GREENSBORO — North Carolina did not make enough shots down the stretch against Texas, and it ultimately doomed them in their 78-76 loss to the Longhorns in Greensboro Coliseum.
Nursing a five-point advantage with five and a half minutes left, a few well-timed baskets or defensive stops could have sent the Longhorns home with a loss, but the Tar Heels went three for their last eight down the stretch.
“Texas made shots,” John Henson said. “That’s really all I can say about that. They made big time shots. We did as well, but they made more than us.”
The Longhorns’ six field goals in the same time span were enough to grab a win.
“We throw a long pass, we don’t catch it, we missed a layup, and two straight free throws on a two shot foul,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “Those things hurt.”
Texas scored on their final three possessions, and erased a three point deficit in just 1:45.
“The ball’s not going to go in all the time, but what you have to do is get the ball back on defense,” guard Dexter Strickland said. “We didn’t play that well defensively as we should have.”
Down by one, Tyler Zeller got the ball in the low block. He had converted on both of his previous two isolation plays down low. He initially faked right, and the Texas defender bit on the fake, putting him out of position when Zeller pivoted left and shot a left-handed hook shot.
It looked like Zeller was going to score again, dragging UNC into the winner’s circle himself, but then his four-foot hook shot rattled in and out, and Texas grabbed the rebound. Suddenly, instead of trading baskets, Texas finally had control of the game with just 27 seconds left on the play clock.
