UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Ole Miss 71-64 Loss

UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team is a No Show in the 1st Half Which Costs Them the Game and They Get Sent Packing by Ole Miss

by Derrick Clyburn

The North Carolina basketball team faced off against Ole Miss on Friday afternoon in the Round of 64. The Tar Heels started the game off with no energy or intensity didn’t guard the 3-point line and allowed the rebels to hit 7 first-half threes which opened up the game. North Carolina was down by 15 points before you could blink your eyes. The Rebels bullied the Heels around the basket and kicked out for wide-open 3-pointers. UNC had no answer and they took bad shots and struggled to match the Rebels intensity. The Heels would go into intermission down by 18 points.

In the second half, the Tar Heels would continue to play with low energy and the deficit would grow to 22 points with 17 minutes remaining in the game. Then North Carolina finally woke up and began to play with urgency. They would make a valiant comeback down 22 points and would cut the lead to 2 points with a little over a minute remaining. The Heels used pressure defense and attacked the basket consistently during the run. They just ran out of gas and couldn’t maintain the energy that they exerted during the comeback. The game was lost in the first half. The deficit was too much to overcome and they would get sent home losing 71-64.

UNC Stats

Final

	1	2	T
UNC	26	38	64
MISS	44	27	71

UNC Bright Spots  

RJ Davis had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. 

Ven Allen-Lubin had 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block. 

Needs Work  

The Tar Heels must prioritize every possession on both sides of the floor. Every play and possession matters and should be just as important as the last. They were lackadaisical in the first half with energy and effort which became their downfall.

Final Observations 

The Tar Heels fell to 23-14 and ended their tournament hopes of a memorable run by laying an egg in the first half getting down by 18 points. They allowed the bad play in the first halves of basketball to end their season as it did against all of the ranked opponents that they played this year in their losses.

Hopefully, Hubert and the new GM Jimmy Tanner will construct a much better roster with at least two 7-footers and some dogs on the wings that can score and defend. They don’t need any more non-athletic small guards either. They will have all the money to make it happen. They must hit the portal hard and close deals quickly. This offseason they may need to overpay for some impact players to get the ship rited but they have to make a splash because Huberts’s future is dependent upon it. It will be to see who stays or hits the portal. Here’s to the 2025 Transfer Portal Season in full effect.