Takeaways from UNC’s Sweet Sixteen Game

Mar 29

LOS ANGELES, C.A.—The No.1 seeded UNC fell to the No. 4 seed Alabama in a close game, sending North Carolina home early while the Crimson Tide advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time ever.

In a heartbreaking 89-87 loss to the Tide, UNC was left speechless. After a solid first half by both teams, the Tar Heels led by eight points. Unfortunately, the Heels fell apart in the final minutes of the second half and could not put all the pieces together to pull out a win.

“Off” Day

This North Carolina team was having an off day for a game that they unfortunately could not be off for. Senior guard RJ Davis did not make any of his nine three-point attempts, a very rare statistic for him. He finished the night with 16 points, half of them through free throws. Alabama’s defense guarded Davis heavily and Grant Nelson even blocked Davis’ layup attempt late in the game, which secured Alabama’s lead.

Poor Shooting

The second half for the Tar Heels could be described with two words: poor shooting. UNC shot 25 percent as a team in the second half, which is its worst shooting performance in a half in an NCAA Tournament game since their 2012 Elite Eight game against Kansas and was a season-low.

The Killer

The defining play of the game happened with Alabama up by four with less than 10 seconds left. The Tide forced a UNC shot clock violation with 8.6 seconds left and sealed the win.

“At the end of the day, they made down the stretch more plays than us. And unfortunately, we came out on the short end,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said.

Career End for Bacot

Graduate center Armando Bacot played his last game for UNC against Alabama. He finished the night with his 87th double-double—19 points and 12 rebounds. He will go down in UNC basketball history as the second-leading scorer in UNC history and the all-time leader in rebounds, offensive rebounds and double-doubles. Bacot said this was the “best team I’ve ever played on” and that there was a lot of camaraderie and love within the team.

Lots of Emotion

This loss was a shock for many people, especially the players. It is easy for the players to blame the loss on their mistakes, and many UNC guys did. Bacot and Jae’Lyn Withers were emotional in the locker room talking about their crucial missed opportunities—the missed dunk by Bacot and a short three-point attempt by Withers. In the press conference, Davis was emotional and had to put his head down, disappointed with himself. Graduate Cormac Ryan took that time to defend his teammates.

“We would not be in this position without RJ Davis and Armando Bacot,” Ryan said. “Carolina wouldn’t be in this position without these two guys.”

North Carolina’s season has come to a devastating end and will be losing several key players including Bacot, Ryan and Paxson Wojcik. Davis has yet to say if he will be staying for his fifth year or entering the NBA draft. Despite the loss, UNC still has a lot to be proud of this season and the preparation for next season starts now.

Shannen Horan