CHAPEL HILL – The UNC Men’s Basketball team is done after a 70-58 loss to No. 1 seed Kansas in the Round of 32.  And we’re all trying to move on, but let’s recap briefly.

“Whatever kind of shots they are, if you don’t make them then you aren’t going to do very well. When Carolina shot 22 of 73 that is not a winning formula,”  said Barry Jacobs of the ACC Sports Journal.

The Jayhawks can now relish in the fact that for a second year in a row, they ousted UNC from the NCAA tournament.

But in the first half of Sunday night’s game, it was the Heels that came out more composed. “It’s almost like at the beginning of the game Kansas was hyperventilating,” Jacobs said. “North Carolina came out and was like, ‘We have nothing to lose, nobody expects us to win.’”

That’s not to say that Carolina was firing on all cylinders in the first half, though. The Heels and Jayhawks were deadlocked at two points for nearly two minutes.

But the less experienced Heels unraveled. The Jayhawks out scored the Heels 49-28 in the second half.

“When you miss lay-ups as well as three-pointers and you have more turnovers than assists, which Carolina did last night, you’re going to lose most times,” he said.

So with what Carolina fans would call an early exit from the tournament, it’s never too early for the “what’s next?” conversation.

“Next year, Carolina will go back to being more up tempo, it will have shooting options and several good guards.”

Jacobs was talking about the 6-foot-1 Nate Britt. He’s a part of a three-person class for Coach Roy Williams next season, along with center Kennedy Meeks and power forward Isaiah Hicks.

Hicks had a monster performance with 34 points, 30 rebounds and seven blocks in Oxford Webb’s winning 3A basketball title game earlier this month.

Jacobs said he thinks these recruits could help to fill in the gaps on UNC’s roster, especially if sophomores James Michael McAdoo and P.J. Hairston declare for the NBA Draft.

“Whether or not this will be a Carolina team that can compete for a national championship, we know that it’ll come a heck of a lot closer than this year’s team.”

And Coach Williams is playing the waiting game on the decision of where forward Andrew Wiggins will go. He’s being sought by Kansas, Kentucky and Florida State.

Here’s hoping Wiggins will choose the Heels.

Related Stories
‹
On Air Today: Ross Martin of Inside Carolina
News-breaker Ross Martin of Inside Carolina joins 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell to discuss a new recruiting period underway around Carolina Athletics. What names of high school prospects are being heard around the UNC football and men's basketball programs? Plus: how the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges to teams and reporters alike.
On Air Today: Proposing a 'Village at South Campus' (Including the Dean Dome)
The ongoing push to keep UNC basketball at the Smith Center now includes a proposed 'Village at South Campus' around the arena.
Caleb Wilson's GOAT Resemblance: How the Chicago Bulls' New Star Compares to Michael Jordan
Caleb Wilson’s presence at UNC was reminiscent of Michael Jordan. Now, he'll look to continue the comparisons while on the Chicago Bulls.
Report: Longtime Gonzaga Assistant Jorge Sanz to Join UNC Men's Basketball Staff
According to a report from Theo Lawson of the Spokane Spokesman-Review, longtime Gonzaga assistant Jorge Sanz is set to join UNC head coach Michael Malone’s staff in Chapel Hill. Longtime Gonzaga assistant/Director of Operations Jorge Sanz is moving on to North Carolina after eight seasons in Spokane, where he was integral to the program's nonconference […]
Chansky's Notebook: The Cost of Business
Carolina has released its salary structure for the 2026-27 men’s basketball season, and right now it has to be a game of wait and see. Mike Malone is making $7.5 million in his first college head coaching season and his new top assistant Chuck Martin is making $500,000. Here is where it gets interesting. The […]
Report: Buffalo Transfer Angelo Brizzi Commits to UNC Men's Basketball
Angelo Brizzi, who spent the 2025-26 season with Buffalo, reportedly committed to head coach Michael Malone and UNC out of the transfer portal Wednesday. Inside Carolina first reported the news. UNC will be Brizzi’s fifth school in five years. The guard began his career at Villanova in 2022 – entering college in the same class […]
Freshmen, Transfers and More: Every Newcomer Joining UNC Men's Basketball for the 2026-27 Season
As Michael Malone embarks on his first season as the head coach of the UNC men’s basketball program, he’s gotten busy securing the additions of several newcomers to the program. Malone and his staff have mined from traditional high school recruiting and the transfer portal to fill out Carolina’s roster, and that work is continuing […]
Former UNC Player Ed Davis Among Several Indicted in NBA Gambling Scandal
Ed Davis, who played for the UNC men’s basketball team from 2008 through 2010 and helped the Tar Heels win the 2009 national title, is among six former NBA players who are being charged with conspiracy, bribery and money laundering as the result of a federal investigation. An indictment published Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s […]
Check out the Full Schedule for UNC's ACC Network Takeover
The ACC Network will air a full day of UNC games from the 2025-26 academic year Wednesday, July 1. It’s part of a series of ACC Network Takeovers, which started June 24 and include all 18 member schools. UNC’s takeover includes wall-to-wall coverage from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. The broadcast day gets underway with […]
Chansky's Notebook: What Happened to Henri?
Blame Henri Veesaar's baffling slide in the NBA Draft on the muddled way the league and its agents do business.
›