Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ toughest moments of the past 20 years

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during the second half of their game against the Boston College Eagles at the Dean Smith Center on February 01, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Boston College won 71-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during the second half of their game against the Boston College Eagles at the Dean Smith Center on February 01, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Boston College won 71-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 11
Next
UNC Basketball
CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 18: Theo Pinson #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels attempts a steal against Admon Gilder #3 of the Texas A&M Aggies during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 18, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Berry, Pinson get blown out in final college game

Joel Berry II and Theo Pinson were part of a three-man recruiting class in 2014 that included 5-star small forward Justin Jackson, and ranked among the top-10 in the nation according to 247Sports. The trio of Tar Heels were part of a 33-win season that ended with an NCAA title game loss in 2016, which was followed by a national championship victory over Gonzaga a year later.

After losing senior big man and leading scorer Brice Johnson in 2016, and then bidding farewell to Isaiah Hicks, Kennedy Meeks and Tony Bradley in 2017, the Tar Heels were facing a lack of size and experience in their front court. That was a bad combination when facing off with an absolutely massive Texas A&M squad in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels had just one player in their regular rotation that measured more than 6-feet-9-inches tall, while the Aggies had two such players in their starting lineup alone. The Tar Heels entered the game as the heavily-favored 2-seed, but were out-toughed, out-muscled and outrebounded by 14 en route to a 21-point drubbing at the hands of the Aggies.

Berry notched a game-high 21 points in his final contest with the Tar Heels. Theo Pinson failed to score double-figures with just four points, though he did tie a career-high with 11 assists.

Home/UNC Basketball