The trip to Portland, Oregon was not a fun one for the UNC basketball program, as they end the weekend with two consecutive losses.
Frustrating.
Not sure there’s a better word to describe the UNC basketball program’s most recent loss to No.18 ranked Alabama.
It took four, yes, FOUR overtimes to settle this one, with the Tar Heels coming up short.
Final/OT
North Carolina Tar Heels
101
Alabama Crimson Tide
103
There’s a lot to digest with this game, as it ends up serving as another disappointing loss for Hubert Davis’ team.
North Carolina dealt with foul trouble early, as Davis mixed and matched with multiple role players. It got to the point where Will Shaver made his debut and scored two points on free throws late in the first half.
The foul trouble continued, as Pete Nance picked up his fourth personal early in the second half. Both teams were hampered by foul trouble, but surprisingly, no one fouled out of this game.
As 40 minutes wasn’t enough to settle this one, overtime was sort of like deja vu all over again. The Tar Heels had plenty of chances to win the game, but selfish basketball took over, especially in the final minutes.
Instead of moving the basketball, we saw Caleb Love isolated near half-court, as the junior guard seemed to force shots that led to additional overtime periods. Even though he scored a career-high 34 points, it took him 36 to do so.
To put it into perspective, the Tar Heels backcourt of Love and RJ Davis took 56 shots total, only making 21 of them. The rest of the team took 35 shots (21 less) and made 17 of those attempts.
Let’s jump to the end of the fourth overtime period. With just under 10 seconds to play, Love attempted a floater that was originally called a goaltend. The referees, who were questionable on both sides all game, went to the monitor and overruled it, stating that an “inadvertent whistle was blown.”
Meanwhile, those watching at home saw the referee signal for the goaltending.
With no one recovering the blocked shot, the referees decided to award the ball to the team with the possession arrow, which, of course, was Alabama.
As Rasheed Wallace famously said, “the ball doesn’t lie,” as Seth Trimble came in and made a big play to force the Crimson Tide to knock the inbounds pass out of bounds.
Unfortunately, the Tar Heels would lose yet another opportunity, as Pete Nance threw the inbounds pass to an area with no North Carolina players in sight, setting up an opportunity for the…
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