Lucas: No Stopping – University of North Carolina Athletics

SYRACUSE—It all kept coming back to defense.
                  
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s 86-79 loss at Syracuse, Hubert Davis quickly identified what he saw as the biggest issue in the defeat:
                  
“Tonight,” he said on the Tar Heel Sports Network, “we weren’t able to guard them one on one.”
                  
He was right, of course. The Orange shot an incredible 62.5 percent from the field. It’s just the second time since 1985 that a Tar Heel opponent shot at least 62 percent. 
                  
It felt like a three-point barrage, but it was just as damaging inside the arc. Sure, they did hit eight of 17 three-point attempts, just over 47 percent accuracy. And then, after Carolina had fought all the way back to finally take a one-point lead and finally have a decent defensive possession, they did get what felt like a soul-crushing three-pointer banked in by JJ Starling with 6:45 to play. 
                  
The Tar Heels would never lead again after that basket. 
                  
But that was a fluky three points. What wasn’t fluky was the way Syracuse consistently scored in the second half, converting nine-of-13 from two-point range in the final 20 minutes.
                  
“They were running middle ball screens,” Davis said. “At the end of the day, they were going one on one against us and were able to score.”
                  
There were other concerns. On one of the rare sequences when the Tar Heels were able to force a missed Orange field goal, with the visitors trailing by four and 2:05 remaining, Carolina couldn’t secure the defensive rebound. That possession turned into yet another trip to the free throw line for Syracuse, where they stretched the lead again.
                  
That was one of four Tar Heel turnovers in the final 2:02 of the game. It’s very hard to win a close game that way. It’s very hard to win a close game on the road that way. It’s very, very hard to win a close game on the road while the opponent shoots 62.5 percent that way.
                  
The eye-popping offensive numbers were almost exclusively a product of breakdowns from the Carolina half-court defense. Remember, this is a team that was suffocating opponents just a month ago. That isn’t happening anymore.
                  
The box score says Syracuse had nine fast break points. That’s not really true. The Orange had two fast break points for the first 39 minutes of the game, then piled up seven late from free throws that were considered “fast break” tallies.
                  
So, in other words, Syracuse put up 86 points, and did it almost exclusively in the half court. 
                  
“You have to take a challenge of an individual one-on-one matchup and win that,” Davis said. “You have to be physical and impactful on the ball without fouling.”
                  
Again, Syracuse piled up some late free throws through the Tar Heels fouling to extend the game. But even before that sequence, they held a 17-11 edge in free throws attempted (on the way to attempting 25 for the game). 
                  
It’s worth noting that those figures are part of the fewest free throws the Tar Heels have attempted in a game this season—Carolina never made it into the bonus in the second half, a sign of a lack of aggression attacking the rim. But that doesn’t have anything to do with defense, which is what the head coach really wanted to talk about.
                  
“The stretch where we won ten games in a row, our defense was tight,” he said. “Not that it’s not tight right now, but it needs to be tighter.”
                  
Frustratingly, it’s now three straight midweek losses and any lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference has evaporated. 
                  
But Davis didn’t want to talk about any big-picture items as snow started to fall on yet another cold Syracuse night.
                  
“It’s the little details of being in the right position, talking on defense, boxing out, and defending without fouling,” he said. “We have to clean up those little things that make big things happen.”