By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo: The Gainesville Sun
The No. 7 Florida Gators remain unbeaten (11-0) and avoid an epic collapse to the UNC Tar Heels. Gators won 90-84 at the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Will Richard scored 22 points, and Alijah Martin added 19. The Gators ended the game on a 13-3 run.
R.J. Davis had 29 points and eight rebounds for the Tar Heels. He’s still struggling from the three-point line. David shot 3 of 11 from the perimeter.
Offensive rebounds gave Florida the lead and put the ice on the game. Rebounding killed UNC. The Gators outrebounded the Tar Heels 46-36. However, the big torture really happened, with the Gators winning 23-14 in second-chance battles.
Carolina led in points in the paint, fastbreak, and steals. But it wasn’t enough for them to win.
UNC trailed by 18. The Tar Heels started the second half on an 11-0 run. The team still lacks height, but its aggressive defense and toughness led to its second-half comeback.
Tar Heels fall to 6-5. Carolina still hasn’t beaten an elite team.
The game against the Gators brings back memories of the Kansas game. Kansas got blown out in the first half, played great in the second half, took a four-point lead, and then lost the game.
Carolina has trouble closing games. They must get over the hump. Carolina needs to be more urgent and better prepared in the first half and stop making these comebacks in most games. It’s a mindblogging performance and habit.
A team that keeps putting themselves in a hole and tries to dig themselves out of the hole.
Freshman Ian Jackson had a good game off the bench. He scored 11 points in 22 minutes. Jackson needs more playing minutes. Insert him in the starting lineup and see if that works.
The Tar Heels next game will be against the No. 21 UCLA Bruins.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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