PITTSBURGH, PA – Hubert Davis’ message to his team as midnight approached Tuesday inside the locker room in the bowels of Petersen Events Center was simple but also quite loaded.
“We’ve got to stay together and we’ll talk more about it when we get back to Chapel Hill,” veteran guard RJ Davis said quoting his coach.
The Tar Heels must stay together because they are clearly reeling. They are searching for answers after another late-game collapse in a 73-65 loss to Pittsburgh in the Panthers’ home building.
This was the seventh time North Carolina has lost a game getting run out down the stretch when it either led or was within a point sometime inside the final moments. But this one may have stung more than the others.
At stake for the Tar Heels was a needed Quad 1 win and a victory over a quality opponent. But also to win a game that was a true battle but in which they led inside the final several minutes. It was there for the taking, only the Heels appear to have mastered the art of not grabbing victory when it’s right in front of them.
“It’s kind of like the same movie over and over again at this point,” RJ Davis said. “Just like executing and not finishing plays, like simple plays here and there when we had the lead. One little mistake leads to another, a big three or a big play by the opposing team.
“So, it’s kind of just like the same thing over and over and over again that at this point we’ve just got to eliminate.”
The details from this meltdown are Pitt 14, UNC 2 over the final 5:33.
Wake Forest did it last week in Winston-Salem, Stanford did it inside the Smith Center a few days before that. Louisville did in on New Year’s Day. Florida ran out the Tar Heels a week before Christmas. Michigan State. Kansas. And so on.
Seven times this has happened in 22 games. That’s a load for a team to endure, and it appears the challenge now facing Hubert Davis and his team finding a way to steer this teetering ship in a more palatable direction.
“Continue to watch film. Continue to hear what our coaches are telling us,” said Seth Trimble, who at 6-foot-3 grabbed 12 rebounds for the second consecutive game. “Because what they’re telling us, if we can translate that into the game come crunch time or what not, we can win these games. I don’t know, maybe it’s just a barrier with us right now. I don’t know what it is… It keeps happening over and over again.”
And even the head coach, who presents a supremely positive outlook and always avoids criticisms of his team cannot ignore the vibe of the moment.
"I think it's a combination of a number of things, frustration, disappointment,” Hubert Davis said. “I think it stops there, and I think it has to stop there.”
Carolina still has 10 games remaining, and at 13-9 overall and 6-4 in the ACC, it has zero room for error. Two more games with Duke remain, a trip to Clemson, and sneaky dangerous games at Florida State and Syracuse, plus a return visit from Pitt are all games these Heels might not be favored to win.
Yet, as much as it seems the Heels are stuck partway up a mountainside as boulders and debris rains down upon them, there is no choice of how to respond, the fourth-year head coach said.
"Oh, that's easy,” he said. “That's easy. What choice do you have? I love these kids. I love this team, and it's a great lesson for this group and this team. It's a great lesson for life, and I really believe that there is no choice. The choice is to get back up and step forward and continue to competitively fight and prepare and continue to improve. I just don't even think there is a choice."
