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BC-UNC Concerns

The Tar Heels didn't get off to such a hot start Saturday versus B.C.
The Tar Heels didn't get off to such a hot start Saturday versus B.C.

CHAPEL HILL – Picking apart North Carolina’s 89-62 victory over Boston College on Saturday at the Smith Center will reveal some rather unbecoming stuff on the Tar Heels’ part.

They just weren’t sharp in stretches and weren’t anywhere close to their so-called A game. That makes four consecutive games that can be said.

But, the Heels did a lot of nice things, and the Positives note, and really, it’s really hard to get carried away over some things that didn’t go well in a 27-point victory. So, here are a few things that didn’t go the Heels’ way Satruday:

First 15 Minutes – The Heels were just not very sharp or effective on offense and made some blunders on the defensive side of the ball. They missed their first 8 free throw attempts and were 3-12 at one point before hitting their final two of the half. They also weren’t hitting from the floor while BC converted 4 of its first 6 3-pinters and were hanging around, occasionally taking the lead.

Now, this BC team came into the game with an RPI of 215 and the Eagles lost two of their top six players earlier this week. They dressed just 10 players. So, this start by the Tar Heels was rather discouraging, especially when you consider UNC had not been playing all that well in recent weeks. There was plenty of motivation to come out on fire until one considers human nature. Getting the heavily favored Heels up for BC when a trip at Louisville 48 hours later is an awfully big task.

UNC led only 24-23 with 6:58 to play in the half before erupting on a 15-0 run.

Free Throws – So, what it going on here? The Heels have been a very good free throw shooting team all season, but Saturday they missed their first 8 and 1-10 before finishing the game 11-22. But this wasn’t just a one-time deal. In the last four games, Saturday included, UNC is 63-100 from the line.

14-4 Run – UNC should have put away the Eagles early in the second half, especially after BC missed its first 5 shot attempts of the half. But a 14-4 BC run kept the Eagles within striking distance and at least feeling pretty decent about themselves. It was 57-44 with 10:50 left.


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