North Carolina fell to 6-5 on the season and 0-4 against ranked opponents with their 90-84 loss to Florida. It was another slow start for the Tar Heels against the Gators, falling behind by 17 in the first half.
They battled back and even took the lead with under five minutes to go in the second half. But UNC couldn’t close it out as poor rebounding, late-game execution and more doomed the Tar Heels, again. And now, they are still left searching for answers.
With that loss, the Tar Heels also fell in the NET rankings. They went from No. 36 to No. 37 with that loss and although it’s just one spot, the team is trending in the wrong direction.
The glaring note on the NET rankings is that UNC is 1-5 in Quad 1 games, with that only win coming against Dayton in the Maui Invitational. UNC had to come back from double-digits to win that game as well.
UNC has the chance for another Quad 1 win when they face off against UCLA on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic. But after that, there won’t be many more opportunities this season.
The ACC is having another down year and outside of the two games against Duke, there will be limited opportunities for UNC as of now. So this game against UCLA feels like a must-win.
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