CHAPEL HILL – The mood among the Tar Heels made available to the media following their 62-57 loss to Duke on Saturday night was somber, disappointed, frustrated, and accepting.
The latter because they didn’t deflect their reality heading into the ACC Tournament later this week. They just may have to win the whole thing to make the NCAA Tournament. And as an inconsistent seventh seed with dire shooting problems, that looks like a tall task for the Tar Heels.
Before they head to Greensboro, however, the Heels must first process their loss to the Blue Devils at the Smith Center.
Typically, the loser of this game on the last day of the regular season shrugs it off pretty quickly, because a bigger prize awaits later the following week. Both clubs are usually in position to claim a tournament title and working on strengthening their NCAA seed.
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On this night, though, Carolina played for its NCAA life. It desperately needed a quality win, and didn’t get it done.
“Definitely frustrated and sad for sure,” forward Pete Nance said, head down and not looking up much when speaking with reporters.
He was clearly down, as were the others. They let this one and so many slip away all season. Going back to the games in Portland, at Pittsburgh, at Virginia, the first time at Duke, home against Pitt, home against Miami, at NC State, and here at the Dean Dome against the Blue Devils again.
In one respect, the Heels appear oh-so-close, but after a while, it might be fair to say they are oh-so-far-away. So, when Armando Bacot was asked to step outside his UNC uniform as an analyst and give his take on Carolina, he was honest, as usual.
“I would say they are a very talented team, but not exceeding expectations,” Bacot said. “I think that’s fair to say.”
It most surely is.
The Tar Heels closed the regular season 19-12 overall and 12-8 in the regular season. This is just the fifth time since 1952 that North Carolina has lost at least 12 games in a regular season. That’s 71 years!
It also coincides with a season in which the Heels started out as the Associated Press preseason No. 1 team. Carolina fell from first to out of the rankings in nine days, the fastest drop in history, now have the most losses of any preseason top team, and likely will be the first preseason No. 1 team since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to not even make the NCAA Tournament.
National title game one year, four starters and 14 of 17 players back, and no big dance appears probable. The way things have played out have added to the challenge, Bacot says.
“It was difficult because there was so much expectation,” he said. “At the end of the day, we are still college students. I think the pressure could get to everybody; we are still human. It somewhat got into our locker room, but we have to get ready for the tournament.”
Nance recognizes the Heels are in this position because of how they have performed. RJ Davis hasn’t shied away from why they’re in danger of not making the big dance. And Bacot says they don’t feel sad or sorry for themselves because they can’t, as he explained.
“No, because we were the ones out there playing,” he said. “It's not like someone else did it to us, we did it to ourselves. Maybe in a couple of months I’ll feel sorry for myself, but not right now.”
The ebbs and flows of a season are gone. It’s now do-or-die with a monumental task in front of the Tar Heels. It’s a scenario they have created for themselves, and they’re the first ones to admit it, too.
