A 15-point lead dwindled to one on Saturday night at the Dean Smith Center, a game that had the makings of being a blowout victory but ended with a nail-biting finish.
It's safe to say no one was happy with the UNC basketball program's effort in the second half, especially head coach Hubert Davis.
Following the victory, Davis spoke to the media about his team's defensive lapses. He reiterated on multiple occasions that the level of intensity on the defensive side of the floor isn't nearly at the level this team needs to play at in order to reach its goals.
Hubert Davis provides blunt answers
When asked about his team's defensive efforts, Davis didn't shy away from pointing out the flaws he witnessed from his team:
"In regards to our defense, there’s a number of things over the last couple of games that just have to get better. The first thing is just guarding the ball — pressure on the ball, whether it was off of ball screens, just allowing Wake Forest to get into the middle where they could make plays or throw it out for three. In the first half, I felt like our defense struggled transition-wise, even after made baskets, not getting picked up.
After SMU and then having a week of talking, addressing and watching where we need to get better defensively, at times it looked where I wanted it to be, but not even close to where it needs to be moving forward.”
The defense has been an issue
North Carolina has to do a better job all-around on the defensive end, something that Hubert Davis knows is the case.
SMU and Wake Forest had three-point shootouts against the Tar Heels, as every time a player took a shot it felt like they were wide open. The hope was that the performance against SMU was a fluke and would be addressed with the team's week off, but there still is room for improvement all around.
Based on his comments, you can tell that Hubert Davis is focused on fixing the Tar Heels' recent flaws.