Jan. 17, 2026, 9:50 p.m. ET
North Carolina lost to California 84-78, marking its third loss in the last four games.The Tar Heels’ defense struggled, allowing California to shoot 62.5% from three-point range.UNC was outscored 18-10 in second-chance points despite the overall rebounding being tied.Derek Dixon scored nine of his 14 points in the second half to help UNC nearly erase a 20-point deficit.
North Carolina is going through its toughest patch of the season as it lost 84-78 against California on Saturday, its third loss in its last four games.
North Carolina is now 14-4 on the season and 2-3 in ACC play. Cal, on the other hand, improves to 14-5 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
The Tar Heels went 0-2 on their Bay Area road trip, something they couldn’t afford, especially given how tough the ACC is this season and their NET ranking getting lower due to their nonconference opponents struggling in their own respective conference slates. It also doesn’t look any better for Hubert Davis, as people were already questioning whether he could get it done as the head coach of his alma mater in his fifth season at the helm.
Here are three takeaways from UNC’s loss.
Groundhog DayÂ
UNC has shown once again it cannot stop anyone defensively. The Tar Heels allowed Cal to shoot 29-for-58 (50%) from the floor and 10-for-16 (62.5%) from 3-point range. UNC has surrendered a 40% clip from 3-point range for four straight games. Since the start of ACC play, opponents have hit 72 3-pointers against UNC — an average of 14.4 per game.
Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
It’s quite ironic that Cal shot as well as it did, as the Bears shot just 37% from the floor and 22% from beyond the arc in their 71-55 loss to Duke just a few days earlier. Going into Saturday, the Bears had made only 38.2% of their field goal attempts in their first five ACC games — second to last in the ACC — and 26.8% from beyond the arc, which ranks last. They also rank second to last in effective field goal percentage at 44.2%.
Cal’s John Camden, Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen combined for 58 points. The trio shot 55.5% from the field and 58.8% from 3-point range.
Free throws plagued Carolina once again as well, a common theme of the season even when the Tar Heels had success in the nonconference slate. They made only 60.7% of their free throws to Cal’s 75%. Considering the Bears are the best free throw shooting team in the ACC and how close this game was, it made all the difference in this one — along with UNC’s putrid defending as well.
Carolina Loses Rebounding Battle
While the rebounding battle was deadlocked at 34, Carolina effectively lost it. While UNC had two more offensive rebounds than Cal did, the Bears had 18 second-chance points to the Tar Heels’ 10. Going into the game, Cal had a 22.2% offensive rebound rate, last in the ACC.
Cal also outrebounded UNC on the defensive glass 26-24.
Derek Dixon’s Strong Second Half
Carolina was down by 20 points early in the second half but was able to pull within three in the final 20 seconds of the game. A large part of that was Dixon’s shooting. Dixon scored nine of his 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting, all of which came from 3-point range. He also dished out two assists. Dixon’s second-half point total was tied for the most on Carolina with Wilson.