UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC VS Clemson 85-65 Loss

UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Plays Uninspired Basketball and Lose in a Blowout on the Road at Clemson

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

The North Carolina basketball team faced off against Clemson on Monday night in a quick turnaround after Saturday’s win against Pittsburgh. It was a back-and-forth game early as both teams traded baskets. The Tar Heels made another change to the starting lineup, inserting Jaelyn Withers for Ian Jackson to match up with the size of Clemson. UNC came out focused on both ends of the floor. The Heels did most of their damage offensively in the paint to set the tone and their intensity, energy, and ball pressure on defense was very good. Carolina was active in the passing lanes and very disruptive against what Clemson was trying to do offensively, except for guarding the three-point line.

Clemson made 6 threes in the first 12 minutes of the game as UNC struggled to close out on shooters. Midway through the first half, Carolina started to get sloppy offensively with turnovers and bad shots, and their intensity and effort defensively dropped off, which led to a Clemson run. Carolina’s defensive lapses and lack of communication left Clemson players wide open for threes and easy baskets around the rim. Clemson outscored the Tar Heels 25-10 in the last eight minutes of the first half. UNC had no answers for the Tigers’ center Viktor Lakhin, who had 20 points and were down 16 going into halftime. 

In the second half, the Tar Heels struggled to find success on either end of the floor. Clemson was torching the Heels from three and getting any shot they wanted inside the arc as well. Clemson shot 50% from the field and 48% from three with 12 threes made. Meanwhile, offensively RJ Davis was the only one hitting shots for UNC and when he wasn’t scoring Carolina was either taking bad shots or turning the ball over. The Tigers outplayed the Heels and led by as much as 26 in the second half. North Carolina’s effort, intensity, and energy just weren’t there after the first twelve minutes of the game. The Heels played uninspired lifeless basketball for the latter part of this game until the game was out of reach, and they finally pulled out the full-court press where they forced some turnovers, which led to easy baskets. By this time, it was too late and the game was essentially over. RJ Davis led the way with 18 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Tar Heels lost to Clemson 85-65. 

UNC Game Stats

Final

	1	2	T
UNC	33	32	65
CLEM	49	36	85

UNC Bright Spots  

RJ Davis had 18 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. 

Seth Trimble had 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 assist.  

Elliott Cadeau had 11 points, 6 assists, and 1 rebound. 

Needs Work  

The Tar Heels must be better guarding the three-point line. They must do a better job closing out on shooters and running their opponents off the line. They also need to identify shooters, stay attached, and be aware of where they are on the court at all times. They must be more disruptive on that side of the floor. It starts with ball pressure using their speed and athleticism to their advantage. They cannot afford to get lazy defensively and not give their all on that end of the floor. They must be better at navigating screens, contesting shots, and defending the paint. It all starts with communication. The better they communicate, the better they will be able to defend and stay connected defensively 

Offensively, the Tar Heels must be better as well. They must limit their turnovers and have better-shot selection. There is too much overdribbling and one-on-one basketball on offensive possessions, which gets them away from sharing the ball and moving the ball to the open man. Their pace also has to improve because it gives them a chance to get the defense off balance and score before the defense is set. They cannot continue to play half-court basketball against teams with more size and length. When you combine that with the offense being stagnant, it is a recipe for disaster offensively.  

Coach Hubert Davis and his staff must do a better job of making in-game adjustments. They need to be better at making adjustments on the fly. They must be more involved in the game, holding players accountable. There are just too many defensive lapses. Even if it takes implementing zone defenses, full-court or half-court traps, they must do something to help their players be better defensively. They need to focus on taking away what their opponents do best offensively.  Against most teams the Heels are too small, so they must become more of a ball-pressure-centric team causing as much disruption up and down the court.  

Final Observations 

The Tar Heels fall to 14-11 on the season. Their inconsistent play from game to game continues. It’s hard to recognize this team right now. It is a totally different team from the one we saw at the beginning of the season. Early in the season, they had an identity. They were scrappy defensively and everyone on the perimeter was aggressively getting downhill attacking the basket consistently every time down the floor and it either led to a quality shot in the paint, a quality shot on the perimeter, or a trip to the free throw line. Now this team plays too much one-on-one basketball, dribbles the ball for most of the shot clock, settles for bad shots, or turns over the ball trying to make a difficult pass instead of making the easy play. Defensively, they don’t take away what the other team does best offensively. They allow them to get in their sets and actions and allow the opponents’ best players to be comfortable getting to their spots with little resistance or disruption. UNC is doing the opposite of what made them successful early in the season. They haven’t put together consistent performances and some of their key players, Ian Jackson and Elliott Cadeau, have regressed and played poorly. 

After a solid performance against Pittsburgh just two days ago, the Tar Heels came out and got blown off the floor in a critical game. The margin for error for the team is small and the players have just not played well enough in certain games. Their losses have magnified their flaws and weaknesses, and the lack of leadership hasn’t helped them. You never know who’s going to show up from game to game and this team doesn’t do any one thing particularly well consistently. When you aren’t the most talented or cohesive team, you cannot afford to beat yourself or make a lot of mistakes. This team’s low basketball IQ is on display in most of their games and the coaches aren’t doing enough to help them in these games.

The coaching staff has just failed to reach this team and get them to play to their potential. They haven’t taken advantage of their speed, quickness, and athleticism on the perimeter. The Heels should be pushing the pace and tempo, attacking the basket at will, and sharing the ball offensively. On the defensive side of the ball, they should be one of the best teams in the country with their ball pressure, making it as difficult as possible for their opponents to dribble the ball up the court. North Carolina is running out of opportunities to build up their resume to make sure they make the NCAA tournament and must make the adjustments to help themselves. Their play has just been disappointing and not a reflection of what Carolina basketball has been over the course of their history. The players aren’t playing with a sense of purpose or urgency, and it’s been tough to watch. The coaching staff will have their hands full going forward to salvage this season but will need to do their best job to give this team some life as March approaches. Next up is Syracuse on Saturday, February 15 at 6:00 P.M. on ESPN.