By R.L. Bynum
PITTSBURGH — How North Carolina is losing has changed since the New Year, but the common maddening pattern remains — the Tar Heels rarely put two good halves together and have trouble finishing games.
In November and December, UNC (13–8, 6–3 ACC) routinely fell behind by double digits in the first half and, in most cases, surged in the second half to make a game of it, with varied results, the latest a 73–65 loss Tuesday at Pittsburgh.
The results have still been mixed since the loss of New Year’s Day at Louisville, but the route to get there has reversed from the early-season pattern. Also reversed has been Carolina’s NCAA tournament resume, which has gone from solidly in the field in December to battling to stay on the bubble. (Get a rundown in this story of where UNC stands in this story.)
Except for the one-sided home victories over California (79–63) and SMU (82–67), Carolina has built its biggest lead in each of the six other games during solid first halves, only to let the lead fritter away with sloppy play, bad shooting, poor decisions or all of the above.
“One of the things that we always talk about is, we can get there,” Coach Hubert Davis said, “but can we stay there with that level of attention to detail and consistency? I wouldn’t point toward just the end of the game; I would say throughout the entire game. We’ve done a good job of building the lead, and then we have those stretches throughout the entire game.”
In first halves, the Tar Heels led Notre Dame by 12 (8:42 left; won 74–73), Pittsburgh by 10 (2:11 left; lost 73–65) N.C. State by nine (24 seconds left; won 63–61), Boston College by nine (10:25 left; won 102–96 in overtime), Wake Forest by nine (13:28 left; lost 67–66) and Stanford by seven (8:07 left; lost 72–71).
Carolina led all six of those games at halftime but only won half of them, with the three wins coming either by one point or in overtime. Two of the losses came by one point, with Pitt winning by eight. UNC is a collective +1 in those games.
Finishing has been an issue. The Tar Heels led Pitt by four with 6:32 left but scored two points the rest of the game, missing 10 of 11 shots. Carolina has been outscored in the second half of eight of the last nine games (all except Cal).
The Pittsburgh loss is the latest of five in which UNC led with fewer than three minutes left, after that happened at Kansas (92–89), against Michigan State (94–91 in overtime) in the Maui Invitational, against Florida (90–84) in the Jumpman Invitational and against Stanford.
“It’s kind of like the same movie over and over again at this point,” RJ Davis said. “Just not executing, not finishing plays, simple plays here and there when we had a lead.
“One little mistake leads to another — a big three or big play by the opposing team,” Davis said. “So, it’s kind of just like the same thing over and over again at this point.”
Three more victories would have built UNC a decent NCAA tournament resume. As it is, UNC faces a challenging fight to make the field.
Frustrating to fans, players and coaches has been Carolina’s inability to make the right plays at the end of games. That continued Tuesday when the Tar Heels went scoreless with two turnovers over the last 3:21 following an Elliot Cadeau layup.
“[We need to] continue to watch film,” Seth Trimble said. “Continue to hear what our coaches are telling us. Because what they’re telling us, if we can translate it into the game in crunch time, we can win these games. I don’t know what it is, but we’ve got to figure out how to translate what we learning here in the film room to the court.”
Coach Davis’ frustration is obvious when he tries to explain his team’s play after recent losses, and it was no different around midnight in a Petersen Events Center hallway as reporters gathered around him.
He’s trying to be positive despite many negative results, hoping that his team will learn from the games.
“I love these kids,” he said. “I love this team. It’s a great lesson for this group and this team. It’s a great lesson for life. 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.”
The fight must be at the highest level at 6:30 Saturday night (ESPN) as UNC faces a decidedly better opponent in No. 2 Duke (17–2, 9–0).
UNC season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 8–0 | 19–1 | 2 |
| No. 22 Clemson | 7–1 | 17–4 | 31 |
| No. 17 Virginia | 5–2 | 16–3 | 14 |
| Miami | 5–2 | 16–4 | 36 |
| N.C. State | 5–2 | 14–6 | 27 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 4–3 | 16–4 | 23 |
| SMU | 4–3 | 15–5 | 33 |
| Virginia Tech | 4–4 | 15–6 | 53 |
| No. 20 Louisville | 4–4 | 14–6 | 19 |
| California | 3–4 | 15–5 | 55 |
| Stanford | 3–4 | 14–6 | 72 |
| Syracuse | 3–4 | 12–8 | 79 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–5 | 11–9 | 145 |
| Notre Dame | 2–5 | 11–9 | 83 |
| Wake Forest | 2–5 | 11–9 | 65 |
| Boston College | 2–5 | 9–11 | 157 |
| Florida State | 1–6 | 8–12 | 113 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–6 | 8–12 | 126 |
* — Through Monday games
Saturday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 85, No. 17 Virginia 80
No. 22 Clemson 77, Georgia Tech 63
N.C. State 71, Pittsburgh 72
No. 4 Duke 90, Wake Forest 69
Miami 85, Syracuse 76
No. 20 Louisville 85, Virginia Tech 71
SMU 83, Florida State 80
Notre Dame 68, Boston College 64
California 78, Stanford 66
Monday’s result
No. 4 Duke 83, No. 20 Louisville 52
Tuesday’s games
Wake Forest at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 17 Virginia at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Syracuse at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ESPN U
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Wednesday’s games
California at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Miami, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
No. 4 Duke at Virginia Tech, noon, ESPN
Pittsburgh at No. 22 Clemson, noon, ACC Network
No. 17 Virginia at Boston College, 1:30, The CW
No. 16 North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at No. 23 Louisville, 2 p.m., ESPN
N.C. State at Wake Forest, 3:45, The CW
California at Miami, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at Syracuse, 6 p.m., The CW
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 13 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. 14 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. 7 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. 17 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 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. 20 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 22 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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