By R.L. Bynum
RALEIGH — The problem entering the game was that No. 16 North Carolina had to play without the talented front-court duo of Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar.
Clearly, their absence played a big part in N.C. State blowing out the Tar Heels 82–58 on Tuesday night at the Lenovo Center.
A bigger issue that will remain when UNC’s two leading scorers return is the lack of consistent play from the Tar Heels’ guards.
“We weren’t tough enough. We weren’t good enough on the defensive end,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “The physical presence that you have to have defensively, we just didn’t do that today.”
The frontcourt wasn’t the problem, with Jarin Stevenson and Zayden High the only Tar Heels to score in double figures, and leading the team in rebounding (10 by High for his first career double-double and nine for Stevenson).
“Outside of Jarin and Zayden, we just couldn’t generate good shots consistently,” Davis said. “Whether it was off dribble-drive, pick and roll, DHO, isolations, we just couldn’t generate consistent paint touches, putting two on the ball and being able to generate consistent, really good shots.”
Carolina attempted 33 3-pointers, the second-most in a game this season, but made only five for a season-low 15.2%. The Tar Heels take so many perimeter shots because the guards have trouble driving inside and play-making.
“[There was a] good portion that were wide open, and we just didn’t make them,” Davis said. “Going into this game, we knew that we needed the ability to be able to shoot for three, and we just didn’t do it [Tuesday].”
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N.C. State’s pressure only compounded UNC’s issues, particularly for the guards trying to initiate offense against active Wolfpack defenders, led by Quadir Copeland.
“They do a really good job of getting the passing lanes and swiping and getting steals and deflections,” he said. “We knew that we needed to be sound with the basketball on the offensive and make the easy play. We just couldn’t.”
It was particularly difficult for Tar Heels fans to process that on a night when guards Seth Trimble, Derek Dixon and Luka Bogavac combined to go 6 of 29 from the floor and 3 of 15 from 3-point range.
It doesn’t help that, also on Tuesday, Elliot Cadeau continued to shine for No. 1 Michigan in its 86–56 home victory over UCLA, scoring a team-high 17 points.
Carolina clearly could have used the former UNC point guard, who had as many field goals (going 6 of 12) and 3-pointers (3 of 5) as those three Tar Heels guards combined. Cadeau more than doubled their combined assist total (7–3), with fewer turnovers (4, compared to 6 for those three Carolina guards).
Cadeau is shooting a career-high 40.4% from 3-point range, although his assists average is down from 6.2 last season to 5.5.
The high of Dixon threading a pass along the baseline to Trimble for the game-winning corner 3-pointer to beat Duke has given way to struggles for both in the three games since then.
Trimble has missed all eight 3-point attempts since making a shot that will be remembered as one of the biggest in the history of the UNC-Duke rivalry. Dixon has nine assists since then and has made only 2 of 18 3-point attempts (one of them banked in against Pittsburgh) in the last three games after going 2 of 4 against Duke.
Kyan Evans, who has come off the bench in the last nine games after starting the first 17, continues to struggle. He played 15½ scoreless minutes and missed both 3-point attempts, although he dished out a team-high three assists.
Evans shot 44.6% from 3-point range last season at Colorado State, which made him attractive in the transfer portal. But he has only made 29.9% of his shots as a Tar Heel. Evans is 3 for 17 from outside the arc in the last seven games after going 3 of 5 on Jan. 21 against Notre Dame.
Bogavac has been consistent from 3-point range in the last three games (7 of 15), but has reverted to struggling on drives to the basket.
Jonathan Powell has consistently helped under the boards (12 rebounds in the last three games, including five against N.C. State), and had nine points Tuesday in a season-high 27 minutes.
For Carolina, the hope is that Wilson and Veesaar will soon stabilize a lineup that has been forced to patch holes in the frontcourt. But Tuesday’s loss made clear that the Tar Heels’ biggest questions lie on the perimeter, where shot-making, decision-making and defensive toughness have all wavered against a motivated rival.
UNC’s guards will have to find answers quickly. Even when injured stars return, Carolina won’t get far in March unless the players handling the ball can provide the consistency and edge that were missing in Raleigh.
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Photos by Smith Hardy
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