UNC was handed their fourth loss of the season Saturday afternoon against Cal. The Tar Heels only showed signs of life well into the second half after a completely uncompetitive first half, but they could not fully rally in the 84-78 loss. Carolina came as close as three late but ultimately finished the game making just one of their last seven shots.
The defense was not competitive at all in the first half. Cal made ten three-pointers, surpassing their season average in just 20 minutes, on their way to scoring 54 points. Carolina’s offense wasn’t even that bad, as they shot 50% from the field, but they were down 17 at the half. UNC turned it over seven times and allowed 13 Cal second chance points.
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By the time UNC’s defense looked serviceable in the second half, their offense had regressed. Cal led by as many as 20 early in the second, but fortunately they did not continue hitting threes at their first half clip. Carolina was able to go on a 20-5 run that cut the deficit to single digits late in the second half, but they were not able to fully dig themselves out of the giant hole they created for themselves. The Heels’ shot selection once they were in shouting distance left a lot to be desired.
Carolina did show fight in the second half, even after the disastrous first half, which they should be given credit for. At the same time, losing to a team that was 1-4 in conference play because they rained threes on you after you just lost to Stanford the same way feels like an indictment. This team has taken a very real step back and the alarm bells are definitely going off.
Caleb Wilson finished with 17 points to lead the Tar Heels ahead of Henri Veesaar and Derek Dixon with 14 each. Veesaar had another double-double with 10 rebounds, and Dixon performed admirably in his first career start at point guard. Seth Trimble joined them in double figures with 12 points. Shots from the free throw line continued to be a big sore spot for UNC, as they went just 17-28 from the line. It didn’t feel like that would matter until it did when they were able to claw their way back into contention late. The Heels went 9-27 from beyond the arc while allowing 14 made threes from Cal.
Maybe returning to Chapel Hill will be better luck. Carolina takes on Notre Dame at the Dean Dome on Wednesday in hopes of snapping their losing streak.
