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North Carolina

Hubert Davis calls out belief that North Carolina's offense was stagnant vs. Wake Forest

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•about 9 hours•

BarkleyTruax

Hubert Davis
© Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

North Carolina‘s 67-66 loss to Wake Forest on Tuesday night was the Tar Heels’ lowest scoring total in a loss this season.

North Carolina shot 8 of 32 from behind the 3-point line during the loss and only went to the free throw line six times during the game’s entirety, shooting 60% (6 of 10) on those attempts. After the game, UNC head coach Hubert Davis pushed back on the notion that his offense stalled out down the stretch.

“I disagree. I don’t think the offense was stagnant,” Davis said. “I think we had some open shots and we had some good looks. And sometimes shots go in, sometimes they don’t.”

North Carolina led by as many as nine points during the low-scoring matchup. However, after Jae’Lyn Withers nailed a 3-point basket to put the Tar Heels up 54-53, the Demon Deacons went on a 12-2 run that ultimately ended up being the difference in the game.

Davis attributed this run to North Carolina being unable to adapt quickly enough to Wake Forest’s 1-3-1 zone defense. In the end, UNC wouldn’t be able to come back from the second-half run.

“I don’t think it throws off the rhythm,” Davis said of Wake Forest’s mid-game shift to zone defense. “We were prepared for it. Honestly, I was surprised. I thought they were going to play more of that, and we were prepared for it. We had open looks, and we had open looks against Stanford and for whatever reason, it didn’t go in.

“Congratulations to Wake Forest, a terrific team and extremely well-coached. They only hit two 3-pointers, and their two 3-pointers were made by their statistically worst 3-point shooters. So again, it comes down to makes and misses.”

Davis wasn’t pleased with the free throw discrepancy during the contest, either. North Carolina shot 6 of 10 (60%) from the line during the contest while Wake Forest shot 21 of 27 (77.8%). UNC did not shoot a single free throw during the second half, much to the frustration of the Tar Heels’ head coach.

The Tar Heels will look to clean up their game and get back to their winning ways when they take on Boston College at home. The opening tip-off is set for Saturday at 2:15 p.m. ET live on the CW Network.