The North Carolina Tar Heels have lost their second straight conference game. This time, they fell 84-78 to California in a game in which they never led for a single second.
UNC officially has a losing record in ACC play, and it looks like it will only get worse based on the remaining schedule. What once was a promising season has quickly taken a turn for the worse.
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Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from UNC’s loss to Cal.
Good: Derek Dixon
Freshman Derek Dixon got his first career start, and he delivered. He finished the game with 14 points and three assists. Dixon shot 4-for-8 from 3-point range and was the only UNC player to hit more than one 3-pointer in the game.
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Kyan Evans started every game prior to this one so far this season. Evans has averaged just under six points per game this year. He played only 10 minutes against Cal and finished with zero points and two turnovers.
Bad: Fundamentals
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For as poorly as this game went for UNC, if the Tar Heels make their free throws, they win. UNC shot 17-for-28 from the free-throw line and lost by six points. For as much chatter as there is around head coach Hubert Davis, the free-throw woes are not on him. It was a lack of focus from the team as a whole.
The Tar Heels took care of the ball throughout nonconference play, but they have looked like a completely different team since conference play began. UNC has committed double-digit turnovers in every game since the start of the new year. Against Cal, the Tar Heels had 11 turnovers.
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It was an all-around poor performance from the Tar Heels in every aspect of the game.
Ugly: Defense
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The defense was once again ugly, and it is unfortunately becoming a theme for UNC. Shooters were left wide open, back cuts were constant and there was a clear lack of urgency.
Cal shot 54% from 3-point range and had three players score 19 points or more. Once UNC fell behind by double digits with around five minutes remaining, the Tar Heels finally showed some fight.
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UNC went to full-court pressure and trapped consistently, which led to multiple forced turnovers. That pressure helped UNC cut the lead to four points with a few minutes left to play. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, that was all they had left in the tank.
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