By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina had built momentum with a strong start to the season before an abrupt four-game downturn, one notably marked by a complete inability to defend the arc.
The 22nd-ranked Tar Heels don’t have a lot of time to fix problems, either, not with the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule about to get tougher.
UNC visits No. 14 Virginia on Saturday, its first matchup against a ranked league opponent and one of six games ahead currently ranked as a Quadrant 1 matchup that tops a postseason résumé for March Madness. That trip to face the Cavaliers comes a week after UNC closed an 0-2 cross-country trip to play Stanford and California, two games that highlighted some of the defensive struggles of late.
“The No. 1 thing from last week for us was, there were multiple possessions where we were making mistakes in back-to-back possessions,” coach Hubert Davis said after Wednesday’s win over Notre Dame. “We would turn the ball over, not get back on defense, give up a 3. We would get to the free throw line, miss two free throws, come down, give an and-1.
“I felt like last week, we were letting one play affect us on the other end to the next play.”
Defensive troubles
The Tar Heels (15-4, 3-3) have shown promise. There was a rousing early win against Kansas and potential No. 1 NBA draft pick Darryn Peterson. There was a win at Kentucky without senior and top defender Seth Trimble.
And after beating Florida State to open ACC play, the Tar Heels had their first 13-1 start since the 2008-09 season.
Yet trouble soon emerged.
First came a loss at SMU in which the Mustangs shot 60% — including 20 of 28 for 71.4% after halftime — and nearly scored 100 points. The Tar Heels followed in a white-knuckle final few minutes to edge Wake Forest in a high-scoring meeting.
Then came the trip out west. First the Tar Heels squandered a double-digit, second-half lead while watching Cardinal freshman Ebuka Okorie go for a season-high 36 points in a 95-90 loss. Three days later, the Golden Bears shot nearly 56% and hit 10 3-pointers to build a 17-point halftime lead then held off UNC’s frantic comeback.
By the time the Tar Heels faced Notre Dame, UNC had allowed five ACC opponents to make 70 of 156 3-pointers for an average of 14 made per game. That 44.9% success rate was worse than all but three of 365 Division I teams (North Dakota, Coppin State and Louisiana-Lafayette) in that same span, according to SportRadar.
The Fighting Irish managed to shoot well from outside early in Wednesday’s game, but Notre Dame went just 2 of 13 on 3s after halftime and finished the game at 8 for 25 (32%).
The trick now is turning that into more than just a one-game bump.
“It kind of helped us get back in the zone … and kind of build everybody’s confidence,” big man Henri Veesaar said afterward. “I think today everybody was a little bit nervous before the game even, I could say, because we had just lost two and we were like, ‘What are we doing wrong?’”
Making corrections
Alabama transfer Jarin Stevenson said multiple things were emphasized defensively in recent film sessions. He mentioned defensive communication while handling pick-and-roll plays to avoid getting dragged down lower into the paint. There was doing a better job in closing out on shooters or pressuring the ball on the perimeter, with a goal of “just making the offense uncomfortable.”
That wasn’t much of a problem against the Fighting Irish, who have struggled badly since leading scorer Markus Burton was lost to left-ankle surgery in early December. But future opponents won’t be nearly as limited; Virginia, for example, ranks 17th in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency in KenPom’s analytics rankings.
Freshman star Caleb Wilson felt there was at least one takeaway from the Notre Dame win: The Tar Heels made a determined effort to turn the game into a blowout, then did so in a 91-69 win.
“It’s more about pride with us now,” Wilson said. “Our coach can say whatever you want. I hate the people that try to blame Hubert for our lapses. But our coach is teaching us the right thing.
“It’s all about our effort and us playing as hard as we can. Coach can only do so much. We’re the ones out there playing.”