It’s been a frustrating and disappointing season in Chapel Hill. From alums to fans, everyone’s struggling to come to terms with North Carolina’s 13-10 record. And, to make matters worse, they recently dropped a huge rivalry game. But, despite all the disappointment, Coach Hubert Davis sees a silver lining, and so do a few others, including Isaac Schade, a national reporter who covers UNC basketball. According to him, there’s still hope. Want to know why? 

So, Schade pointed out that the Tar Heels shot a whopping 64.3% from the field in the second half, hitting 18 out of 28 shots and even 50% from beyond the arc. Now, it wasn’t enough to win, but the Blue Devils were up 32 points with about 9 minutes to go, leading 77-45. 

And then, UNC went on a 25-10 run, cutting Duke’s lead in half. “During that 18-2 run, Carolina literally cuts the Duke lead in half,” the reporter added.

Look, we already know that UNC came into this game against Duke as the underdogs. Sure, they’d won three of the last four matchups at Cameron Indoor, but they were on a losing streak, having dropped three of their last four games. Meanwhile, Duke was riding a 14-game win streak. So, it’s no surprise that Duke jumped out to a 16-0 start and never really looked back.

Still, credit where it’s due—UNC didn’t give up. They clawed their way back and showed some heart, even against the second-ranked team in the nation. After the game, Coach Davis wasn’t entirely down about the loss. In fact, Schade shared on the ‘Locked on Tar Heels’ podcast that Coach Davis was actually proud of his team’s fight, especially in that second half. 

He said something along the lines of how the team needs to focus on how they respond to adversity because that’s all they can control. All they can do is regroup as a team to practice moving forward toward the home stretch. The podcast host totally agreed with Coach Davis’s message, saying, “I’m right with Coach Davis.” 

He explained, “We saw it and we felt it in real time… this is about Carolina finding things to do to make themselves respectable down the stretch so that they could look themselves in the mirror and say we played till the final whistle. And they did.”

He acknowledged that, while the future is uncertain, the team’s determination gave him hope for what lies ahead. 

Looking ahead, UNC doesn’t have a midweek game, which gives them some much-needed time to regroup before taking on Pittsburgh at home. That game will be a rematch after a tough 8-point loss to the Panthers earlier in January.

 So, yes, there’s still a chance for them to turn things around—especially now that they know exactly where they’ve been going wrong. But that would only be possible if they break their strange pattern, which has been going on for a long time. 

What’s really holding back coach Hubert Davis & Co.?

Coach Hubert Davis has been pretty vocal about the team’s issues, especially turnovers. The numbers don’t lie—14 turnovers against Duke led to 19 points for the Blue Devils. The Tar Heels HC admitted it’s been a recurring issue, with unforced turnovers and poor shot selection being key factors. 

Additionally, North Carolina’s struggles have looked a little different since the start of the new year, but the maddening pattern that’s been haunting them all season is that they just can’t seem to put together two solid halves.

Back in November and December (and vs Duke), it was all about falling behind early. Then since this new year, it’s kind of flipped on its head. Instead of coming out sluggish, the Tar Heels have been playing some solid first halves, getting themselves ahead, but then they let it all slip away. 

And, while the loss to Duke was a little different, the overall theme hasn’t changed. They still couldn’t put together two solid halves, and they couldn’t close it out. It’s like watching the same old song and dance, and it’s getting frustrating.

Most importantly, it’s impacting their NCAA tournament chances. Back in December, UNC was solidly in the mix for a tournament spot. But now they’re fighting just to stay in the bubble, and honestly, it looks like a tough place to be for them now.

For now, let’s hope they can figure it out soon because time’s running out for them to get back on track.