UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Shoot Themselves in the Foot in the 2nd Half and Run Out of Gas
by Derrick Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team has played the best basketball of any team in the country for the last month and a half, but with a gimpy Armando Bacot in the championship game against Kansas proved to be a tall order to overcome. Bacot played a valiant game but couldn’t be as dominant inside with the sprained ankle.
So it was up to the guards to take control of the game and not allow the Jayhawks to dictate the tempo. Caleb Love and R.J. Davis shot a putrid 10-41 from the field with 7 turnovers. That was the difference in the outcome. North Carolina had their chances but didn’t share the ball and took too many bad shots. They had a 15 point halftime lead but didn’t pay attention to detail and play with poise in the second half.
The Tar Heels still showed some resiliency even though they allowed the Jayhawks to come all of the way back and take the lead. North Carolina started punching back and it was a nip and tuck game with the Heels having several freak injuries to Puff Johnson getting hit in the stomach and throwing up, Brady Manek getting mugged in the face twice, Caleb Love rolling his ankle under the basket with no one near him, and Bacot driving to the basket and rolling his ankle and turning over the ball down by two. This night the fortune didn’t go their way and the Jayhawks eked out the victory.
UNC Game Stats
1st 2nd TOT
North Carolina 40 29 69
Kansas 25 47 72
North Carolina
| STARTERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||||||||
| A. Bacot F | 38 | 3-13 | 0-0 | 9-13 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 15 | ||||||||
| B. Manek F | 36 | 4-8 | 3-6 | 2-2 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 13 | ||||||||
| R.J. Davis G | 40 | 5-17 | 0-5 | 5-5 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | ||||||||
| C. Love G | 36 | 5-24 | 1-8 | 2-2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 13 | ||||||||
| L. Black G | 30 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||
| BENCH | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||||||||
| J. McKoy F | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| P. Johnson G | 18 | 5-9 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | ||||||||
| TEAM | 23-73 | 5-23 | 18-22 | 24 | 31 | 55 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 69 | |||||||||
| 31.5% | 21.7% | 81.8% | |||||||||||||||||||
Kansas
| STARTERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| J. Wilson F | 34 | 5-13 | 1-5 | 4-4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| D. McCormack F | 29 | 7-15 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| D. Harris G | 27 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| C. Braun G | 40 | 6-14 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| O. Agbaji G | 37 | 4-9 | 1-4 | 3-8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| BENCH | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| K.J. Adams F | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| M. Lightfoot F | 7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| R. Martin G | 21 | 5-9 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| J. Coleman-Lands G | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 29-66 | 6-17 | 8-14 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 72 | |
| 43.9% | 35.3% | 57.1% |
UNC Bright Spots
Armando Bacot had 15 points, 15 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 assists.
R.J. Davis had 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Brady Manek had 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
Caleb Love had 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Puff Johnson had 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to make sure when their perimeter shots are not falling to continue to be more aggressive in attacking the basket on offense. This will keep the defense from packing the paint, which will make the offense flow much smoother. In the second half, the offense got stagnant and they settled for too many jump shots.
Final Observations
This has been an awesome ride with the Tar Heels. They overcame so much adversity in Hubert Davis’ first year, with new players, new coaches, players leaving the team, and a new system. North Carolina found a way to persevere through it all fighting and giving their all to make the NCAA Championship game.
Unfortunately, they weren’t at full strength, which always makes it tough to win with such high stakes. All of the players had bright moments throughout the tournament to get them to the championship game.
Armando Bacot gave his all tonight on a gimpy ankle with a record 30 double-doubles for the season. and Puff Johnson kept the Tar Heels in striking distance scoring 9 points in the second half.
Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels have a bright future ahead of them. I’m excited to see Hubert get his players on the team to run his system for years to come. North Carolina is in good hands. Now it’s time for the coaching staff hit the recruiting trail and the transfer portal to fill in the holes of the departing players. North Carolina can hold their heads high. Go Heels!