UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC VS Wake Forest 67-66 Loss
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Falls Short Again on the Road at Wake Forest
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
On Tuesday night, the North Carolina basketball team faced off against Wake Forest, hoping to get back in the winning column. The Tar Heels got off to a good start and jumped out to an early 16-7 lead. UNC guard Elliott Cadeau was the catalyst for the Heels’ early offensive success in this game relentlessly attacking the basket and had 10 of the team’s first 16 points. Carolina came out and was very disruptive on the defensive end of the floor, making every shot tough for the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest shot 29.7% from the field in the first half and was held to 29 points. However, even with how poorly Wake Forest played, UNC allowed the Demon Deacons to hang around because of their own mistakes. North Carolina had 8 turnovers to just 3 assists in the first half and after scoring 16 points in the first seven minutes of the game only scored 15 points in the remaining 13 minutes of the half. Carolina shot 35% from the field, missed a lot of easy looks at the rim, settled for too many threes, and led by only 2 going into halftime.
In the second half, North Carolina’s offense became very stagnant. The Tar Heels wasted several possessions offensively settling for contested shots, turning the ball over, and refusing to attack the basket or pass the ball to the open man. Elliott Cadeau was the only bright spot offensively for the Heels with a 14-point 13 assist double-double. But that wouldn’t be nearly enough to put them where they needed to be. While the Heels were struggling offensively, Wake Forest was starting to find a groove and a rhythm offensively. The Demon Deacons’ players were getting to their spots and taking quality shots, which helped them to take the lead and extend it to 10 points. With just under 9 minutes to go in the game, Wake Forest was outplaying UNC on both ends of the floor and had all the momentum as North Carolina went six straight minutes without a basket.
However, after a timeout, the Tar Heels came out and ran a play that resulted in a Ven-Allen Lubin layup. The Heels looked like they were playing with a different energy, intensity, and urgency after that last timeout. Carolina would proceed to go on a 13-4 run to take a 54-53 lead after a Jaelyn Withers three with just under 5 minutes remaining in the game. Over the next couple of minutes, North Carolina would completely fall apart and play some horrendous basketball. UNC would either settle for a bad shot or turn the ball over on the next several offensive possessions. The Demon Deacons took full advantage of Carolina’s collapse and went on a 12-2 run to basically put the game away. The Tar Heels made it close at the very end but dug themselves too much of a hole to complete the comeback, losing their 3rd game in ACC play.
UNC Game Stats
Final
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| UNC | 31 | 35 | 66 |
| WAKE | 29 | 38 | 67 |
UNC Bright Spots
RJ Davis had 21 points, 2 steals, and 1 assist.
Elliott Cadeau had 14 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to play more unselfishly on offense. There are too many possessions where guys are not passing it to the open man and will settle for a bad shot or try to do too much, over-dribble the ball, and turn the ball over. When this team shares the ball, the offense is almost unstoppable. The coaching staff must address this and make it a priority.
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, bad shots, and questionable decisions with the ball occurring on the floor especially late in games. Coach Davis needs to make sure he puts his team in a better position to execute better in close games, whether that means changing up the defense, having the right lineups on the floor, or calling the right offensive sets. They have no business losing to teams they are better than, and a lot of the blame has to fall on the coaching staff.
Defensively, this team needs to be much better on the perimeter with their on-ball defense, defending the three-point line, closing out on shooters, and with their help-side defense. 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 as well. It all starts with communication. The better they communicate, the better they will be able to defend and stay connected defensively
Final Observations
The Tar Heels fall to 12-8 on the season as they lose another close game. This team has played 9 one-possession games this season and has a 5-4 record in those games. Ultimately, this UNC squad lacks the leadership to consistently win these types of games, and the coaching staff is not doing enough to put themselves in a better position to close these games. Carolina makes too many mistakes in critical situations and too often on important possessions. The coaching staff has allowed the players to get away from what makes this team special. They do not play to their strength nearly enough. This team is not a good three-point shooting team, but they still rely on those shots too much. This is instead of consistently getting downhill attacking the basket, moving the ball to the open man, and running plays that give them an advantage offensively.
On too many occasions, the players seem like they are doing their own thing and playing for themselves, not for the team. You can tell by how Coach Hubert Davis reacts on the sidelines that they are often doing the opposite of what he is telling them to do and that’s unacceptable. Coach Davis needs to reel them in and get more control of this team. He needs to demand from them a certain standard and style of play and if the players are not playing to that standard remove them from the game. North Carolina is too talented to have the record they have right now. Sure, they have their limitations, but they are certainly not playing their best basketball or have reached their full potential as a team. They can still turn this season around, but the team will need to lean on their identity and their strengths if they want to truly make a run in March. Next up is Boston College on Saturday, January 25 at 2:15 on the CW.