Tar Heels Stumble in Berkeley as Defensive Woes Continue on West Coast Swing
BERKELEY - For a brief moment in the second half, it looked like the Tar Heels might be on the verge of flipping the script. Down 63-48 with just over 15 minutes to play, Carolina had finally strung together a couple of momentum-shifting plays-first a dunk from Caleb Wilson, then a strong drive and finish from Luka Bogavac.
The Cal lead was still sizable, but the energy on the bench changed. The "Tar...
Heels!" chant from the UNC faithful in the Bay Area echoed through Haas Pavilion.
And as assistant coach Marcus Paige reminded the team in the huddle, "It's a long game."
It sure felt like it could be. After three rough halves of basketball on the California trip, Carolina looked like it had finally found a spark. There was time, there was energy, and there was a window.
But the comeback never fully materialized. Carolina did claw back to within four points with the ball and just over a minute remaining, but ultimately fell short, 84-78. And while the second-half push was admirable, the reality is the Tar Heels put themselves in too deep a hole early-and the defensive issues that have plagued them in January once again proved costly.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a case of a team running out of gas after an all-out rally. If anything, Carolina had plenty left in the tank.
The problem was they never hit the throttle in the first place. Cal torched the Tar Heels for 55.9 percent shooting in the opening half, including a blistering 62.5 percent from beyond the arc.
That’s not just hot shooting-it’s a defensive breakdown.
Freshman guard Derek Dixon, making his first start in a Carolina uniform, summed it up as he ran off the court at halftime: “We’ve got to guard somebody!”
He wasn’t wrong. The numbers tell the story.
On Wednesday, Stanford dropped 50 points in the second half against Carolina. That same Stanford team managed just 50 points total against Duke.
Meanwhile, Cal-who scored only 56 in a full game against Duke-racked up 54 in the first half against the Tar Heels.
Those stats aren’t just outliers-they’re symptoms. Through mid-January, Carolina ranks at or near the bottom of the ACC in points allowed, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent three-point percentage.
And right now, ACC opponents are shooting a staggering 44.9 percent from three against the Heels. To put that in perspective: the worst three-point defense UNC has had in the last 30 years allowed opponents to shoot 39.5 percent.
Carolina’s current mark? Opponents would have to miss their next 21 threes in a row just to match that 2018 low point.
This trip out west will be remembered for two games that shared a common thread: defensive lapses and missed opportunities in crunch time. At Stanford, Carolina led for nearly 38 minutes before letting it slip.
Against Cal, they never led at all. But in both contests, the Tar Heels couldn’t make the key plays late when it mattered most.
And when you dig yourself a double-digit hole, the margin for error evaporates. That’s why a muffed two-on-one fast break or a pair of missed free throws looms so large.
Carolina shot just 60.7 percent from the line on Saturday. That’s not going to cut it in close games.
Neither is giving up 18 second-chance points or allowing Cal to beat the shot clock twice in the final nine minutes. Those are the kinds of plays that swing games-especially when you’re playing from behind.
Then there’s the offense down the stretch. With the game on the line, Carolina couldn’t get the ball to its top options.
Wilson, who had been effective earlier, attempted just one shot-an off-balance three-in the final 10 minutes. He did get to the line for four free throws, but Cal’s double-teams kept him from getting clean looks.
Henri Veesaar, who notched another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, also faded from the offense late. He took just four shots in the final 10:26, and three of those were from beyond the arc.
Yes, he’s Carolina’s most efficient three-point shooter, but that’s not where you want him living in crunch time.
The Heels were forced into perimeter shots, and the results reflected that. Fourteen of their final 19 field goal attempts were threes. They made just four of them.
After the game, head coach Hubert Davis acknowledged the adversity. “This is the first time that this team has really hit a little adversity,” he said on the Tar Heel Sports Network.
“Every team goes through it. We have to find a way to fight through it.
And this team will.”
They’ll need to. Because if the defense doesn’t tighten up-and if the execution in late-game situations doesn’t improve-there are going to be more long nights ahead.
The talent is there. The flashes are real. But until Carolina starts stringing together complete performances on both ends of the floor, they’ll keep finding themselves trying to dig out of holes they shouldn’t be in to begin with.