North Carolina's head coach Hubert Davis didn't mince words after a tough loss to Duke, pointing to rebounding and turnovers as the key issues that led to their defeat.
Despite being ranked No. 17, North Carolina faltered in fundamental areas during their 76-61 loss to No. 1 Duke at a packed Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Interestingly, UNC outshot Duke, hitting 45 percent from the field compared to Duke's 42 percent, and they were more accurate from beyond the arc, making 38 percent of their three-point attempts to Duke's 31 percent. However, those shooting stats weren't enough to overcome their struggles elsewhere.
The Tar Heels turned the ball over 14 times compared to Duke's 8, and were dominated on the boards, being outrebounded 42-29. Duke's 18 offensive rebounds were particularly damaging.
In his postgame comments, Coach Davis highlighted how these issues contributed to a decisive 30-6 run by Duke.
"Before the game, I emphasized areas we needed to improve from our last matchup," Davis explained. "Rebounding was at the top of that list.
Allowing 18 offensive rebounds is unsustainable. Plus, our 14 turnovers led to 24 points for them, which really hurt us."
Missing from the lineup was star freshman Caleb Wilson, who is out for the season with a broken thumb. Wilson had been leading the team with 9.4 rebounds per game.
Davis stressed the importance of improving their rebounding if they want to make a deep run in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.
"On those 50/50 balls, Duke came out on top most of the time," Davis noted. "To win against top teams, you have to dominate those areas, and we fell short tonight."
Jarin Stevenson and Henri Veesaar each grabbed nine rebounds for UNC, while the rest of the team managed just 11 combined. Duke's standout freshman, Cameron Boozer, led all players with 15 rebounds.
With a few days to regroup, North Carolina will need to focus on their paint presence and rebounding as they prepare for the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.