By R.L. Bynum
PALO ALTO, Calif. — North Carolina continues to pay for lapses in defense and intensity, get tormented by elite guards and bombarded with opponent 3-pointers.
The result was an ugly, frustrating loss in the first game of the West Coast trip for the No.14 Tar Heels, who have given up 55 3-pointers in the last five games.
Led by freshman guard Ebuka Okorie (36 points, nine assists), Stanford, which came in averaging 8.4 3-pointers per game, fired in 16 in a 95–90 victory Wednesday over the seemingly defenseless Tar Heels, prompting a court-storming at Maples Pavilion.
UNC coach Hubert Davis listed plenty of reasons why Stanford became the latest team to bury his team from 3-point range, but didn’t seem to have the answers on how to stop them.
“I think it was coming from a number of different directions,” Davis said. “Not getting picked up in transition, short close outs, no pressure on the ball, late rotations, kick outs from offensive rebounds.”
While UNC (14–3, 2–2 ACC) again scored efficiently, led by 26 points each from Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, its recent vexing pattern of building double-digit leads and losing them continued.
“I think we’ve got to stick to what works,” said Wilson, who played 19 second-half minutes. “What got us the lead.”
It’s hard to lose when you shoot 58.2% for the game and 65.4% in the second half and outrebound your opponent 33–23, but not if your defense is as bad as it was for the Tar Heels, who allowed Stanford to get way too many wide-open perimeter shots and repeatedly burned UNC on pick-and-rolls.
Davis said that even when UNC’s offense clicks, the Tar Heels still suffer from stretches where “we’re just not getting sustained stops,” leading to two‑ to three‑minute spans where opponents go on “a seven- or nine-point run.”
The see-sawing of UNC’s intensity surfaced again against Stanford (14–4, 3–2), which also got 20 points each from Ryan Agarwal and Jeremy Dent-Smith. The Cardinal won the game, fittingly, with back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute and sealed it at the free-throw line.
Seth Trimble, who scored 13 points along with Luka Bogavac, got the primary assignment on Okorie, but UNC consistently couldn’t stay in front of him.
“Put a number of different defenders, our best one-on-one defenders, we did things differently defensively,” Davis said. “Didn’t do any switching off the ball, to keep matchups, to keep our best defenders on him, and again, he had a big night, but there were others that stepped up and did the job.”
The Tar Heels seem like they are the cure for any team’s 3-point shooting woes. Stanford came into the game shooting 33.6% from outside the arc, but shot an incredible 57.1% against UNC.
Veesaar blamed UNC’s defensive problems on “not communicating or not talking or not listening,” saying the Heels lacked the defensive awareness required to cover simple actions: “We double a ball screen, and then we have a wide-open guy right next to it.”
There was plenty of frustration from Wilson and Veesaar.
“I hate to lose, and I hate losing when we don’t have to,” Wilson said.
Veesaar said the team was “pissed off, because we know that those [games] are in our control,” adding that the Tar Heels must “take pride in your matchup” and be “more in the gaps” with tougher rotations.
After an early Agarwal 3-pointer gave Stanford a brief lead, UNC surged with a 16–6 run. A Veesaar 3-pointer and Wilson layup pushed the margin to 20–11 with 11:55 left in the first half.
Jarin Stevenson then drew a favorable blocking call — one Stanford thought was a charge — and Stanford coach Kyle Smith’s technical foul led to four Stevenson free throws and a 27–15 UNC lead.
But the Tar Heels again unraveled defensively. Stanford tied the game when Benny Gealer capped a 10–0 run with a 3-pointer, and UNC led only 47–45 at halftime after surrendering 21 points in the last 6:04 of the half on layups and threes.
Wilson, held scoreless for the final 11:55 of the half, scored the first eight points of the second half to start a 16–6 UNC run that rebuilt a 12-point lead, 63–51.
But Stanford answered with a 13–4 burst, then used a flurry of 3s — including a Dent-Smith shot that cut UNC’s lead to 79–77 — to seize momentum.
Stanford took a 91–87 lead with three consecutive 3-pointers in a stretch of 2:45, with Agarwal sinking the third with 32 seconds left.
A Trimble jumper cut the lead to three with five seconds left, but Gealer sealed the Stanford win on two free throws.
Notes
— The Tar Heels now change hotels to get ready for the 4 p.m. ET game on Saturday against California (13–5, 1–4), which lost at home to Duke 71–56 on Wednesday night. UNC will practice in Berkeley on Thursday and Friday.
— Stanford forward Chisom Okpara, its second-leading scorer with 13.9 points per game, wasn’t in uniform and missed the game with a lower extremity injury.
— With the Cardinal’s 51.1% first-half shooting, it was the fourth time in the last five halves that UNC’s opponents have shot at least 50%. Before that stretch, only Kentucky and Michigan State had done that.
— Stanford was shooting 33.6% from 3-point range and averaging 8.4 3s per game before shooting 57.1%.
— UNC held its first 14 opponents under 75 points, but the last three have topped that number.
— Okorie is the second freshman in the last 30 years with more than 35 points and more than eight assists against a ranked team, joining Trae Young, who had 39 points and 14 assists for Oklahoma.
— UNC leads the series with Stanford 13–2, including 2–1 at Maples Pavilion, but has lost two in a row after also losing 72–71 last season at the Smith Center.
— Carolina is 16–10 in California.
Stanford 95, No. 14 UNC 90
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Duke | 5–0 | 16–1 | 3 |
| No. 22 Clemson | 5–0 | 15–3 | 28 |
| Miami | 4–0 | 15–2 | 32 |
| No. 16 Virginia | 4–1 | 15–2 | 16 |
| N.C. State | 3–1 | 12–5 | 31 |
| Syracuse | 3–1 | 12–5 | 65 |
| Stanford | 3–2 | 14–4 | 69 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 2–2 | 14–3 | 22 |
| No. 24 SMU | 2–2 | 13–4 | 25 |
| Virginia Tech | 2–3 | 13–5 | 59 |
| No. 20 Louisville | 2–3 | 12–5 | 20 |
| Notre Dame | 1–3 | 10–7 | 76 |
| Wake Forest | 1–3 | 10–7 | 61 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–3 | 8–9 | 111 |
| California | 1–4 | 13–5 | 67 |
| Georgia Tech | 1–4 | 10–8 | 142 |
| Boston College | 0–4 | 7–10 | 184 |
| Florida State | 0–4 | 7–10 | 132 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Tuesday’s results
No. 22 Clemson 74, Boston College 50
Miami 81, Notre Dame 69
No. 16 Virginia 79, No. 20 Louisville 70
Syracuse 94, Florida State 86
Wednesday’s results
Stanford 95, No. 14 North Carolina 90
Pittsburgh 89, Georgia Tech 66
SMU 77, Virginia Tech 76
No. 6 Duke 71, California 56
Saturday’s games
No. 16 Virginia at SMU, noon, ESPN2
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
Georgia Tech at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Syracuse at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Miami at No. 22 Clemson, 2:15, The CW
No. 14 North Carolina at California, 4 p.m., ACC Network
No. 6 Duke at Stanford, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at Florida State, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 20 Louisville at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., ESPN2
Tuesday’s games
N.C. State at No. 22 Clemson, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Florida State at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPNU
SMU at Wake Forest, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Wednesday, Jan. 21, games
Notre Dame at No. 14 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Pittsburgh at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia Tech at Syracuse, 9 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 11 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. 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. 12 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 | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at No. 16 Virginia | ESPN |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 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. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via gostanford.com
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