The North Carolina Tar Heels continue to struggle their way through college basketball season, with their latest debacle coming on New Year’s Day, in an 83-70 loss at Louisville.
UNC (8-6, 1-1 ACC) came back from nine down in the second half Wednesday night, tying the Cardinals at 61 on an Ian Jackson 3-pointer.
Fast forward a bit – and North Carolina only scores one point over the final five minutes. The Tar Heel big men struggled once again, highlighted by a rough stretch late from Ven-Allen Lubin (foul, three quick Louisville free throws).
We hoped UNC finally turned a corner entering Wednesday’s ACC battle, thanks to upsetting UCLA before Christmas and beating Campbell comfortably after it, but UNC instead looked like a team that won’t make the NCAA Tournament.
According to Rob Harrington, an InsideCarolina contributor and college basketball analyst, North Carolina needs to win its next two games – at Notre Dame (January 4) and vs. SMU (January 7) – to even have a shot at the Big Dance.
“There are a lot of games to play that would do wonders for their (Tar Heels) resume,” Harrington said on InsideCarolina’s “The Postgame” show. “They’re probably two wins in a row away from us having a different tone. If they win two in a row, they start to feel good about themselves. Can they put together two in a row? Of course, they have to get one first. The next two are winnable. They need to win them both. If they slump to a 1-3 start (in ACC play), then it’s hard to see them digging out of it. The team already looks like they’re teetering in terms of confidence. They need to make sure that they stay above water. Win the next two, and then we can start having a more positive discussion.”
Despite the Tar Heels’ inability to piece together momentum this year, Harrington is right: their next two games are winnable.
UNC next faces a Notre Dame (7-6, 1-1 ACC) squad that, despite beating 11-2 Georgetown, slumped through a 5-game losing streak earlier this season. Notre Dame most recently lost to an average Georgia Tech squad, 86-75, on the road New Year’s Eve.
SMU (11-2, 2-0 ACC) is a beatable opponent, but the Mustangs already beat a pair of 11-win teams in LSU and Washington State. North Carolina will face SMU at home, but it’ll need a lot more than a home-court advantage to win.
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