Instant reactions to North Carolina’s loss to Auburn

On November 28, 2024By Littum

LAHAINA, HAWAII - NOVEMBER 26: North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis gestures to his players during the first half of the Maui Invitational against the Auburn Tigers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) — LAHAINA, HAWAII – NOVEMBER 26: North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis gestures to his players during the first half of the Maui Invitational against the Auburn Tigers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)

North Carolina continued their run in Hawaii on Tuesday night with a semifinal matchup in Maui Invitational presented by Novavax against the no. 4-ranked Auburn.

And a day after the Tar Heels came back from 21 points down to Dayton, they found themselves down again. But this time they couldn’t come back as they fell to the Tigers 85-72.

Auburn jumped out to a big lead early, while North Carolina battled back to within 10 points at halftime. However, Auburn came back in the second half and again consistently increased the lead, keeping it between 12-15. The Tar Heels really couldn’t get much closer than nine points in the second half as the Tigers kept their foot on the pedal in the impressive win.

Here are things we noticed to take away from this loss and apply against Michigan State.

Ball security

LAHAINA, HAWAII - NOVEMBER 26: Elliot Cadeau #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels dribbles the ball during the first half of the Maui Invitational against the Auburn Tigers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) — LAHAINA, HAWAII – NOVEMBER 26: Elliot Cadeau #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels dribbles the ball during the first half of the Maui Invitational against the Auburn Tigers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)

Yesterday, against Dayton, North Carolina turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, which is what contributed to the deficit they faced. They again had double-digit turnovers in this game, and some came at the most crucial times when the team needed a big play.

They allowed Auburn to score 15 points off their turnovers as well.

Free throw shooting

LAHAINA, HAWAII - NOVEMBER 26: Elliot Cadeau #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels shoots the ball during the first half of the Maui Invitational against the Auburn Tigers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) — LAHAINA, HAWAII – NOVEMBER 26: Elliot Cadeau #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels shoots the ball during the first half of the Maui Invitational against the Auburn Tigers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)

This is something I never thought would be a North Carolina downfall. They are known for being one of the most prestigious free throw shooting teams in the nation.

The Tar Heels shot 12-of-19 in this game from the stripe, just 63%. Key players, including Elliot Cadeau, Jalen Washington and Seth Trimble, missed several key free throws that cut into momentum-building moments.

Matches in the first half

LAHAINA, HAWAII - NOVEMBER 26: Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl gestures to his players during the first half of the Maui Invitational against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) — LAHAINA, HAWAII – NOVEMBER 26: Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl gestures to his players during the first half of the Maui Invitational against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)

Last night, RJ Davis had this to say about the first half of UNC games this season, via Inside Carolina.

“Obviously we were down big in the first half. It wasn’t the first half we like to play. Myself and Seth, we just told them to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We always put ourselves in these positions and we have to climb back into the game.”

Well, it happened again. The first half has been BRUTAL for the Tar Heels against big teams this season. Unless that changes, North Carolina will have to fight every game back out of a hole.

Rebounding

LAHAINA, HAWAII - NOVEMBER 26: Johni Broome #4 of the Auburn Tigers blocks the shot of Ven-Allen Lubin #22 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) — LAHAINA, HAWAII – NOVEMBER 26: Johni Broome #4 of the Auburn Tigers blocks the shot of Ven-Allen Lubin #22 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 26, 2024 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)

North Carolina struggles mightily against teams whose best player is a forward or center. Against Johni Broom of Auburn, it would be a tough match for the team. However, they had no answer for the 6-foot-10 senior.

Broome finished with 23 points and 19 rebounds, shooting 9-of-18 from the field and 2-for-4 from behind the arc. On top of that, North Carolina was outrebounded by Auburn as a team, 42-36

Powell Power

Drake Powell is quickly becoming a key player for Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels. He came in last night shooting perfectly from the floor with six points and four rebounds. But his non-statistical contributions are just as important.

Tonight, it didn’t feel like the team got the same energy out of the rookie. As one of the rotating big guys, Powell’s success could be directly related to North Carolina’s success in the near future.

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Instant reactions to North Carolina’s loss to Auburn