An area of struggle well-documented this season was North Carolina’s inability to close out games.
Though the Tar Heels’ 13 losses, they often found themselves in a position to take control of the contests, but unlike many UNC teams in the past, the 2023 rendition made key mistakes during important stretches, whether it be shot selection or turnovers, that prevented them from putting their feet on their opponents' necks and eventually cost them the game.
Among the many fine, and not-so-fine, lines between winning and losing for this Carolina club, not excelling late in too many games was one of the more unnerving issues for the players, their coach, and a frustrated fanbase.
“At the end of the day, we had chances for eight or nine of the 13 losses that we had, we were up on the second half, and so we had our chances,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said following a loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament, which turned out to be the Tar Heels’ last game of the season.
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“Our record is our record. I think regardless of our record I think we’ve shown the entire year that we can compete and play and beat anybody in the country.”
Carolina certainly competed with everyone on its schedule, but given UNC’s rich basketball tradition, simply competing will never be enough.
In its first loss, a November matchup against Iowa State in Portland, the Tar Heels appeared to take control of a back-and-forth matchup when a Leaky Black layup gave UNC a 60-53 lead with 3:57 remaining in the game. Instead of putting the Cyclones away, the Heels followed the 13-6 run by turning over the ball on four consecutive possessions, losing the lead and the game.
From the under four-minute timeout UNC, turned it over five times and went 0-for-3 from the field, shooting all jump shots.
Davis has said numerous times since taking over the helm in Chapel Hill, that his team’s offense is most potent when they are getting the ball in the paint via the post or penetration. It appeared many times this season when UNC had a chance to take control of the matchup, the Heels would abandon that philosophy and settle for shots from the outside, often with plenty of time remaining on the shot clock.
In a late December ACC match-up at Pittsburgh, Carolina found itself up nine with 11:55 remaining. Traditionally, this is where the Tar Heels would ride their talent, and often experience, down the stretch. In this game, however, from that point to the seven-minute mark, UNC shot 1-for-7 from the field, all of which were jump shots. By the time Armando Bacot attempted to score again, the Heels had already sacrificed the lead to the Panthers, who have now won three straight games against the Heels.
There are numerous more examples of the Tar Heels taking bad shots in key moments. In the first season under Davis, his team was able to take and make big shots that covered up a lot of inefficacies. This season, the improbable shots didn’t fall, and the core of UNC’s issues were never addressed leading to another double-digit loss season.
Some other noteworthy games UNC lost in which it led in the second half:
*Led Alabama (in Portland) by 8 with 8:56 left in regulation.
*Led UVA (road) by 5 with 14:01 left.
*Let Pitt by 6 (home) with 12:50 remaining.
*Led NC State (road) by 6 with 10:22 left.
*Led Duke (home) by 4 with 8:32 remaining.
The benefit of the past Carolina teams emphasizing post and point guard play, is it limited silly turnovers and scoring droughts were rare because of the pressure the Heels would put on the paint. It's been evident that Davis would like to attack from the outside more, but for that to happen the Tar Heels must continue their tradition of living in the paint.
