UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC VS Pittsburgh 73-65 Loss

UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Squanders the Game With Poor Execution Down the Stretch Against the Panthers

by Derrick Clyburn

The North Carolina basketball team faced off against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Tuesday night on the road in a very important game to determine their position in the ACC and their NCAA aspirations. Both teams were great on offense and struggled on defense. They could get any shot that they wanted. The defenses were non-existent with poor communication and blown assignments.

The Tar Heels looked to be the better team. They would go mini runs of 6-0 and 7-0 throughout the first half but could never get consistent stops and allowed Pittsburgh to stay close. North Carolina was up eight points with less than 3 minutes left before intermission and they allowed the Panthers to close out the half on a 6-0 run and the Heels were up by only 2.

In the second half, it was much of the same. Both teams traded baskets and UNC would then go on 6-0 and 8-0 runs and they would lead by as much as 10 points but they couldn’t sustain the leads because of turnovers and poor defensive closeouts on the 3-point line. The Tar Heels continue to struggle closing out games. Down the stretch, the Tar Heels looked defeated and had no leadership missing baskets around the rim and taking tough contested shots allowed Pittsburgh to pull out the victory.

UNC Game Stats

Final

	1	2	T
UNC	44	21	65
PITT	42	31	73

UNC Bright Spots  

RJ Davis had 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. 

Elliott Cadeau had 11 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. 

Seth Trimble had 10 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

Needs Work  

The Tar Heels must be better defensively. 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 

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. 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 improve to 13-9 on the season. This North Carolina team shows no chemistry has been developed. It seems everyone plays hero ball. There is a lot of standing around with no movement without the ball and too many isolation one-on-one plays. There is no leadership on the floor and the players seem to be lost in how to finish games. They have gotten away from attacking the basket and getting fouled.

Hubert has his work cut out for him because this team’s margin for error is so small. The players don’t look like they are having fun and they don’t trust each other. They have been playing selfish basketball for mush of this tough stretch and RJ Davis has been the main culprit. He is supposed to be the leader and he is not handling that role well. Next up is Duke on Saturday at 6 PM on ESPN.