In a do-or-die game at Wake Forest, the UNC basketball program faced heartbreak once again and is seeing their tournament hopes slipping away.
North Carolina comes up short, losing to the Demon Deacons 67-66. Like so many times prior to this, UNC was unable to get the job done, ending up on the wrong side of a close game. The Tar Heels fall to 12-8 on the season and 5-3 in the ACC.
With a shaky resume in a weak ACC and a 1-6 record in Quad 1 games, UNC is in serious trouble. Quad 1 wins are one of the biggest factors the selection committee uses to determine March Madness seeding. Unfortunately, at just past the halfway mark of the season, UNC essentially has nothing to show for themselves in that metric.
The Tar Heels had no answer for Cameron Hildreth early on. The senior guard averages 14 points per game, and he hit that mark in the first half alone. Hildreth didn’t shoot particularly well, but he lived at the line, knocking down 10-12 free throws and finishing with 20 points.
Elliot Cadeau was one of the few bright spots for UNC during this game. This is the version of Elliot Cadeau UNC fans have been eagerly waiting for. From the jump, the sophomore point guard was unstoppable. In the first 6 minutes of the game, Cadeau had his fingerprints on essentially every UNC score. He had 10 of the first 16 points for the Tar Heels and assisted on several other buckets. Cadeau kept UNC in the game and got his teammates involved, finishing with 14 points, 13 assists, and five rebounds.
Star freshman Ian Jackson struggled, but he gave fans something to gawk at with a nasty right-handed, tomahawk poster jam. It’s unfortunate that it came in a painful loss, but that’ll be on Sports Center tomorrow and is up there for the most electrifying play of this season for the Tar Heels.
One of the major turning points in the game, which set the Tar Heels up for their defeat, was their sloppy close to the first half. The Tar Heels led almost the entire half, and yet they were never able to fully pull away. It always felt like UNC could’ve broken the game open and extended their lead. There was a stretch of six possessions towards the end of the first half where UNC came up empty handed on four straight fastbreak opportunities, as well as turned it over twice. It’s difficult to win while leaving that many points on the board.
Another key to UNC’s loss was their streaky play in the second half. At one point, the Demon Deacons exploded for a quick 12-0 run about midway through the second half. The Tar Heels went scoreless for a six-minute stretch, and they struggled to regain their composure after that.
North Carolina’s lackluster finish to the game was the final nail in the coffin. With 5:21 remaining, Jae’Lyn Withers hit a go-ahead three-pointer from the wing to give UNC a 54-53 lead. From that point on, the Tar Heels were ice cold, playing catch-up the rest of the way. This loss is an incredibly painful one to swallow, and it feels like UNC needed this win for their resume.
However, the good news is it’s only January, and the season is not technically over yet — even though it might feel like that right now. North Carolina has certainly put themselves in a tough spot, but UNC still has opportunities to prove itself to the committee. The Tar Heels still have home and away games versus Pitt, an away game at Clemson, and, of course, home and away games versus Duke — and all five of these games are currently Quad 1.
North Carolina hosts Boston College in their next game on Saturday, January 25.