We all knew North Carolina wouldn’t go undefeated but for a split second, every Tar Heel fan had flashbacks to last years season ending loss to Auburn. Michigan was up 24 points, that included a 19-0 run, and on the verge of blowing the Tar Heels out.
But, unlike the Auburn game, this Tar Heel team staged a comeback and got within eight before settling for a 73-64 loss to the Wolverines.
Michigan shot a staggering 50% for the game. The Wolverines were able to get basketball in transition while shooting almost 50% from the three point line.
Bacot and Brooks Struggles
Arnaldo Bacot and Garrison Brooks needed to have a performance close to yesterday’s and it came to fruition. They combined for an inefficient 19 points, 14 rebounds and 6 turnovers. Brooks was 1-4 from the free throw line.
What was a bit concerning is both struggled in the lane against length. There was too much hesitating, double clutching and overall uncertainty from both players. According to Statbroadcast, the two combined for 7 missed layups.
Three Point Shooting
This is going to be an issue in most, if not all, of North Carolina’s losses. The Tar Heels shot 2-13 from the three point line. Both were made by Cole Anthony. The disturbing trend is the number of three pointers being attempted. The Tar Heels attempted 13 three pointers today, 14 yesterday against Alabama.
That number needs to increase within the natural action of the offense. On paper, you can say the Tar Heels are playing to their strength but realistically, the numbers are what they are because, guys are afraid to shoot it.
Lack of “Step-Up”
The Tar Heels aren’t going to win many games against quality opponents if they only have two players in double digits. It also can’t alway be the same three guys. Bacot scored six points. That’s going to happen. If Brandon Robinson is going to score nine points then you can’t have Leaky Black, Andrew Platek, and Christian Keeling combine for nine points. What’s even more disturbing is Black, Platek and Keeling combined for a combined eight shot attempts.
