UNC can’t lean on the crutch of quality losses after falling to Stanford

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — As much as the losses have come this college basketball season, North Carolina has always been able to lean on a certain crutch, namely that those losses have come against high-level competitions.

Before falling to Stanford 72-71 in stunning fashion on Saturday at the Smith Center, all six of the Tar Heels’ losses had come against quality teams that amounted to Quad 1 games in the NET rankings, one of the primary metrics used as a sorting tool for selecting and ranking the NCAA tournament.

And five of those losses came to teams that are currently ranked in the top 12 in the AP Top 25 poll — No. 12 Michigan State, No. 9 Kansas, No. 5 Florida, No. 4 Alabama and No. 1 Auburn. Close losses to Kansas (by a score of 92-89) in the second game of the season and to Michigan State (94-91 in overtime) in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational were decided by final margins of a possession.

“I feel like all the one-possession games were all similar because we’re all either one field goal or one stop away from winning the game,” UNC guard RJ Davis said Saturday. “It goes back to Kansas, and it’s kind of the same cycle. So I know it well, I feel like I’ve been to thousands of them since I’ve been here. It’s about “Our attention to detail and focus needs to be better.”

Now, for the first time this season, the label of loss of quality cannot be applied to the loss UNC suffered on Saturday. Stanford came in at No. 92 nationally, according to Ken Pomeroy’s College Basketball Database. That puts the Cardinal one spot ahead of NC State and 16 spots behind Notre Dame, according to KenPom.

The Tar Heels were installed as 12½-point favorites over Stanford by oddsmakers. Saturday’s loss is the biggest home upset for Carolina in three seasons, dating back to February 2022, when the Tar Heels fell to Pittsburgh 76-67 at the Smith Center. UNC entered as a 13½-point favorite for this game.

Stanford upset the Tar Heels in the middle of a drill ending on Jaylen Blakes’ jumper with 1.5 seconds left. Blakes, who played the final three seasons at Duke before transferring to Stanford, finished with 20 points and seven assists. The Cardinal ended UNC’s season-long four-game winning streak.

“It’s disappointing because we’ve played really good defense and our approach to games has been much better,” Davis said Saturday. “Our communication has been a lot better, and the fact that it’s taking a step back, it’s a little disappointing. But I know we can get back to it. We just have to understand that we’ve got to take it one game at a time. time, but understand that we have to take it like every game counts. And that’s how it counts.

“Don’t let this hamper the other games. We still have a lot of games left. We have a lot of games to play, so regroup. It’s a tough game, so sit down and understand that we We have to take a game at a time. We have Tuesday night (at Wake Forest) to improve… So obviously it sucks losing and understanding we have another game in two, three days I have to regroup.

Stanford was ranked No. 85 in the NET, making Saturday’s loss to UNC a Quad 3 loss. The Tar Heels were previously 11-0 in Quad 2, 3 and 4 games this season. Stanford jumped eight spots to No. 77 in the NET on Sunday and six spots to No. 86 in the KenPom.

Carolina (12-7 overall, 5-2 ACC) will play five Quad 1 or 2 games over the next six games on the schedule with road assignments Tuesday night at Wake Forest, Feb. 1 at Duke and Feb. 10 at Clemson and at home. home games against Pittsburgh (January 28 and February 8).

“We need every game, to stay on our path and put ourselves in a good position for March,” Davis said. “I kind of just take it one game at a time, because I know what it’s like. I was there my junior year where I didn’t do well at all (at the NCAA tournament) .So just understand our feeling. “There’s a sense of urgency, but take it one game at a time. Like you’re not going to win all 13 games (left) in one day. “