UNC basketball ended its 10-game winning streak in a “trap game” at unranked Georgia Tech ahead of Saturday night’s rivalry game against now-No. 9 Duke. Rather than build on their home win over the Blue Devils, the No. 3 Tar Heels (18-5, 10-2 ACC) struggled against unranked Clemson (15-7, 5-6 ACC) on Tuesday night.
Sure, UNC overcame a 15-2 deficit to the Tigers in the Dean E. Smith Center, where Clemson had previously won only once, as the Tar Heels outscored the visitors 74-65 the rest of the way. Nonetheless, Hubert Davis’ third team in Chapel Hill never led and eventually lost 80-76, leaving fans astounded by the effort.
Several players later told the media that the team’s focus had been lacking this week, citing an abysmal practice on Monday, a lackluster shootaround on Tuesday morning, and some inexcusable late arrivals to pre-game warmups.
“We got what we deserved,” said fifth-year UNC center Armando Bacot, who led the team with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Speaking of inexcusable lethargy, that was the overarching theme of Davis’ post-game press conference, as the 53-year-old seeks more passion from his team in preparation for the rest of their schedule.
“It’s how you react and respond,” Davis explained. “We’ll get back to work. And, as I previously stated, you have two options: whine, complain, point fingers, and make excuses, or get back up, move forward, and join the fight.
“For us, there’s never a choice. It’s necessary for us to get back up, so let’s get to work.”
