

Brandon Robinson had a career high 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists.

Armando Bacot had 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Garrison Brooks had 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to do a better job of guarding the three-point line and back-door plays.

The Tar Heels need to do a better job of executing down the stretch of games and cut down on their turnovers. When they are in the lead at the end of the game they must have a score or get fouled mentality to finish games.

Final Observations

This Tar Heel basketball team has lost three games in a row that they should have won. It is very disappointing to the team and their fans because the Heels are better than each of those teams they lost to. UNC needs to find a way to get over whatever mental block that is causing them to lose these close games.

Going forward, the coaches must find ways to build up this team’s confidence to win games. This season is not over yet so there still is enough time for the Heels to turn it around. They showed some promise with their fight during the game but must learn to finish teams off.