Yesterday, the sixth-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels fell in overtime to the VCU Rams, 82-78, in one of the most surprising losses of the day.
When asked if he believed his team was tired, UNC head coach Hubert Davis said that he didn't think that. But when questioned about why he stuck with a six-man rotation in the second half of the game, David was very blunt in his response.
"Because that was my decision in the back," he told the reporter.
When asked about feeling tired and wearing down towards the end of the game, both junior center Henri Veesaar and senior guard Seth Trimble said that they didn't think fatigue was impacting the team's play.
“I feel like, especially at this time of the year, like the adrenaline is at level 1,000,” Veesaar explained. “You don’t really feel or are thinking about that… I feel like in March it doesn't really matter if you play 40 minutes or 25 minutes, you feel the same way because just the level of energy and adrenaline and the effort you have, it makes no difference.”
“You get tired during the game. Simple as that,” Seth Trimble added. “You get tired, but we've been in that position many, many times this year. So, it wasn't anything new for us.”
With 14:58 remaining in the game, Trimble converted a layup to give the Tar Heels a 19-point lead. Unfortunately for UNC, that wouldn't be enough as the Rams would outscore North Carolina 45-22 the rest of the way to secure the win and a berth in the Round of 32.
When asked by reporters what he believed went wrong for the team, Hubert Davis was again combative in his response.
"What do you mean?" he asked with a sense of frustration. "Just because you miss a shot doesn't mean something's wrong. We had open looks. We had shots at the basket. We had executed plays, and we missed eight free throws. And sometimes the ball doesn't go in.”
There wasn't one singular thing that went wrong for the Tar Heels, but their free-throw shooting- which has been an issue all year long - was bad down the stretch. As a team, UNC only converted 60% of its 20 attempts yesterday.
“I mean, we work on them,” Davis chuckled. “But you're right. Throughout the season, there have been times where we've gotten away. It didn't hurt us. Tonight was one of the ways that it did hurt us.”
The press conference ended with Davis receiving a question about this being the second consecutive year that UNC was bounced out of the NCAA Tournament in the Round of 64. At the time of the interview, he wasn't focused on the possibility of there being a bigger issue at hand or if this was just bad luck in March.
“That's a big thinking question, and I apologize. I'm just not there right now. [I’m] just really sad that we're not continuing to play and to move forward because I have loved and enjoyed this team,” he concluded. “I enjoy and love all of them, but I've just really enjoyed coaching this team. I really wanted this group and these kids to experience more. But other than that, I'm just thinking about these guys and the rest of the guys that are in the locker room.”
Up next, VCU will face Illinois in the Round of 64 on Saturday. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 7:50 p.m. EDT.
