UNC men's basketball lack of voice leads to defensive collapse against Alabama

Hubert Davis shared a message with his team in the days leading up to UNC's game against Alabama. 

It's no secret the head coach likes his players to be loud and have emotion. Their personalities should be on full display.

For a team to have an identity, it has to have a voice. 

And that's exactly what the head coach told his team heading into what became a must-win game for the Tar Heels following two consecutive losses in the Maui Invitational. 

"You can't be quiet in a game like this," Davis said. "Your personality in your game cannot be quiet. It just can't and what is required is to empty the tank in every area."

But the Tar Heels were silent. In a 94-79 loss to No. 10 Alabama, No. 20 North Carolina allowed 90 or more points for the fourth time this season. Before 2024-25, Davis' team only allowed 90 or more points five times across his tenure. North Carolina's opponents have scored at least 40 first-half points in four consecutive games for the first time since 2004-05, resulting in the team's fewest wins through the first eight games of a season since 2002-03.

Although the Tar Heels out-rebounded the Crimson Tide, 42-40, sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau — the shortest player on the court — led the team with six for the first time in his career.  

Last year, Davis coached his team to a No. 1-seed in the NCAA tournament built on possessing one of the best adjusted defensives in the country. He always had center Armando Bacot — who has played throughout the coach's tenure — and the addition of forward Harrison Ingram last season gave the Tar Heels much needed size on the interior. Bacot is UNC's all-time rebounding leader while Ingram led the ACC in rebounding during conference play.

Not only are the Tar Heels missing these defensive pieces, but Davis is still working to find these replacements for the two players. He subbed almost every media timeout, attempting to find a group of five that could create stops and display that emotion. 

Still, despite all this, North Carolina appeared to have changed in the opening minutes. 

The Tar Heels forced the Crimson Tide to shoot after the shot clock dwindled to five seconds. During Alabama's second offensive possession, junior center Jalen Washington fought desperately for possession. Alabama turned the ball over on their next attempt. 

UNC players were active. They were talking. They applied pressure. 

"I didn't feel like Alabama felt us," Davis said. "I think they did the first two and half [to] three minutes of the game. I felt like we had a good defensive presence, a physical presence on the ball. Our communication was really good, and from there, it just dropped."

As quickly as UNC started, apparent changes returned to the same old routine. Flashes of greatness, but nothing consistent. 

After Cadeau missed while driving to the rim with 15 minutes remaining in the first half, the Tar Heels worked to get back in transition. Alabama guard Mark Sears attacked the basket. Graduate guard RJ Davis and first-year guard Ian Jackson miscommunicated on the coverage. Sears scored unimpeded to put the Crimson Tide up five points.

And it just went downhill from there. 

"I don't think it has to be one singular voice or even two people," RJ Davis said before later adding, "It's all five on the court. So it has to be a collective group effort of communication." 

The Tar Heels have fallen into a 10 point or larger deficit in the first half for the last four consecutive games. With eight minutes left in the opening frame, North Carolina faced a 13 point climb. The Tar Heels have held the lead for less than 19 minutes against the five quality opponents they have faced this season.

Following four games of consistent miscommunication, Jackson considered what the team's voice is following the game. He questioned if there even is one defensively. 

"We gotta find one," Jackson said. "We gotta find a voice on defense to drive us on that side of the floor and we're gonna find one. We got a lot of talented guys more than capable to do it."

But it's clear: there's no voice. The team isn't loud. There's no personality. UNC's performance was the antithesis of what the head coach wanted from his players. 

"You can talk about X's and O's, but you can't even get there until you bring that sustained will, want to, energy and effort," Davis said. "Technique has nothing to do with that when you can't get there."

@_emmahmoon

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com

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