As we approach Selection Sunday, all signs point to Carolina becoming the first team since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams to miss the field entirely after being selected as preseason No. 1. It’s an ignominious distinction for a program which felt on top of the world after its memorable run through the 2022 tournament.
While the team could potentially accept an invitation to the NIT, it’s fair to say the Tar Heels won’t play any more meaningful basketball games until next fall. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the key moments and trends from this past season that led Carolina to the unfavorable position it finds itself in:
Disaster Out West
North Carolina forward Armando Bacot (5) fouls Alabama center Charles Bediako (14) on a drive to the basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Phil Knight Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
It’s easy to forget Carolina did actually win a game during the PK85 tournament in Oregon back in November, but even that didn’t come easy. The Tar Heels had to rally past Portland in the tournament’s opening game before its troubles truly began in earnest. Blown late leads against both Iowa State and Alabama gave the Tar Heels their first losses of the season and set the tone for several losses to come. UNC led the Cyclones by seven points with less than four minutes to go and lost by five. Against the Crimson Tide, they led by six points in the third of four overtimes and lost by two.
Winning either of those games would have given the Tar Heels a quality non-conference win for their NCAA Tournament resume. The butterfly effect of those disheartening results out west ended up souring the rest of the season.
Injuries to Armando Bacot and R.J. Davis
Image via The Daily Tar Heel/Ryan Hunt
Much like the end of the 2021-22 season, ankle injuries to star big man Armando Bacot did Carolina no favors. Bacot went down less than two minutes into a critical road game at Virginia in January and did not return. UNC ended up losing by seven points and clearly missed the preseason ACC Player of the Year. Bacot also suffered an injury in the ACC Tournament second round against Boston College, which again affected his performance against Virginia the next day. Had Bacot been healthy in either of those contests, Carolina would’ve had a much better chance of picking up a quality win.
Junior guard R.J. Davis also saw his season affected by injuries. Davis began the year nursing a dislocated finger on his shooting hand, and the injury clearly showed itself in his poor early shooting numbers. But Davis turned it on during the holidays, scoring more than 17 points per game and shooting a phenomenal 49 percent on three-pointers between December 21 and January 24. And just as it appeared Davis could put together an All-ACC season, he injured that finger once again at Syracuse. In the next six games, Davis scored just 13 points per game and shot a paltry 19 percent on three-pointers. The Tar Heels lost five of those six games, a swoon which knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament field for good.
Blown Late Leads
Image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
Carolina lost 13 games during the 2022-23 season. In eight of those losses, the Tar Heels held a lead in the second half. Included in that group are two losses to Duke in which UNC went scoreless in the final minutes while the Blue Devils pulled away — as well as a home loss to Pittsburgh in which Carolina had the ball and the lead with less than a minute remaining but turned it over on a travel by Bacot. Late-game execution bit the Tar Heels time and time again during the season, with the home finale against Duke standing out for all the wrong reasons. UNC had two shots down by three points in the final minute, but a miss from R.J. Davis and a flailing three-pointer from Caleb Love doomed the team to a 62-57 defeat.
Poor Shooting
Image via Todd Melet
Carolina’s three-point shooting was supposed to be a strength of the team coming into the season. Instead, it turned into a veritable curse. The Tar Heels shot just 31.2 percent on threes during the season, the worst mark in the ACC and good for 317th in Division 1 basketball. There are 352 total programs. Love saw his three-point percentage plummet from a respectable 36 percent last season to a pedestrian 29 percent this season, while Pete Nance’s 32 percent mark paled in comparison to his 45 percent clip posted during his final season at Northwestern (on just seven fewer attempts). The departure of Brady Manek, whose 40 percent marksmanship helped guide Carolina on its late-season run in 2022, didn’t help matters either.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
You didn’t mention poor defense or poor chemistry which complete the reasons they sucked. What is Hubert doing? 6 slots to fill and we have 0 transfers? What’s up?
The answer to the question is easy: Look at last season. What’s different this season? The difference of one key player can make all the difference.