The North Carolina Tar Heels had every chance to win Wednesday night’s ACC basketball battle against Louisville.
The host Cardinals consistently missed the front ends on one-and-ones, allowing UNC golden transition opportunities. North Carolina couldn’t make perimeter shots once again, but neither could Louisville. The Tar Heels continued to close in on a bigger Cardinals team, but struggled to finish
Despite its numerous opportunities to win, UNC left the KFC Yum! Center with an 83-70 loss, its first in ACC play.
Perhaps the biggest reason North Carolina (8-6, 1-1 ACC) lost on New Year’s Day? Facing a 70-69 deficit after Ian Jackson’s free throw with five minutes remaining, the Tar Heels scored just ONE more point. Louisville (9-5, 2-1 ACC), on the contrary, scored 13 additional points.
UNC fought back from nine points behind in the second half, tying the game at 61, thanks to Jackson’s 3-pointer with 8:37 left in the second half. North Carolina tightened up the Cardinals’ ensuing possession, with Drake Powell grabbing a clutch rebound and giving his team a rare chance to take the lead.
RJ Davis stopped for a mid-range transition jumper that he missed just four seconds later. Louisville sharpshooter Reyne Smith then made a 3-pointer with 7:57 left, giving Louisville a lead it never relinquished.
The Tar Heels weren’t as fortunate as Smith from deep, making just 4 of 16 perimeter shots in what turned out to be a small factor. Jackson hit two of UNC’s four 3-pointers, while RJ Davis and Cade Tyson hit one each.
I’ve seen the Cardinals’ post players go over the heads – without fouling – of their smaller North Carolina counterparts on numerous occasions. Louisville had a field day powering James Scott, who finished his night with 11 points (mostly dunks) on 5-of-6 shooting.
We’re going back to the drawing board for our Tar Heels. Based on what we watched tonight, let us give you five reactions to UNC’s disappointing loss at Kentucky.
With RJ Davis struggling, UNC has no go-to person in end situations
We were hoping that going into the Louisville game, RJ Davis would have cured his early season shooting struggles. Davis shot at least 40 percent in UNC’s loss to Florida, the win over UCLA and the win over Campbell, including 50 percent in both the Florida and Campbell games.
When the final buzzer of the KFC Yum! At center, one thing was clear: Davis is still mired in his doldrums.
Despite making three free throw attempts, Davis shot just 4 of 14 from the field and finished with 12 points. That didn’t help North Carolina in its comeback attempt, with just one point in the final five minutes.
The Tar Heels have talented scorers on their roster, but none with the experience of RJ Davis. No one at UNC stepped up to lead them down the stretch, a worrying factor we’ve witnessed in other losses.
Size remains a major problem
More often than not, I’ve seen Louisville’s loft pass in the paint on smaller Tar Heels. As previously mentioned, seemingly every time the Cardinals had transition opportunities, they found James Scott, a 6’11” big man, for easy dunks.
North Carolina, a team that historically plays with its big players, doesn’t have that luxury this year. UNC flipped and missed out on a lot of experienced talent in the transfer portal, a concern I had that is coming back to haunt them.
The Tar Heels have the speed to make up for their lack of height, but it was the latter that hurt the Tar Heels in their first ACC loss.
Ian Jackson is a talent that UNC is extremely lucky to have
Without Ian Jackson this season, I don’t know if UNC would be playing basketball above .500. Jackson is becoming Chapel Hill’s best offensive player, scoring 20 points in three straight games.
Jackson’s third straight 20-point outing came against Louisville on Wednesday, as he scored 23 points on seven made shots and seven free throws.
If RJ Davis continues to struggle and the Tar Heels can’t make 3-pointers, Jackson will be relied upon even more for offensive production. North Carolina should be extremely lucky to have Jackson, who will turn pro if he continues to produce at his recent level.
UNC gets virtually no production from its big men
Jalen Washington was the closest post-production semblance UNC got on its roster Wednesday night, as Washington scored seven points (3-of-5 field goal, 1-of-1 free throw) and grabbed six rebounds, in 17 minutes of action.
Outside of Washington, North Carolina’s forwards and centers went 2-of-7 from the field in 24 minutes of action. Ven-Allen Lubin pulled down nine rebounds and blocked two shots, but made just one of five shot attempts.
The Tar Heels don’t have the luxury of Armando Bacot or Harrison Ingram, so they have to rely more on guard production. With guards outside of Ian Jackson struggling to contribute, UNC needs to get more out of its underperforming big men.
UNC had no answer for Louisville guards
What UNC had in Ian Jackson on Wednesday night, Louisville had in Chucky Hepburn and Reyne Smith.
Hepburn, the transfer from Wisconsin, torched North Carolina for 26 points. Hepburn drained five of eight shot attempts and, on a Cardinals team that struggled to make free throws, made 16 of 20 attempts.
Reyne Smith, the Charleston transfer who played 27 minutes off the bench, scored 17 points and drained four of Louisville’s six 3-pointers.
The Tar Heels couldn’t slow down the Cardinals guard — and it cost them a win.
This article was originally published on Tar Heels Wire: Instant Reactions to UNC Basketball’s 2025 Opening Loss at Louisville
