After a 20-point comeback, UNC men's basketball comes up short against No. 1 Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Elliot Cadeau punched the bench.

After throwing up a last-ditch heave from the 3-point line to try to tie it, the ball bounced off the inside of the rim. Almost, but not enough. 

Cadeau's teammates huddled around him, patting him. He bowed his head. Junior guard Seth Trimble draped his arm over Cadeau’s shoulders as the two walked toward the handshake line, while the sophomore guard pulled his jersey over his face. 

“[I told him] he’ll be alright,” Trimble said. “He was very emotional. He missed the shot. I think he kind of let his emotions get the best of him at that moment. Rightfully so, if I missed a shot in that moment, I might have the same reaction.”

An improbable second-half comeback against No. 1 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse — overcoming a once-20 point deficit — came up just short, 92-89, on Friday night. In the final two minutes, a poetic ending in sight, No. 9 North Carolina couldn’t connect with the basket when it mattered most.  

Graduate guard RJ Davis looked up at the scoreboard before halftime.

The sight unearthed a familiar feeling: a reverse scenario of the 2022 national championship game, down to the exact same point differential. This time, it was North Carolina facing the 15-point deficit. 

RJ Davis is the only remaining player from the 2022 run. He remembers the tears after the buzzer sounded two years ago and rewatching the game over and over the following season. The mirrored scene on Friday sparked chatter in the locker room. It motivated him. 

And for the next 18 minutes, the Tar Heels were near something close to vengeance — not quite national championship stakes, but at least an upset over the nation’s top-ranked team. 

Defensive intensity increased. North Carolina attacked the basket and limited turnovers. Graduate forward Jae’Lyn Withers knocked down eight straight points to give UNC its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. 

Then, the offense faltered. 

“We just didn’t execute,” head coach Hubert Davis said. “We didn’t make the shot.”

A minute and a half to go, down 91-89, Cadeau found a wide-open Withers for another 3-pointer attempt from the wing. The ball ricocheted off the rim and out of bounds. Withers clapped his hands together. 

With 45 seconds left, the score still the same, RJ Davis slung a pass to junior forward Jalen Washington at the same exact location on the right wing. Washington released over the outstretched arms of Kansas center Hunter Dickinson. Again, nothing. 

“The defense rattled us a little bit,” RJ Davis said. “They began switching and we just didn’t get the shots off in time.”

Cadeau dribbled the ball up the court for one last try. 

Two years ago, UNC was one rebound away from a NCAA championship trophy. 

On Friday, it was one shot away from a chance to stay in a top-ten game a little longer. 

With 0.3 seconds on the clock, the sophomore guard dribbled on the wing. He finally created open space from Dickinson. One last hurl in front of the UNC bench. 

“Elliot got a great look,” Trimble said. “Honestly, it looked good from where I was. It just didn’t fall.”

Like the rest of the shots in the final two minutes: Almost, but not enough.

“I wish we made one more three,” Hubert Davis said. “But we just didn’t.” 

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