By R.L. Bynum
“It’s not sustainable.”
Carolina coach Hubert Davis has uttered that phrase more often than his Tar Heels have fallen behind by double digits in the first half of games — and that’s happened a lot.
The Tar Heels (6–5) have been one of the best second-half teams in the country. But they have fallen behind by at least 10 points against every non-conference power conference opponent.
“It’s something that’s been the consistent theme for us this year, is playing the way that we want to play for one half. It’s not sustainable,” Davis said.
Getting off to a good start when UNC faces No. 18 UCLA (10–1) at 3 p.m. Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden will be important. It will be the last of seven Quad 1 chances in non-conference play, and the Tar Heels badly need to add to the 92–90 Maui Invitational win over Dayton, the only victory in such games.
Fifth-year guard RJ Davis still believes in the team and says that the Tar Heels can break through with what would be a huge and needed win over the Bruins. He pointed to his missed late 3-point attempt and the second shots UNC allowed late in Tuesday’s 90–84 loss to No. 7 Florida at the Jumpman Invitational.
“Those little plays right there are gonna make us from being good to really great, because we’re right there in Kansas, right there [Tuesday] and against Michigan State. Those timely little mistakes [have been costly].”
Sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau was Carolina’s best player through the first four games, but it’s been a struggle to be consistent since then, with at least four turnovers in four of the last five games and crucial mistakes late in the loss to the Gators.
“I try to keep a positive mindset,” said Cadeau, who pulled his jersey over his face to mask tears as he walked to the dressing room after the Florida game. “I just look at the fact that we can come back from pretty much any deficit. I feel like, instead of putting ourselves in that hole to begin with, we need to learn how to just start off really good.”
Seth Trimble is frustrated with himself and the team for struggling from 3-point range late and with the team’s shooting after the Heels made only 3 of 28 attempts against Florida. Trimble hasn’t scored multiple 3-pointers since making three against Auburn and is 3 for 12 from outside the arc since then.
“I feel that’s one of the big reasons why we went down like that in the first half,” Trimble said. “I don’t know what it is. We have our days. We’re a good shooting team. We’ve just got to continue putting faith into each other and keep shooting. It’s annoying to see those threes not go down, especially in the first half. But I mean, we’ve all worked too hard to not keep shooting them. So, we’ve just got to keep believing in ourselves.”
The game could come down to which team controls the tempo.
UCLA under Coach Mick Cronin isn’t quite like the Tony Bennett-era Virginia teams, but the Bruins like to slow the tempo and rely on their tough half-court defense. UCLA is fourth in the country in defensive efficiency.
UNC is third in the country in adjusted tempo (possessions per 40 minutes, adjusted for opponents) at 74.5, while UCLA is 257th at 66.7. It will be important for the Tar Heels to force live-ball turnovers and rebound well on the defensive end to fuel transition opportunities, so that they don’t have to face UCLA’s half-court defense.
Although the teams’ records are dramatically different, the same is true for their schedules. Carolina has played the seventh-hardest schedule in the country with five losses to teams ranked in the top 10, while UCLA’s schedule ranks 303rd.
The Bruins have won their only two Quad 1 games, winning on Dec. 8 at No. 10 Oregon 73–71 and in a neutral-site game in Phoenix over Arizona 57–54 on Dec. 14. Seven of their other opponents have NET rankings 196 or lower.
Two transfers lead UCLA: junior 6–9, 230-pound forward Tyler Bilodeau from Oregon State and sophomore 6–8, 230-pound wing Eric Dailey Jr. from Oklahoma State. Bilodeau leads the Bruins in scoring (14.1 points per game) and rebounding (5.5), with 11 steals and seven blocks. Dailey averages 11.6 points and 4.8 rebounds.
NOTES — UNC has the best CBS Sports Classic record at 6–4, even after losing 87–83 to Kentucky in Atlanta last season. In the Tar Heels’ last game at Madison Square Garden in the event two seasons ago, a Pete Nance buzzer-beating jumper forced overtime, and they beat Ohio State 89–84. … UCLA, which has lost both CBS Sports Classic games against UNC, has the worst record in the event at 3–6, with Ohio State 5–4 and Kentucky 5–5. Kentucky and Ohio State play in Saturday’s second game. … Carolina leads the series with UCLA 11–3, with six consecutive wins and victories in 10 of the last 11 meetings. UCLA’s last win came at the Smith Center on Jan. 15, 2000, when an unranked Bruins team beat No. 13 UNC 71–68 under Coach Bill Guthridge. … The last meeting was UNC’s 73–66 NCAA East Sweet 16 victory in 2022 in Philadelphia. … UNC is 30–12 in the current Madison Square Garden, where it lost to eventual national champion UConn 87–76 at the Jimmy V Classic last season.
UNC season statistics
UCLA season statistics
KenPom comparison
| Category | UNC | UCLA |
| Overall ranking | 30 | 13 |
| Offensive efficiency | 118.1 (25) | 114.1 (55) |
| Defensive efficiency | 98.7 (44) | 91.5 (4) |
| Effective FG% | 52.6 (111) | 54.0 (73) |
| Turnover % | 14.2 (24) | 16.0 (89) |
| Offensive rebound % | 28.6 (226) | 35.2 (42) |
| FTA/FGA | 37.5 (86) | 34.4 (150) |
| Strength of schedule | 7 | 303 |
Series: UNC 11, UCLA 3
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 10–0 | 21–1 | 3 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 8–1 | 18–4 | 31 |
| No. 18 Virginia | 8–2 | 19–3 | 17 |
| N.C. State | 8–2 | 17–6 | 25 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 6–3 | 18–4 | 26 |
| Miami | 6–3 | 17–5 | 39 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 6–4 | 16–6 | 18 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–5 | 16–7 | 56 |
| California | 5–5 | 17–6 | 50 |
| SMU | 4–5 | 15–7 | 34 |
| Syracuse | 4–6 | 13–10 | 72 |
| Stanford | 3–6 | 14–8 | 77 |
| Florida State | 3–6 | 10–12 | 100 |
| Wake Forest | 2–7 | 11–11 | 72 |
| Boston College | 2–7 | 9–13 | 148 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–7 | 9–13 | 113 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–8 | 11–12 | 143 |
| Notre Dame | 2–8 | 11–12 | 85 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Monday’s result
No. 14 North Carolina 87, Syracuse 77
Tuesday’s results
No. 4 Duke 67, Boston College 49
No. 18 Virginia 67, Pittsburgh 47
N.C. State 84, SMU 83
Wednesday’s games
No. 24 Louisville 76, Notre Dame 65
California 90, Georgia Tech 85
No. 20 Clemson at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
Virginia Tech at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Syracuse at No. 18 Virginia, noon, ESPN
No. 24 Louisville at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Miami at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., The CW
Florida State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., The CW
No. 4 Duke at No. 14 North Carolina, 6:30, ESPN
No. 20 Clemson at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Monday’s game
N.C. State at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday, Feb. 10, games
No. 14 North Carolina at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 18 Virginia at Florida State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Notre Dame at SMU, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 4 Duke at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m., ESPN
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 16 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 11 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 10 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 18 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Smith Hardy
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