Tar Heels’ struggles continue with road loss at Louisville

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Jan 1, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward James Scott (0) dunks against North Carolina Tar Heels forward Jae’Lyn Withers (24) and forward Jalen Washington (13) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

The North Carolina Tar Heels basketball program doesn’t appear to have the “new year, new me” mindset as the calendar has flipped to 2025.

The Tar Heels struggled to open up the 2025 calendar year, falling to Louisville 83-70 on the road Wednesday night. After North Carolina battled back in the second half to tie the game at 61, the Tar Heels struggled to get stops and allowed a quick 5-0 run from the Cardinals as they re-gained the lead.

From there, UNC had no chance.

Louisville outscored the Tar Heels 22-9 since the game was tied at 61, getting past UNC for their second ACC win of the season. Meanwhile, UNC fell to 8-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

As has become the norm, the Tar Heels fell behind early due to poor shooting, lack of consistency on offense, and some struggles on defense for them. They trailed 37-31 at the break and then fell behind in the second half by as many as 11.

UNC also had Drake Powell and Elliot Cadeau in foul trouble for most of that second half before fouling out.

As UNC continued to battle back despite the disappointing start, they were led by freshman Ian Jackson once again. Jackson had his third-straight game of 20-plus points, finishing with 23 points to lead the Tar Heels. But he and fellow freshman Drake Powell (14 points) were really the only offensive threats for the Tar Heels on Wednesday.

RJ Davis struggled again, shooting 4-of-14 from the field with just 12 points in the game. Those three were the only players in double figures as the Tar Heels shot 40 percent from the field overall and 25 percent from the three-point line.

The struggles continued again in the post with Jalen Washington, Ven Allen-Lubin, Ty Claude, and Jae’Lyn Withers combining for 14 total points and 20…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/tar-heels-struggles-continue-road-020822200.html

Author : Tar Heels Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-02 02:08:00

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