UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Falls Flat from the Start Against Duke
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team faced off against their in-state rival Duke on Saturday night and were looking to put themselves in a position to move into first place in the ACC. However, the Tar Heels got off to a rough start. Duke came out, got out a 31-8 lead, and never looked back. Everything that could go wrong for the Heels did go wrong. The guards struggled all game long and Armando Bacot did not have a good game.
Armando Bacot got two early fouls and the offense could not get going while he was on the bench. UNC’s offense was poor throughout the game with no ball movement or player movement combined with bad decision making and miscues from the guards which led to turnovers and empty possessions. Carolina shot just 31% from the field in the first half. The Tar Heels were not any better on the defensive side of the floor. Duke was able to run their offensive sets at an extremely high level and got whatever shot they wanted offensively.
As a result, the Heels got down as much as 23 in the first half but did fight back to get the lead down to 11 going into halftime with some positive momentum. In the second half, Duke came out and went on a 10-0 extending their lead to 20 points. At this point, the momentum completely shifted back to Duke and the Tar Heels could never get the lead under double figures again. Duke just outplayed them from start to finish and the Tar Heels played one of their worst games of the season.
Brady Manek was the only player on UNC that had a good offensive showing with 21 points and the rest of the team had a letdown on that end of the floor. It was not a good night for the Tar Heels and it led to their 87-67 loss.
UNC Game Stats
1st 2nd TOT
North Carolina 28 39 67
#9 Duke 39 48 87
North Carolina
| STARTERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||||||||
| A. Bacot F | 30 | 4-10 | 0-0 | 4-5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | ||||||||
| B. Manek F | 35 | 7-16 | 6-10 | 1-2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | ||||||||
| R.J. Davis G | 32 | 4-11 | 0-3 | 3-4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||||||||
| C. Love G | 32 | 3-10 | 1-5 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||||||||
| L. Black G | 37 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||
| BENCH | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||||||||
| J. McKoy F | 7 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| P. Johnson G | 8 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| D. Dunn G | 2 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||
| D. Styles G | 3 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||
| K. Walton G | 14 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||||||||
| TEAM | 24-59 | 9-22 | 10-15 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 67 | |||||||||
| 40.7% | 40.9% | 66.7% | |||||||||||||||||||
Duke
| STARTERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| W. Moore Jr. F | 33 | 5-6 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| A.J. Griffin F | 31 | 11-17 | 3-6 | 2-2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 27 |
| P. Banchero F | 31 | 5-14 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| M. Williams C | 26 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| J. Roach G | 23 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| BENCH | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| J. Baker F | 9 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| T. John F | 13 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| B. Jones F | 10 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| J. Blakes G | 3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| M. Savarino G | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Keels G | 20 | 3-6 | 3-4 | 2-2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| TEAM | 34-59 | 9-19 | 10-13 | 8 | 32 | 40 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 87 | |
| 57.6% | 47.4% | 76.9% |
UNC Bright Spots
Brady Manek had 21 points and 6 rebounds.
Armando Bacot had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
R.J. Davis had 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels continue to play a short rotation and it’s starting to take a toll on their players that are playing heavy minutes each game. Coach Davis and the coaching staff have to make a better effort to get more players in the game to give their top players some rest.
The Tar Heels need to improve their defense overall on the perimeter, on the interior, and in transition. They need to find a scheme that will allow them to disrupt teams who play 4 players out on the perimeter and not allow straight-line drives and easy lanes to the basket. Their communication also needs to be better so they won’t allow so many wide-open shots.
The Coaching staff has to do a better job of making in-game adjustments to stop the other team’s momentum. The UNC guards have to understand when their shots are not falling how to impact the game in other ways to help the team win. It seems as if when they are not scoring their effort in any other facet of the game drops dramatically, which is totally unacceptable and detrimental to the team.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels move to 16-7 on the season and are now 8-4 in the ACC. Once again, the Heels had another disappointing loss. Five of their seven losses this year have come by double figures. It seems like any time a team comes out and punches UNC in the mouth with an early run, the Tar Heels do not respond the way they should.
A lot of that has to do with the lack of in-game adjustments made by the coaching staff to stop the other team’s momentum and the players’ bad decision-making on both offense and defense when they get down. This team has been inconsistent all season long and has to find a way to be more consistent with their play from game to game and be able to overcome adversity within the game. The coaches have to find a way to use more of their players on the bench to help the team because the short rotation is causing major issues in some games when their top players do not play well.
Anthony Harris is out for the season and Dawson Garcia being out right now doesn’t help matters either. This team goes as far as the guards take them so they have to find ways to play well each game even when their shots are not falling. Carolina can still finish the season with a good enough record to make the NCAA tournament but won’t go far if they don’t address the glaring issues that the team faces. Next up is Clemson on Tuesday at 6:00.