UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. UConn 87-76 Loss
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team is Outworked by the Huskies for Their Second Loss of the Season
by Derrick Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team traveled to New York City to compete in the Coaches for Cancer Invitational against the defending NCAA Champion Connecticut Huskies. This was a battle of two top-10 teams trying to define their identity and jockey for position in the race toward the NCAA Tournament. Connecticut has size, skill, depth, and experience. So it made for an uphill fight for the Tar Heels. Early on it was a back-and-forth trading baskets by both teams. Then the Huskies began to cut and screen themselves open for easy baskets and wide-open shots and they were able to build a five to ten-point lead for the rest of the first half.
It seemed that the Tar Heels were a step behind on defense and struggled to get rebounds and loose balls on both ends of the floor. The Huskies were winning all of the hustle plays and had a 35 to 22 first-half possession advantage. Which allowed them to go into intermission up 44-39.
In the second half, North Carolina tried to make runs on several occasions led by RJ Davis and Harrison Ingram but they couldn’t get any closer than 4 points. The Huskies always had an answer for whatever the Tar heels threw at them. North Carolina struggled to hit from the perimeter outside of
In the second half, North Carolina tried to make runs on several occasions led by RJ Davis and Harrison Ingram but they couldn’t get any closer than 4 points. The Huskies always had an answer for whatever the Tar heels threw at them. North Carolina struggled to hit from the perimeter outside of RJ Davis and Harrison Ingram. UNC missed 5 wide-open 3 pointers so their offense became stagnant and made it easier for UConn to defend.
So, the Tar Heels began to attack the basket and get to the foul line which allowed them to stay in striking distance. They never seemed to get enough stops and missed several baskets around the rim that could have cut into the deficit. In the end, UConn made the right plays and hit key baskets to close the game out with an 87-76 win.
UNC Game Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| 9 North Carolina 7-2 | 39 | 37 | 76 |
| 5 Connecticut 8-1 | 44 | 43 | 87 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| R. Davis | 26 | 4 | 1 | 8/17 | 4/8 | 6/6 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| H. Ingram | 20 | 4 | 5 | 8/13 | 3/4 | 1/3 | 3 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| A. Bacot | 13 | 13 | 5 | 4/12 | 0/0 | 5/10 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| E. Cadeau | 7 | 1 | 5 | 3/4 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| C. Ryan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3/10 | 0/6 | 0/0 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| S. Trimble | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Wojcik | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Withers | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Farris | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Okonkwo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| R. Landry | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Z. High | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| C. Lebo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 76 | 29 | 18 | 28/63 | 7/20 | 13/22 | 13 | – | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| R. Davis | 26 | 4 | 1 | 8/17 | 4/8 | 6/6 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| H. Ingram | 20 | 4 | 5 | 8/13 | 3/4 | 1/3 | 3 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| A. Bacot | 13 | 13 | 5 | 4/12 | 0/0 | 5/10 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| E. Cadeau | 7 | 1 | 5 | 3/4 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| C. Ryan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3/10 | 0/6 | 0/0 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| S. Trimble | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Wojcik | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Withers | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Farris | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Okonkwo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| R. Landry | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Z. High | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| C. Lebo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 76 | 29 | 18 | 28/63 | 7/20 | 13/22 | 13 | – | 3 | 1 | 7 |
UNC Bright Spots
RJ Davis had 26 points, 1 assist, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal.
Harrison Ingram had 20 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal.
Armando Bacot had 13 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block.
Elliot Cadeau had 7 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, and 1 steal.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels must address their scoring droughts. Too many times during games, they go for extended periods without scoring due to bad shot selection, lack of ball movement, and stagnant offense. The coaching staff must be more involved during these stretches to implement better play calls for them to run.
UNC’s defense against the three and on the perimeter must be better. They need to do a better job of forcing the opponent off the three-point line and be better at rotating out to shooters. Also, they need to be better at finishing around the rim. They missed too many shots around the basket especially Armando Bacot, which is unacceptable. Bacot has to impose his will on the opponents and be more aggressive in finishing.
They must become a better team rebounding the ball collectively. It seems that Bacot has to battle against 3 to 4 opponents by himself on most occasions. Everyone else is running down the court.
Cormac Ryan has continued to struggle from the 3-point line. He is shooting 29% from the field and was 0-6 tonight.
Final Observations
North Carolina is now 7-2 on the season. We knew this would be a tough challenge playing basically a road game against Connecticut in Madison Square Garden, but this was another opportunity for the Heels to see where they stood against a top-10 opponent in a hostile environment. Hopefully, they use this game as a learning tool. How they must play with more effort, fight for more loose balls, and crash the boards as a team.
It’s the little things like paying attention to detail and boxing out that will help this team going forward. The Heels need someone else to step up and be more consistent from the 3-point line. RJ Davis and Harrison Ingram have held it down all season. If they can get Cormac Ryan going that will open up the offense and allow North Carolina to put more pressure on their opponents defensively.
The Tar Heels are going on final exam break and will be back in action on Saturday, December 16th against Kentucky in the CBS Classic at 5:30 pm.
The bench gave us absolutely nothing last night. Starters playing minutes like last year’s team. Cormac needs to make shots. Or else start Trimble.