UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs Stanford 95-90 Loss
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Falls Short on the Road Against the Stanford Cardinals for Their Second ACC Loss
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team faced off against Stanford on Wednesday night. The Tar Heels made sure to establish themselves in the paint early. 12 of the Heels’ first 23 points came in the paint, and Stanford had no answer for their size and length inside. For the first 10 minutes of the game, UNC was in complete control of the game because of their excellent ball movement offensively and inside-out play to go along with some tough defense. Stanford was able to hang around because of some unforced turnovers by Carolina and took advantage by getting easy baskets in transition and making threes. Both teams shot over 50% in the first half and by the end of the half had little to no resistance to the opposing offense. Henri Veesar led the way for the Tar Heels with 16 points, and North Carolina was up 2 going into halftime.
UNC came out of halftime with a much higher intensity, energy, and effort on both ends of the floor, and started the second half on an 8-0 run. Defensively, the Heels were hounding Stanford all over the court and making everything difficult, which led to 5 Stanford turnovers. Meanwhile, offensively, Caleb Wilson was determined to be more aggressive and scored Carolina’s first 8 points. The Tar Heels extended their lead to as much as 12 in the second half as Stanford had no answers for Caleb Wilson and the Heels’ offense. However, the Cardinals wouldn’t go away, and after some defensive lapses, the Tar Heels were able to catch a rhythm from behind a three-point line. The late closeouts, lack of communication on rotations, and the inability to get around screens and stop dribble penetration all contributed to UNC’s horrific defense. About midway through the second half, Stanford was getting whatever shot they wanted offensively, and the Heels looked lost out there on defense with no answers.
Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar did everything they could to keep North Carolina ahead with their amazing shot-making as they both finished the game with 26 points and went 12 for 12 from the field in the second half. Carolina had the lead for essentially the entire game but was unable to extend the lead because of 12 missed free throws, a few turnovers, and ill-advised shots due to a lack of ball movement. Stanford made North Carolina pay for every mistake they made down the stretch. The Cardinals hit 10 threes in the second half, 16 for the entire game, and scored points on 12 of their final 15 possessions, chipping away at the Carolina lead throughout the final 20 minutes. For the second straight game, the Heels struggled to defend the guards and allowed their opponents two starting guards to combine for 56 points. Stanford’s first lead came with about one minute left in the game, and the Tar Heels fell apart down the stretch with three late turnovers, multiple open threes allowed, missed free throws, and a series of bad shots taken. UNC allowed over 85 points on 50% from the field and at least 14 threes for the third consecutive game and suffered their third loss of the season.
UNC Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| 14 North Carolina 14-3 | 47 | 43 | 90 |
| Stanford 14-4 | 45 | 50 | 95 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| C. Wilson | 26 | 9 | 2 | 11/16 | 0/0 | 4/7 | 3 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| H. Veesaar | 26 | 6 | 1 | 9/12 | 2/2 | 6/11 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| S. Trimble | 13 | 6 | 0 | 5/9 | 1/3 | 2/4 | 1 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| J. Stevenson | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 4/6 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| K. Evans | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1/5 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| L. Bogavac | 13 | 2 | 1 | 4/9 | 1/4 | 4/4 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Powell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| D. Dixon | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Young | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Z. High | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I. Denis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| I. Matlekovic | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Brown | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Davis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Holbrook | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Smith | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 90 | 29 | 7 | 32/55 | 6/16 | 20/32 | 17 | 199 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| E. Okorie | 36 | 3 | 9 | 12/20 | 3/5 | 9/11 | 1 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| R. Agarwal | 20 | 6 | 1 | 7/11 | 5/9 | 1/2 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| B. Gealer | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 2/2 | 1 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| O. Giltay | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| D. Young | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| J. Dent-Smith | 20 | 0 | 1 | 7/8 | 6/7 | 0/0 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Rohosy | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2/6 | 0/0 | 1/4 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Cammann | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 2/4 | 4 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| C. Grant | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1/3 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Okpara | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Thompson | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| M. Jones | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| A. Batson Jr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T. Toure | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Kitch | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Stinson | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| K. Skrinda | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 95 | 22 | 20 | 32/56 | 16/28 | 15/23 | 20 | 200 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
UNC Bright Spots
Caleb Wilson had 26 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
Henri Veesaar had 26 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block.
Seth Trimble had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Luka Bogavac had 13 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels’ perimeter defense needs to be better. They must be better at closing out on shooters, containing ball handlers, and even running their opponent off the three-point line when they’re hot from behind the arc. Their rotations must be faster, and their communication must be better to make sure everyone is on the same page when they are either switching, hedging, doubling, or going under or over on their pick-and-roll coverages.
When teams get hot offensively, I would like to see Coach Davis and his staff do a better job of making adjustments on the fly. They must be better at switching defenses and coverages to throw different looks at the opposing offense, which will help disrupt their flow and rhythm. Being more aggressive offensively and getting the other team’s best player in foul trouble can also be another way to disrupt the rhythm and flow of the opposing team’s offense.
The Tar Heels also need to make sure they don’t allow teams to take them out of their game and dictate the way they play. Offensively, they are at their best when the ball is moving, the bigs are getting touches, and the guards are getting dribble penetration because it usually leads to great shots. They must play that way no matter what defense the opponent throws at them.
The Heels must be better at the free-throw line. Shooting 63% at the free-throw line is unacceptable, and missing free throws keeps you from extending leads, allowing games to be closer than they should be.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels fall to 14-3 on the season. UNC has to figure out how to address its porous defense and poor free-throw shooting. Over the last three games, Carolina has allowed 44 threes to their opponents and at least 87 points on 50% from the field in those matchups, while shooting 65% from the free-throw line. Not only are they not defending the three-point line, but their effort closing out on shooters, defending dribble penetration, and making the right rotations has been nonexistent. Another glaring issue with the defense is that the players on the court are not on the same page. They often look confused about whether they are switching, trapping, or hedging on pick-and-rolls, and as a result, too many times, they leave their opponents wide open for shots. It’s just too easy for their opponents to score points, and when your team is struggling defensively, you have to put your best five defensive players on the court.
The coaches have failed to put their team in a position to succeed with a lack of different defensive coverages and schemes to get their opponents out of rhythm. Hubert Davis and his staff must find a way to turn these issues around because they won’t go far in March with a poor defense and inability to make free throws consistently. The coaching staff needs to find a defensive scheme that runs their opponents off the three-point line and makes players drive into the bigs more. The Tar Heels have the talent, skillset, and roster to turn around their defense, but they must make the adjustments to go in the right direction because whatever they’re doing now defensively isn’t working.
Scoring 90 points should be enough to beat your opponent on a given night, so it’s unacceptable to give up 95 and 97 points in your last two losses. If they want to ultimately become a championship-caliber team, the players must take it personally and take it upon themselves to play better defense to go along with the coaches putting them in the best position to get the most out of them on that end of the floor. Next up is California on Saturday, January 17, at 4:00 P.M. on the ACC Network.