Five takeaways from UNC's season-ending loss to Ole Miss in Round of 64 NCAAT matchup
The North Carolina Tar Heels faced a golden opportunity right in front of their eyes, facing the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday afternoon, in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 64.
UNC advanced to face Ole Miss by virtue of dominating San Diego State, 95-68, in its First Four matchup. The Rebels, on the other hand, were one of 14 teams in a loaded SEC to make the NCAA Tournament field.
When the final buzzer sounded from Milwaukee, Wis. inside the Fiserv Forum, the Tar Heels walked into their locker room dejected, after a 71-64 defeat in which recurring issues forced their hand once again.
North Carolina (23-14, 13-7) found itself playing from behind once again, just as it did too many times in the regular season, trailing by as many as 22 points. UNC scored just 26 points in the first half, something it couldn't afford to do against a balanced Ole Miss (23-11, 10-8 SEC) offense.
The Rebels (23-11, 10-8 SEC) started Friday on an 11-2 run, in large part due to five quick points from Dre Davis. Jaylen Murray and Jaemyn Brakefield, the latter of who played at Duke for one season, drained two 3-pointers in the span of one minute.
Despite the Tar Heels surging late in the second-half, like they've done all season, their 20-plus-point deficit proved too much to overcome. North Carolina had all the momentum with just over a minute to go, closing its gap to two points on RJ Davis' and-one, but Sean Pedulla took over with five points in the final minute.
I feel like the Tar Heels spent most of their close games down by double-digits at one point, then later give fans hope with a late surge. We saw this same exact scenario against Dayton and Michigan State in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Senior Night and in the ACC Tournament Semifinals against Duke, plus most recently Friday against Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament.
As hard as North Carolina fights, it struggles to close out games after making its big comebacks. 17 seconds after RJ converted his and-one, Pedulla drained a 3-pointer and crushed UNC's hopes.
If North Carolina could put together a complete 40 minutes, they would be playing Sunday in the Round of 32. Alas, UNC proved once again, this time Friday against Ole Miss, it's a second-half team.
The Tar Heels trailed the Rebels by 18 at halftime. If not for Elliot Cadeau's free throw with four seconds left in the first half, North Carolina would've tied an NCAA Tournament record.
North Carolina's 18-point halftime deficit is the 2nd-largest in program history in the NCAA Tournament.The Tar Heels trailed Houston by 19 at halftime of the 1967 3rd-place game.
— Bryan Ives (@awaytoworthy) March 21, 2025
I'm not going to make excuses for Hubert after Fridays' season-ending loss, but frankly, I'm tired of hearing "Fire Hubert." Unless North Carolina has someone waiting in the wings, this would be one of the most head-scratching decisions in recent program history.
I will acknowledge, however, that Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard outcoached Hubert by a mile. Beard instructed his players to keep their foot down in the first half, helping them mount a massive lead against a UNC team many expected to win via upset.
The Tar Heels mounted a near-comeback-for-the-ages, part of which you can credit Hubert for. Beard won the coaching battle, though. He made adjustments that Hubert failed to, which is why the Rebels are moving on to Sunday.
When your team trails by as much as North Carolina did Friday, what's the quickest way to cut back into a deficit? Making 3-pointers.
The Tar Heels made 14-of-24 perimeter attempts against SDSU on Tuesday, so I liked their chances to quickly erase their deficit Friday.
There's just one issue: UNC couldn't make a 3-pointer to save its life against Ole Miss. North Carolina made just 5-of-24 attempts, with Drake Powell nailing two of those. The Tar Heels couldn't replicate Tuesday's success from deep – and it cost them.
Layups are some of the most high-percentage looks a team can take in a basketball game. UNC loves to drive the rim, generating a ton of its offense from doing so.
When you can't make layups, though, it's tough to win games. North Carolina missed three straight layups between the 4:12 and 3:16 mark of the second half, a microcosm of a stretch during which Ole Miss went scoreless for nearly six minutes.
Ole Miss went 5.5 minutes without scoring. UNC missed 3 straight layups.This is March.
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) March 21, 2025
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Five takeaways as UNC season ends in NCAA Tournament against Ole Miss
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