By R.L. Bynum
DALLAS — Lacking a true point guard hasn’t been a problem for No. 12 North Carolina for most of the season, primarily thanks to one of the top front-court duos in the country.
SMU exposed that weakness in its 97–83 victory Saturday at Moody Coliseum, with neither of UNC’s usual point guards able to get the job done consistently on both ends of the court.
While Kyan Evans has found the perimeter range (seven 3-pointers in the last three games), he has combined for only five assists in the last four games (one vs. SMU). His backup, Derek Dixon, has been a far more consistent playmaker with 14 assists in the last four games (three vs. Mustangs).
When neither could solve how to beat SMU’s quick guards, coach Hubert Davis finally turned to Seth Trimble to run the point.
In addition to scoring 22 points, he tied career highs with three 3-pointers, five assists and no turnovers. But he had few answers for how to keep the offense efficient enough to keep up with the high-octane Mustangs.
The Tar Heels shot 42.9% from 3-point range and scored 83 points, but those numbers masked deeper issues. On defense, they couldn’t stay in front of SMU’s quick backcourt, and their inability to control tempo allowed the Mustangs to dictate the game and repeatedly score on drives.
Senior SMU guard Boopie Miller got whatever he wanted, finishing with 27 points and 12 assists.
“I just think we had a hard time staying in front of the ball today,” said Seth Trimble, who ended up getting most of the time at point guard and was a team-low -23. “With a guy like Boopie, super quick guard, little guard, he’s not a guy that you’re gonna stay in front of all games, and you know that.”
The problem was that the other guards were effective as well, including Jaron Pierre Jr., who had 13 points, and B.J. Edwards, who had 15 points and six assists.
“With other guys, I really have no idea,” Trimble said. “It was just one of those games where we didn’t have that tenacity, we didn’t have that physicality, and we just let them get going, and they stayed hot.”
Trimble probably isn’t the long-term answer at point guard. Luka Bogavac, who has six assists and one turnover, seems like another good option but can be a defensive liability. Trimble is happy to play point if needed.
“I know I haven’t in games a lot over the last couple of years, but I’ve been a point guard all my life, so that comfort level is definitely there if HD asked for it, and I’m there to do it with a happy face,” Trimble said.
As happy as he is to fill in at that spot, he wasn’t happy with how he did at trying to deal with SMU’s defensive pressure.
“I could have been more aggressive in starting offense more around the 3- point line,” Trimble said. “I let Edwards pressure, and I kind of just let him do it instead of exposing the pressure, maybe blowing by him, or anything like that. So just learn from it.”
SMU’s 71.4% second-half shooting was the result of UNC’s defensive breakdowns as the Mustangs repeatedly exploited matchups created by the Tar Heels’ switching.
“They’re real quick,” Davis said. “Not only their athleticism, but their length and physicality. I felt like it affected us. Even though we shot 50% from the field, I felt like each one of our cuts, our passes, our scores was just hard, it was difficult.”
Trimble admitted the offense never truly clicked because SMU forced Carolina to start from so far away from the basket.
“It makes it harder,” he said. “That’s one thing that we preach, is starting offense closest to the basket in the scoring area, because it allows us to get to our actions quicker; it allows us to see things and just allows for a better flowing offense.”
UNC’s frontcourt, usually its strength, was neutralized by SMU’s physicality and double-teams. Trimble acknowledged the impact.
“They were really physical. With Caleb and with Henri, they were bumping them a lot,” he said. “It definitely did challenge us, but Henri and Caleb did a great job of making plays out of the double team.”
The loss raises questions about UNC’s ability to handle pressure and physicality against top-tier opponents.
Photo via smumustangs.com
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