Tar Heels' Early Struggles: Can They Turn It Around?

0:00On March 15th, the North Carolina Tar Heels have faced double-digit deficits 11 times this season, including 8 against Atlantic Coast. Conference teams, that's happened in about 35% of their games, a tough trend for a powerhouse program with top talent and big resources. Their latest stumble came in a quarter-final loss to Clemson in the ACC tournament on Thursday night. This pattern has shown up repeatedly, putting the team in deep holes they struggled to climb out of. Coach Schubert Davis and players, pointed to slow starts and failure to match opponents' intensity as key issues after the Clemson defeat. Center Hahn-Rivissar said the team starts strong, but lets runs by foes create big gaps through back-to-back mistakes. Davis highlighted Clemson's tough defense disrupting their offense, especially cuts and screens, until late in the second half. Guard Derek Dixon stressed the need for fight from the opening tip, no more slow beginnings that have plagued them all year. The locker room talk was emotional, focusing on lessons for high stakes play ahead.

1:01With the NCAA tournament looming, these wake-up calls could spark a turnaround, but the heels must fix their early-game urgency to make a deep run.