UNC men's basketball's season ends with another late-game rally coming up short

MILWAUKEE — Of course it would end this way. 

It’s a tale that has replayed over and over this season: falling into a double-digit deficit in the first half, clawing out of it in the second and coming up just short in the final few minutes.

The Tar Heels have lived through it at least six times. It hasn’t gotten any easier. Nor did they ever find the solution. 

So, of course North Carolina's season would end in the first round of the NCAA tournament, in the exact same way it truly started. The team that chipped away at a once-22 point deficit to bring the score within two was the exact same one that came up short against preseason No. 1 Kansas in November. 

But finally after Friday’s 71-64 loss at Fiserv Forum to sixth-seeded Ole Miss, UNC officially ran out of time for another rally. 

“It’s funny that this is how the season ends,” junior guard Seth Trimble said, his eyes rimmed red with tears. “It’s been like this all year.” 

Adversity

It was ugly in the beginning. 

First there was Kansas. A 20-point deficit flipped into a brief lead, followed by a collapse. Not enough. 

Then Michigan State. Another double-digit hole. Another comeback. Overtime. Collapse. 

A collapse against Florida. A singular comeback win versus UCLA. 

The Tar Heels lacked consistency. They came out flat in the first half of resume-boosting games. Most of their late-game rallies came up short. They had one Quad 1 win to show for it. 

“Three or four months ago, if you [asked if] this group [was] a team,” Trimble said, “The answer was probably no.”

Eventually, it bled into conference play. They let bottom-tier ACC teams hang around. They barely scraped by with wins against second-to-last Boston College and third-to-last N.C. State. They lost to Quad 3 Stanford at the buzzer. They squandered their few opportunities for Quad 1 victories in January and early February.

Then came the 20-point loss at Clemson. A new low, but also a turning point. Trimble said the hurt in the aftermath of the defeat turned into action. Players started speaking up, rallying the rest of the team. Finally, with less than a month left in the regular season, the group started to connect. 

“It took a minute,” junior forward Jalen Washington said. “As far as on the court chemistry to really click, it took a minute. Different groups take different amounts of time.”

Rally

There was joy. There was sacrifice. 

Head coach Hubert Davis repeated a simple — oftentimes cliche — message: Play for the name on the front of the Carolina Blue jersey, not the back. It resonated. 

“We became a team,” first-year guard Ian Jackson said. “We understood what it meant to win, and we locked in.”

The Tar Heels recorded a six-game win streak — five of which were by double digits. Sure, none of their opponents were ranked above 90 in the NET. But North Carolina was winning again. And doing so convincingly. 

“When we just went on a run, when we were really imposing our will on other teams,” Washington said. “We were having fun doing it.”

The team’s improvements were put to the test against Duke — the last Quad 1 opportunity of the regular season.  

And of course, UNC fell behind by double-digits. 

At one point, the Tar Heels trailed by 32 in the first meeting. This time, North Carolina refused to get blown out again. UNC fought back to take a seven point lead. 

Collapse. Back to who they were at the beginning of the season. Another loss on an already tainted resume. 

They looked to the ACC tournament. They rallied through two games to make it to the semifinals. 

There was Duke, again. 

A double-digit deficit, again. 

A second half rally. Again.

And once more, the Tar Heels had nothing to show for their fight. Mistake after mistake plagued them down the stretch. And in the fallout, North Carolina was left with a weak 1-12 Quad 1 record heading into Selection Sunday. 

The Tar Heels ended up on the right side of the bubble as an 11th seed.

They got their shot. One more chance. One more opportunity to rally. 

Repeat

Hubert Davis didn’t recognize the team sitting in front of him. He hadn’t seen the team play this way in two months — since Clemson. He resorted to a phrase North Carolina has become all too familiar with this season: “Unfortunately and fortunately.”

Fortunately, UNC has been in this situation before. They have experience. They know what it can take. Unfortunately, the Tar Heels have been here before and were in this situation again. 

A 25-10 run followed. And maybe, just maybe, this time would be different. 

One minute remained. UNC was still down 66-61 to Ole Miss.

Graduate guard RJ Davis sprinted through the lane. The end of his college career was on the line. He jumped and heaved the ball toward the rim. His defender's hand smacked his arm. A referee’s whistle blew. And-one. A one-possession game. Davis’ body hit the court. Hard. 

Immediately, his teammates gathered around him as he writhed in pain, clutching his back. Trimble squatted at his side. The junior placed his hand on Davis’ chest, quietly encouraging him. Sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau called Davis a “fucking legend,” trying to empower him to get back on his feet. 

Finally, Davis mustered enough strength. Junior forward Ven-Allen Lubin took his hand and pulled him up. 

“We were a team in that second half,” Trimble said. “That was the biggest difference. We weren't in that first half.”

RJ Davis took to the line and cut it to two.  But that would be the last time UNC would score. 

Lubin picked up his fifth foul — forced to do so in order to give UNC a fighting chance in the last 21 seconds — and stalked toward the UNC bench. Down seven, the damage was done.

Of course it would end this way. 

“Against good teams like Ole Miss, it's just not sustainable,” Hubert Davis said. 

“I've said this to you guys before. Coming back from 18, coming back from 22, that's just,” his voice trailed off. “It's a credit to our guys to get to a two-point game. Just hard — too hard — to flip it against good teams.”

Lubin tugged his jersey loose, his breathing labored, and sank into his seat. He stared at the hardwood between his feet. Junior forward Cade Tyson wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

The buzzer sounded. RJ Davis unwrapped the tape on his shooting hand. He tossed it aside. After scoring a team-leading 15 points in the finale of his college career, he didn’t need it anymore. He made the slow trek to the locker room. 

When he entered the tunnel, he fiddled with his hair. He kept his emotions at bay, or at least, hidden. Behind him, Trimble trudged ahead with his jersey over his face. Both refused to look up.

“How the year started — it wasn’t the greatest start,” RJ Davis said. “It was a difficult journey, difficult path. We as a team faced adversities and we overcame it. We were able to each and every day. When we were getting knocked down, we would get right back up.”

But not this time. 

@carolinewills03

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com

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