By: George Ahearn

The UNC Tar Heels had one of the greater underdog title runs in recent memory last year, as the No. 8 seed entering the tournament made a magical run that ended at the hands of Kansas in the national title game. In only Hubert Davis’ first year at the helm, he led the Tar Heels back to the Final Four – leaving little doubt about Roy Williams’ successor. 

However, Davis’ second year as head coach hasn’t been all sunshine and roses.

The Tar Heels currently sit at 16-10 and ninth in the ACC following tonight’s home loss to No. 15 Miami. 

Yesterday’s loss to the ‘Canes should sound the alarms in Chapel Hill. Entering tonight’s matchup, bracketologist Joe Lunardi had the Tar Heels as a projected 11 seed despite their 0-8 record in Quad 1 matchups. 

At home – against a top-15 team – is the perfect opportunity to build your resume and build momentum. Yet, the Heels blundered, falling 80-72 in a game in which they shot five of 31 from behind the arc and 60% from the line. 

With five conference games remaining before postseason play, now’s the time for the ‘Heels to turn it up and keep their tournament hopes alive. They finish conference play with potential Q1 wins ahead, as they travel to No. 23 NC State, face No. 7 UVA at home and finish their season in Chapel Hill with a rematch against the Blue Devils.

So, what’s the fix for the Tar Heels moving forward? It starts with forgetting last year’s title run.

While last year’s run will forever be special in the Tar Heels hearts, this year’s team – despite keeping many key pieces – is not the same.

A large part of this comes from the departure of Brady Manek, yet the talent is still there for the Tar Heels – one of the best teams in the nation thanks to their three-headed monster of Armando Bacot, R.J. Davis and Caleb Love. 

If I were Hubert Davis, the first aspect of this team I would attempt to fix would be as follows: more R.J. Davis, and especially more of him in clutch time. While yes, Caleb Love has cemented his “clutch” UNC moment due to last year’s heroics in the tournament, Davis feels more composed in high-level situations when watching Carolina play. Obviously, do not turn away from Caleb Love – as the 17 ppg scorer remains a massive part of your offense – but reassure him that he doesn’t have to make every big-time shot. 

Outside of the stud backcourt duo, the Carolina frontcourt is stout. Forward Armando Bacot is acting like himself – averaging a classic Mondo 17 and 11 statline – and Leaky Black is a sure-fire first team All-ACC defender. However, where the Tar Heels truly miss help is in that other forward slot, where Brady Manek’s shoes are being filled by Northwestern transfer Pete Nance. 

Nance averaged an impressive 14 ppg at Northwestern and was highly-regarded in the transfer portal. While he still averages double-digits at Carolina, that same tenacious scorer hasn’t been present for this Hubert Davis squad. 

While their offense is still one of the top units in the conference, their defense is bottom-half in the ACC – giving up an unimpressive 72 ppg to opponents. Only Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Florida State and Louisville give up more points per game in the conference, and these teams own a combined record of 38-64. Clearly the ‘Heels need to increase their tenacity on the defensive end if they want to turn their season around and return to the Final Four.

The issues are obvious with the Tar Heels, but do not get me wrong – UNC talent-wise is still undoubtedly tournament-worthy. They simply need a shift in mindset, and that starts with Hubert Davis.

The man that rallied last year’s team to the Final Four – when nobody believed they had the ability – needs to fire his squad up for the final stretch.

More tenacity, more driving to the rim, more movement, more discipline. These are the things that are necessary for North Carolina. While these are all losing-team qualities, they’re all fixable simultaneously.

This Tar Heels team is immensely talented, and no team with three 15+ scorers and this experience should miss the tournament. Hopefully, Davis, Bacot and Love realize the urgency this team is facing and will end their last season all together on a positive note.

I expect Hubert Davis to hone in on these facets of his team and see his Tar Heels make another run to the tournament.