North Carolina's Spot in Latest College Basketball Rankings Revealed

Yes, North Carolina has continued to win games on its schedule, but since last week's rankings were revealed, the Tar Heels have played two games. As stated, North Carolina won both of those games, but the operation left much to be desired.

The Tar Heels defeated East Tennessee State and Ohio State in that span, but the first half in each game was sluggish from North Carolina's perspective . Head coach Hubert Davis discussed this following the win over East Tennessee State last Tuesday.

• "I don't want them to take time because every team is different," Davis said. "When you go into conference play, everybody has a way that they play on both ends of the floor. I don't want to get off to slow starts. I felt like we did. It wasn't just defensively. I didn't feel like we were sharp on the offensive end."

• "I wouldn't necessarily say that we've consistently gotten off to slow starts," Davis said. "I would say that at times we haven't been consistent at the beginning, where we've gotten off to a fast start and then we had a four- or six-minute lull on both ends of the floor. We allow a team to come back. We're in a situation where maybe we could extend the lead."

Inconsistent Stretches

Davis's comments lead right to the next point, which is the Tar Heels' struggles to string together consecutive possessions with points.

That became apparent against Ohio State, as North Carolina blew an 11-point lead in the second half, which resulted in the Tar Heels facing a three-point deficit with under a minute remaining. Yes, North Carolina fought back and earned the win, but it should never have gotten to that point.

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• Meet The Tar Heels' New Offensive Coordinator
• Grading North Carolina's Bench Output in Win Over Ohio State