UNC Basketball shows true colors in loss to Duke
The UNC basketball program showed its true colors, as it suffered a loss to Duke that will leave a bad taste heading into a big stretch of the season.
It’s time to face reality with the 2022-2023 UNC basketball team.
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Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels are what they were at this point last season: a mediocre team with a bunch of flaws. Those flaws were on display on Saturday night, as they suffered a brutal loss to the Duke Blue Devils.
Why was it brutal?
Well, the score should indicate that it wasn’t a top-tier performance from either side. However, it was Duke, behind a dominant post performance from Dereck Lively II that came out on top.
North Carolina shot just 34.3% percent from the floor, including a 25.9% three-point percentage, as this unit forced up some bad shots that did not fall.
Pete Nance was atrocious offensively, making just one of his 10-shot attempts. Even with his rough shooting night, Hubert Davis decided to stick with him for 30 minutes of game action, which is mind-boggling when you can try to get a spark from someone off the bench.
The duo of RJ Davis and Caleb Love had their fair share of “let’s chuck up some bad shots,” as they combined to hit just 10 of 26 attempts. Leaky Black, who did knock down five of his 10 shot attempts en route to his first career double-double, missed a wide-open three-pointer that would’ve given the Tar Heels the lead heading into the final minute of play.
Oh, and let’s not forget, Armando Bacot, the Tar Heels leading scorer, did not have a single-shot attempt over the final 12:17 minutes of play.
North Carolina only got to the free-throw line three times, which is very uncharacteristic of them. However, the forcing of shots played a huge role in this, as Lively II had a field day swatting shots away from the Tar Heels’ offensive players.
To add to it, Davis once again relied heavily on his starters, especially in the second half. Even with starters struggling offensively, the second-year head coach is still very reluctant to go to his bench and see if they can contribute anything.
This team is giving the vibes of last year’s squad, one that fortunately got hot at the right time. As they inch closer to once again being considered a bubble team, does this group have another strong run in them?
Unfortunately, Brady Manek isn’t walking through the locker room doors. Someone has to step up and fast before things start to completely go in the wrong direction.
Losing to Duke always sucks. Losing the way the UNC basketball program lost on Saturday night is completely inexcusable.
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