The North Carolina Tar Heels dropped their fifth game of the 2024-25 season on Tuesday night when they blew a late lead against the Florida Gators.
The undefeated Gators trailed by four points with four minutes left on the clock, but Florida outscored UNC 13-3 over the final stretch to secure an eleventh straight win.
North Carolina, in desperate need of a statement victory after its slow start, went 5/28 (17.9%) from behind the arc for another inefficient performance. RJ Davis, the preseason ACC Player of the Year, put up 29 points after he went 10/19 (52.6%) from the floor, but he made just three of his 11 3-point tries.
UNC’s other four starters went a combined one-for-nine from distance, and the Gators outrebounded the Tar Heels 46-36 to take advantage.
North Carolina has only played one conference game thus far, a 68-65 home win over Georgia Tech last weekend, so it isn’t out of the ACC race yet. However, the early returns look concerning for a Tar Heels team that wanted to battle Duke for the conference crown.