By R.L. Bynum
WINSTON-SALEM — A year after flipping the switch in February and going on a magical run, Carolina looked for most of Tuesday night like a team that doesn’t have the drive or the cohesiveness to turn this season around.
It still could come if they can match the second-half energy. The Tar Heels scored 49 points in the last 14:36 and 60 in the second half. Most of it came without Armando Bacot, who was disgusted by the effort in their third consecutive defeat.
He let the team know it after Coach Hubert Davis finished talking to the team after the game in a dressing room session that lasted nearly 40 minutes.
“I love this university, and just to go out there and give that performance is unexcusable,” said Bacot, who had another double-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds before fouling out.
The Tar Heels (15–8, 7–6 ACC) gamely rallied before losing 92–85 to Wake Forest after trailing by 26 points in the second half. But that didn’t mean much to Bacot.
“I’m not surprised,” Bacot said of how the team played in the first half. “It’s happened more than twice this year. It’s our reality, but the thing about it now is our backs are against the wall. Like I told everybody, people that want to play, be here on Thursday. If not, don’t.”
He told his teammates that they shouldn’t show up for practice on Thursday if they weren’t ready to play their best.
History isn’t kind to UNC teams with multiple three-game losing streaks. The previous three missed the NCAA tournament, and these Tar Heels are plunging themselves right into the bubble. They might be able to avoid that by bottling up the effort at the end of Tuesday’s game.
Bacot returned for another season along with Caleb Love, RJ Davis and Leaky Black amid high hopes of making a title run.
“We’ve got the talent to do it,” Bacot said. “We came back for a reason and this isn’t it. It’s frustrating. This one definitely hurts. I’m not going to quit. I love this university too much.”
RJ Davis said it’s all about the team locking in like it did last season.
“Last year, we all bought into each other as a team and we locked out the outside noise about what was being said,” said Davis, who scored 16 points. “And that’s the main thing right now. I think that’s what’s holding us back as a team — just to take the next step and to be the team that we came back for.”
UNC was efficient offensively in the second half, but it had dug too big of a hole in the first half. Love sliced the deficit to eight on a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left. A Pete Nance layup cut it to seven with 32 seconds remaining, but the Heels couldn’t come any closer.
“I just felt like we’ve just got to add an edge about ourselves,” said Love, who scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half. “We’ve got to play like we’re desperate to win. We’ve got to care about the game. I feel like once we do that — and buy into everything and compete, period — everything will change.”
Bacot and Hubert Davis said that frustration doesn’t describe the feeling coming out of Tuesday’s loss. They said it’s a sense of desperation. They agreed that there are chemistry issues but Coach Davis said he didn’t know if that was a recent development or has festered over the course of the season.
“It was a long and much-needed conversation,” Davis said of the postgame discussion with the team. After a long pause, he said it was needed “because we’re better than that and we’re better than this.
“One of the things that I like to do is keep those comments with the guys in the locker room,” he said. “Reason being is not that I don’t want to tell you, but in order to move forward. It’s best to talk to the people that you’re moving forward with.”
Coach Davis and the players all said that practices the previous two days went well but it just didn’t transfer to the game. Coach Davis said that he didn’t know why.
“We have to find a way to fix, to get better, to regroup, to get stronger, to continue for the rest of the season,” Coach Davis said.
Wake Forest (16–9, 8–6) nearly let UNC back in the game but guard Tyree Appleby wouldn’t let the Heels come all the way back. He scored 25 of his 35 points in the second half, when he made an ACC-record 23 of 28 free-throw attempts.
Nance scored nine of his 11 points and seven of his 10 rebounds in the second half.
Black had a steal for a layup and a block in the first few minutes, but Wake Forest took an early 10–5 lead on an Appleby layup. The Deacons pushed the lead to 15 on a Matthew Marsh dunk to cap a 14–0 run. The last 12 of those were with Bacot on the bench, and the last seven with RJ Davis out of the game.
A Davien Williamson jumper to end a 9–0 Wake run doubled up UNC 34–17, prompting a Hubert Davis timeout.
Carolina finally showed some life with four consecutive layups, the last three from Bacot, to trim the deficit to 11 with 5:50 remaining in the first half. Wake Forest scored the last seven first-half points to take a 47–25 halftime lead after nearly equaling UNC’s point total with its 26 inside points alone.
“There was none,” Coach Davis said when asked to describe the first-half energy on defense.
It only got worse in the first 2:12 of the second half as the Deacs’ lead expanded to 26 and Bacot drew his third, then fourth foul in 13 seconds.
Puff Johnson and Nance each scored four points on an 8–0 run to pull within 17 with 13:10 left. Wake beat back Carolina’s hopes with an 8–2 run. Two RJ Davis free throws with 3:57 left cut the deficit to 12 but Bacot fouled out 23 seconds later.
NOTES — Carolina returns home for two games in three days, facing Clemson at 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) and No. 19 Miami at 7 p.m. Monday (ESPN). The Tigers (18–6, 10–3), who will come off a six-day break, fell out of the AP Top 25 after consecutive losses at Boston College (62–54 on Jan. 31) and at home against Miami (78–74 on Saturday). The Hurricanes (19–5, 10–4), who followed up that win over the Tigers with an 81–59 home win Monday over Duke, host Louisville at 7 p.m. Saturday (ACCN). … Wake Forest center Davion Bradford made only his fifth start of the season. He scored four points in 12 minutes in the first meeting with UNC. … The 22-point halftime deficit was easily the largest for UNC this season, whose previous biggest was 10 at Virginia Tech. … Wake Forest has won two of the last three meetings to cut Carolina’s commanding lead in the series to 164–69. … This is the first time since 1963–65 that Wake Forest has won three consecutive home games against UNC. … UNC is 21–13 in Joel Coliseum, including 6–0 in NCAA tournament games, and 14–13 there against Wake Forest. … Seth Trimble and Tyler Nickel came in and out for each other eight times in the last 1:45. … UNC didn’t score a first-half 3-pointer and was 4 of 13 outside the arc in the second half. … Love was 4 of 9 from 3-point range and the rest of the team was 0 of 9.
Wake Forest 92, UNC 85
UNC lineup combinations
| Score | Time | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Segment score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | 20:00 | Davis | Love | Black | Nance | Bacot | 7–10 |
| 7–10 | 15:10 | Trimble | Johnson | 2–2 | |||
| 9–12 | 13:50 | Washington | 0–5 | ||||
| 9–17 | 12:27 | Love | 4–9 | ||||
| 13–26 | 9:32 | Davis | Love | Nance | Bacot | 6–8 | |
| 19–34 | 6:50 | Johnson | 6–8 | ||||
| 25–42 | 2:35 | Black | 0–1 | ||||
| 25–43 | 2:25 | Love | Dunn | 0–1 | |||
| 25–44 | 1:54 | Washington | 0–3 | ||||
| 25–47 | Half | Davis | Love | Bacot | 2–6 | ||
| 27–53 | 17:23 | Johnson | Nance | 5–3 | |||
| 32–56 | 15:43 | Love | Nickel | 10–3 | |||
| 42–59 | 12:45 | Trimble | Nickel | Black | 2–2 | ||
| 44–61 | 11:55 | Davis | 0–2 | ||||
| 44–63 | 10:30 | Love | Trimble | Nickel | 4–4 | ||
| 48–67 | 8:51 | Johnson | Bacot | 4–2 | |||
| 52–69 | 7:45 | Black | 6–3 | ||||
| 58–72 | 4:17 | Trimble | Johnson | Nance | 0–0 | ||
| 58–72 | 3:57 | Love | 2–0 | ||||
| 60–72 | 3:34 | Nickel | Johnson | Nance | 4–5 | ||
| 64–77 | 1:45 | Trimble | 1–0 | ||||
| 65–77 | 1:43 | Nickel | 3–1 | ||||
| 68–78 | 1:35 | Trimble | 0–0 | ||||
| 68–78 | 1:31 | Nickel | 0–1 | ||||
| 68–79 | 1:26 | Trimble | 0–1 | ||||
| 70–80 | 1:24 | Nickel | 1–1 | ||||
| 71–81 | 1:19 | Trimble | 1–1 | ||||
| 72–82 | 1:01 | Nickel | 3–1 | ||||
| 75–83 | 0:53 | Trimble | 5–4 | ||||
| 80–87 | 0:32 | Nickel | 5–5 | ||||
| 85–92 | Final |
ACC standings
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 4 North Carolina | 17–3 | 25–6 |
| No. 11 Duke | 15–5 | 24–7 |
| Virginia | 13–7 | 22–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 12–8 | 21–10 |
| Clemson | 11–9 | 21–10 |
| Syracuse | 11–9 | 20–11 |
| Wake Forest | 11–9 | 19–12 |
| Virginia Tech | 10–10 | 18–13 |
| Florida State | 10–10 | 16–15 |
| N.C. State | 9–11 | 17–13 |
| Boston College | 8–12 | 17–14 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–12 | 14–17 |
| Notre Dame | 7–13 | 12–19 |
| Miami | 6–14 | 15–16 |
| Louisville | 3–17 | 8–22 |
Saturday’s games
No. 4 North Carolina 84, No. 11 Duke 79
Virginia Tech 82, Notre Dame 76
Florida State 83, Miami 75
Boston College 67, Louisville 61
Wake Forest 81, Clemson 76
Pittsburgh 81, N.C. State 73
Virginia 72, Georgia Tech 57
ACC tournament
March 12–16, Capitol One Arena, Washington
| Date | Month/day | Time/score | Opponent/event (current ranking) | Location | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | |||||
| 28 | Friday | W, 101–40 | Johnson C. Smith | Home | Exhibition |
| November | |||||
| 7 | Monday | W, 69–56 | UNCW | Home | 1–0 |
| 11 | Friday | W, 102–86 | College of Charleston | Home | 2–0 |
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 72–66 | Gardner-Webb | Home | 3–0 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 80–64 | James Madison | Home | 4–0 |
| Phil Knight Invitational | |||||
| 24 | Thursday | W, 89–81 | First round: Portland | Portland | 5–0 |
| 25 | Friday | L, 70–65 | Semifinals: Iowa State | Portland | 5–1 |
| 27 | Sunday | L, 103–101, 4 OTs | Consolation: No. 1 Alabama | Portland | 5–2 |
| ACC/Big Ten Challenge | |||||
| 30 | Wednesday | L, 77–65 | No. 21 Indiana | Bloomington, Ind. | 5–3 |
| December | |||||
| 4 | Sunday | L, 80–72 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, Va. | 5–4, 0–1 ACC |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 75–59 | Georgia Tech | Home | 6–4, 1–1 ACC |
| 13 | Tuesday | W, 100–67 | The Citadel | Home | 7–4 |
| CBS Sports Classic | |||||
| 17 | Saturday | W, 89–84, OT | Ohio State | New York | 8–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational | |||||
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 80–76 | Michigan | Charlotte | 9–4 |
| 30 | Friday | L, 76–74 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | 9–5, 1–2 ACC |
| January | |||||
| 4 | Wednesday | W, 88–79 | Wake Forest | Home | 10–5, 2–2 ACC |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 81–64 | Notre Dame | Home | 11–5, 3–2 ACC |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 65–58 | No. 14 Virginia | Charlottesville | 11–6, 3–3 ACC |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 80–59 | Louisville | Louisville, Ky. | 12–6, 4–3 ACC |
| 17 | Tuesday | W, 72–64 | Boston College | Home | 13–6, 5–3 ACC |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 80–69 | N.C. State | Home | 14–6, 6–3 ACC |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 72–68 | Syracuse | Syracuse, N.Y. | 15–6, 7–3 ACC |
| February | |||||
| 1 | Wednesday | L, 65–64 | Pittsburgh | Home | 15–7, 7–4 ACC |
| 4 | Saturday | L, 63–57 | No. 12 Duke | Durham | 15–8, 7–5 ACC |
| 7 | Tuesday | L, 92–85 | Wake Forest | Winston-Salem | 15–9, 7–6 ACC |
| 11 | Saturday | W, 91–71 | Clemson | Home | 16–9, 8–6 ACC |
| 13 | Monday | L, 80–72 | No. 16 Miami | Home | 16–10, 8–7 ACC |
| 19 | Sunday | L, 77–69 | N.C. State | Raleigh | 16–11, 8–8 ACC |
| 22 | Wednesday | W, 63–59 | Notre Dame | South Bend, Ind. | 17–11, 9–8 ACC |
| 25 | Saturday | W, 71–63 | No. 14 Virginia | Home | 18–11, 10–8 ACC |
| 27 | Monday | W, 77–66 | Florida State | Tallahassee, Fla. | 19–11, 11–8 ACC |
| March | |||||
| 4 | Saturday | L, 62–57 | No. 12 Duke | Home | 19–12, 11–9 ACC |
| ACC tournament | |||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 85–61 | Boston College | Greensboro | 20–12 |
| 9 | Thursday | L, 68–59 | No. 14 Virginia | Greensboro | 20–13 |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 
