UNC Basketball Portal deficiencies come back to bite the tar heels

UNC basketball didn’t land the formidable post presence it apparently needed from the transfer portal in the offseason. As a result, they have no. The 12th-ranked Tar Heels (4-2, 0-0 ACC) have seen opposing big men post double-doubles of the 20-10 variety in their two losses to as many ranked opponents as they have faced. .

Kansas graduate center Hunter Dickinson totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds against the visiting Tar Heels on Nov. 8, helping propel the No. 1 Jayhawks’ 92-89 win.

And on Tuesday night, Hubert Davis’ undersized fourth-ranked UNC basketball team suffered an 85-72 defeat at the hands of No. 4 Auburn in their Maui Invitational semifinal game. In fact, the Tigers enjoyed 23 points, 19 boards and three blocks from their fifth-year college shortstop in 6-foot-10, 240-pound Johni Broome.

Auburn outrebounded UNC, 42-35. Plus, the Tar Heels received just two points and two rebounds from their starting five-spot junior forward Jalen Washington.

Sure, junior forward Ven-Allen Lubin, who announced his transfer to UNC after the staff in Chapel Hill came up empty in countless other big-time portal pursuits, turned in an encouraging performance in his 23 minutes off the bench, finishing with 10 points and nine boards.

But as many Tar Heel supporters feared back in the spring, the presence of Washington and Lubin, who effectively served as the program’s only offseason addition with any shot at replacing legendary UNC basketball double-double producer Armando Bacot, just hasn’t been sufficient against big-time enemies with huge weapons.

The Tar Heels are now set to face unranked Michigan State in the third-place Maui Invitational, tipping off at the Lahaina Civic Center at 9:30 PM ET Wednesday (ESPN2).

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