North Carolina didn’t defeat an elite team during the regular season, and the Tar Heels didn’t defeat one in the postseason, either. No. 8 seed UNC squared off against top-seeded Kansas — in Kansas City — this evening, and this year’s pattern once again replicated as the Jayhawks prevailed 70-58.
Carolina actually led 30-21 at halftime, and both teams deserved to get blown out after such a miserable display. But Kansas demonstrated its superior talent and experience in the second frame, winning that half 49-28 and delivering yet another embarrassing defeat to a UNC team that suffered several of them this season.
The Tar Heels simply couldn’t knock in shots. They held Kansas to reasonable 44 percent shooting and forced 22 turnovers, but they shot a brutal 30 percent themselves and lost the rebounding battle 50-36. The team’s primary three scorers — P.J. Hairston, Reggie Bullock and James Michael McAdoo — combined for 12-for-43 shooting, clearly not a pathway to success.
I’ll take a final look at the 2012-13 Tar Heels later this week, but for now feast your eyes on the UNC/KU box score.
