A game like that calls for a postgame column like this.
Depending on how you choose to look at that game, we've got three different options for you. All of these are completely viable outlooks, and all are equally true. That's what happens when you watch a four-overtime basketball game. It's simply impossible to distill it to one underlying factor.
Column One: What an effort.
On Sunday afternoon, Hubert Davis finally got the effort and intensity for which he's been pleading.
The Tar Heels spent most of the game sprawling on the floor for loose balls and battling in the paint for better position in a physical game. The 103-101 quadruple overtime loss wasn't a case of giving less effort than Alabama.
That charge was led primarily by Puff Johnson, who had his best game as a Tar Heel and played a whopping 48 minutes. Johnson was the embodiment of what Davis has asked his team to do, best personified at the end of the first overtime in a tie game when he tracked down a loose ball and threw himself on the ball while calling timeout to give Carolina a chance to win.
That's just one of several Johnson plays that were magnificent—he also battled Alabama big man Charles Bediako for a rebound and forced a jump ball that gave possession to Carolina, scored off his own offensive rebound a minute later, snagged a key defensive rebound with three minutes left in the second half, got on the floor to force a jump ball and Tar Heel possession with 51 seconds left in regulation, blocked a shot early in the first overtime, and grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 90 seconds left in the second overtime.
Those are only the highlight reel plays he made from the six-minute mark of the second half forward.
Having Johnson healthy makes Carolina a better, more competitive team moving forward.
Column Two: Missed opportunities.
In a game very reminiscent of the triple-overtime loss to Wake Forest during Roy Williams' first season at Carolina, the Tar Heels will walk away from Sunday frustrated with numerous missed chances to win the game outright.
On a day when Caleb Love and RJ Davis combined to take 60 shots, with Love attempting 36 (the most by a Tar Heel in 58 years) on his way to 34 points, making even one of the jump shots that missed would have changed the game.
Two factors were working against the Tar Heels getting better shots: Alabama is a long, athletic team and Armando Bacot was limited by a gimpy ankle and sat on the bench for the final 11:54 of the game, meaning he missed all the third and fourth overtimes. Bacot's last basket came at the 3:32 mark of the second overtime off a nice dish from Love.
With Bacot out, ten of Carolina's final 11 shots were jump shots. Nine of those ten jumpers were missed.
The calendar says November 27, so it's probably not a surprise that the Tar Heels weren't perfect on their late-game execution and set plays. Of course, sometimes those struggles were due to some unexpected contact (grabbing Leaky Black around the arm to prevent a cut for a layup is not traditionally an approved defensive strategy). But sometimes they were simply bad choices or missed shots.
The best chance to win probably came in the third overtime, when Carolina was bolstered by quality play from a fresh Pete Nance and took a 95-89 lead by driving to the rim repeatedly with under four minutes remaining. But playing without Bacot, the Tar Heels missed five straight shots—all jumpers, four of which were three-pointers—down the stretch and also uncharacteristically left a point on the table at the free throw line. That was enough to allow the Tide to force a fourth overtime.
Column Three: Lessons learned.
The coaching staff made sure the players spent significant time on tape review of Friday's loss to Iowa State, and there will be no shortage of tape from a Sunday game that essentially lasted three halves.
But what they're most likely to see is an incredibly frustrating loss that nevertheless provided a glimmer of hope. Maybe not in the immediate future—a road trip to a good Indiana team on Wednesday with a somewhat gimpy squad is daunting.
There were signs, however, that Davis may be finding some of his team's personality. The head coach constantly tells his players that he can't predict when they'll get an opportunity, and that it's up to them to maximize any chance they get. Everyone did that on Sunday. That goes all the way to Will Shaver, who scored his first points as a Tar Heel at the end of the first half by sinking two free throws. In such a close game, those shots mattered.
Shaver's classmate, Seth Trimble, did not play a single minute in the second half or the first three overtimes. But then, after a head-scratching officiating sequence with 9.3 seconds left and Alabama holding a one-point lead, Davis summoned Trimble for defense. He responded by singlehandedly forcing a turnover with a diving effort that left him bloody.
Trimble didn't get credit for a steal on the play, but it's a moment that will linger. It wasn't just the bench. Mortals among us don't appreciate what it takes to play 57 minutes (Caleb Love) in a college basketball game, or 54 (Leaky Black) or 51 (RJ Davis). The team had already scheduled to stay in Portland on Sunday night. That turned out to be a very fortunate break, because everyone who played was completely exhausted.
There are essentially two ways to go after a game like this. A team can be demoralized and struggle, or they can be energized by coming so close and commit to avoiding that disappointing outcome again.
When Carolina memorably lost that triple-overtime game to Wake Forest, there was some general optimism in the locker room afterwards. Assistant coach Joe Holladay quickly put a stop to that.
"We expect to win games like this," he said very simply.
Carolina has an experienced team that has won plenty of big games. They went 1-2 in Portland, but they also found an essential piece in Puff Johnson, have yet to play Jalen Washington--who should at worst provide depth and at best could be a fundamental rotation piece--a single minute, and finally located the competitiveness that was missing for most of the early home slate at the Smith Center. If anything, Sunday's loss made Friday's defeat to Iowa State more frustrating, because the Heels would have beaten the Cyclones with this type of effort.
It's absolutely indisputable after Sunday's finish that Carolina is a better team when Bacot is involved and active. His presence makes everyone else better. Any notion that the Tar Heels could simply be a jump-shooting team that can always depend on reliably beating teams from outside were eliminated by the Crimson Tide. If the next week shows that lesson has been absorbed, then the trip to Portland made Carolina better.
These next few days will be fascinating. "This is a great learning experience for us," Hubert Davis said. "Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way, and when things don't go your way, you have a choice. You can whine and make excuses and talk about one call. Or you can get up and fight. And that's my expectation for our guys."
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