The loss to SMU over the weekend was nothing short of sobering for UNC basketball and head man Hubert Davis. The Mustangs took it to North Carolina, taking Caleb Wilson out of his game. It was a frustrating showing for the youngster, but the loss obviously wasn't all on him.
Lessons learned from UNC basketball's ugly loss at SMU
Nope, you've got to give credit to SMU, as they were the better team in this one. What was a bit eye-opening, however, was that the Mustangs were just way more physical than the Heels, something not a lot of people were expecting. Davis noticed this and it's of course something for his locker room to fix as soon as possible.
Hubert Davis is ready for UNC basketball to be more physical following the loss to SMU
"I felt like each one of our cuts, our passes, our scores - it was just hard," Davis said via Sports Illustrated after the disappointing showing for UNC against SMU. "It was difficult. And so, I do think their athleticism, length and physicality did play a factor."
That was one way for Davis to say that North Carolina kept getting punched in the mouth and the group didn't respond in the way he was hoping them to. In the end, the Tar Heels suffered a 97-83 loss, with SMU really taking control in the second half.
Wilson no question had to be frustrated with how things went for him, as he was held to only 13 points. Henri Veesaar also had trouble getting into a rhythm because of SMU's stingy defense - he finished with 14 points in the defeat. Come this weekend, the Heels are going to look to get back on track against Wake Forest.
That contest will be played in Chapel Hill and the UNC faithful will be hoping to see a hungry team. On top of that, plenty of people will be hopeful that Davis' guys will respond to some midseason adversity and play the game a bit more physically as well. Conference play is here and UNC will need to take things to a new level each time it takes the floor.