UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Lays an Egg in Michigan

by Derrick Clyburn

Roy Williams decided to give the Tar Heels basketball team two days off after the Las Vegas Tournament. It turns out not to have been a good idea. UNC only had one practice before leaving for Ann Arbor. North Carolina had a fast start going up by as much 10 points in the first ten minutes of the game. Then it seemed that they began to relax and looked lethargic and had no intensity for the rest of the half. Which didn’t get any better in the second half.

The Tar Heels looked like they didn’t know how to play defense. Whether team defense or individual defense. They got beat so many times on backdoor cuts, and when they didn’t get beat they fouled their opponent. UNC played the poorest defense of the season which led to an 84-67 drubbing.

UNC Game Stats

1          2         T

#11 North Carolina     35      32      67

#7 Michigan                 39      45      84

 

North Carolina FG     3PT    FT   REB AST STL  TO   PF    PTS

1. Maye                    4-12  1-4     2-4     15      1       0       1       2       11
2. Brooks                4-7    0-0     2-3     7       0       0       1       3       10
3. Johnson              2-7    1-4     0-1     3        2       0       2       2       5
4. Williams             4-7    3-5    0-0     2       3       1        0       2       11
5. White                  6-12  0-2    0-0     4       4       0       1       2       12
6. Little                    1-5    0-1     2-2      1        0       1       1       0       4
7. Huffman            1-1    0-0     0-0     1        0       0      0       0       2
8. Manley               0-1   0-0     0-0     0       0       0      0       2       0
9. Robinson          1-3   1-3      0-0      1        1       0       1       4       3
10. Woods               1-3   0-0     2-3      0       2       0       1       2       4
11. Platek                0-1   0-0     0-0     1        0       0       1       1       0
12. K.J. Smith         0-2  0-1     0-0     0       0       0       0       0       0
13. Black                  1-3   1-1      0-0     2       0       0        1       1       3
14. Ellis                     1-2   0-0     0-0     1       0       0       0       0       2

TEAM      26-66   7-21   8-13    43    13      2      10     21     67

39.4%   33.3%   61.5%

 

Michigan       FG     3PT    FT   REB  AST  STL TO   PF    PTS

1. Brazdeikis    9-13  2-4     4-6     5       1       0       0       3       24
2. Teske             3-5    0-2     0-3     5       2       1        1       3       6
3. Matthews    7-12   2-4     5-8     7       1       1        3       2       21
4. Simpson      2-4     0-1     1-3      4       6       1        1       2       5
5. Poole            6-13   5-8     1-3     5       4       1        0       1       18
6. Livers           1-1       1-1     0-0     0       0       0        1       3       3
7. Brooks         3-6     1-2     0-0     0       1       0        1       0       7

TEAM    31-54  11-22  11-23   34    15      4       7     14    84

57.4% 50.0% 47.8%

UNC Bright Spots

Coby White had 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

The game ended mercifully!

Needs Work

Defense, Defense, Defense!

It starts with intensity, effort and want to. Every player needs to vocally communicate.

Leadership. Someone needs to step up and set the standard that North Carolina prides itself as a program.

Final Observations

This game was embarrassing on so many levels after the first 10 minutes of the game. The seniors played half-hearted and lackluster for most of the game. These players must take ownership for their effort and make the adjustments moving forward. Coby White tried to carry the team but it wasn’t enough. Looking at this game from every side screams that UNC can’t play defense like they did tonight if they want to reach any of their goals that they have set for this season.