Michael Malone on what went wrong for UNC against Georgia

The North Carolina Tar Heels came up short on Friday night, facing their toughest test of the season so far.

Despite having a nine-point lead in the second half, the Tar Heels watched Georgia go on a run and close out the game for a 78-70 win. The loss dropped the Tar Heels to 3-1 on the year and we saw them have some of the same struggles they have been happening.

They were once again outrebounded by the opponent, leading to second-chance opportunities for Georgia and the Bulldogs took advantage. UNC also struggled down the stretch shooting and failed to hold the lead.

After the game, Michael Malone talked about the loss and where UNC goes from here. All quotes via Inside Carolina.

On what went wrong in the final 10 minutes

“At the end of close games, your habits come out. Do you have good habits? Do you have bad habits? And whether it’s a missed free-throw box-out, whether it’s a missed box-out, whether it’s a turnover, whether it’s not running off a shooter from the three-point line, we just had too many breakdowns at the end. Obviously, we did not shoot the ball well tonight — we took 38 threes. Have to watch the film. I don’t know how many of those were good looks, but we had a bunch. I think we shot maybe seven or eight air balls tonight. So I think we’ll watch the film. But once again, the details, the details, the details. And we didn’t have attention to detail. We didn’t have game plan discipline. We didn’t have personnel discipline tonight. And in a close game, that’s gonna bite you. And it did tonight.”

How would you assess Neo Avdalas game?

“I thought in the first half he struggled. Zero assists, three turnovers. Some of our turnovers in the first half were comical in nature. We actually just literally threw the ball to the other team. It wasn’t a steal. It was just right to them, and obviously we can’t afford to do that. And then I agree with what you said, I thought early in that second half, I liked how we came out of the locker room. I thought we were the aggressor. And give them credit, we were unable to close the game and they became the aggressor as that second half went along, and we have to find ways to play closer to 40 minutes as the way we played in that stretch. But yeah, Neo, he’ll bounce back. 14 points, three assists, four turnovers. He knows for him to be a primary ball handler, he can’t have a negative ratio like that.”

On the shots Neo took down the stretch?

“Give them credit, they were switching everything on the ball, off the ball, making it hard. So we were trying to attack the mismatch at times. And at times, I thought it yielded positive results, and other times I felt it yielded tough mid-range contested twos, which is not the shot that we’re trying to get. But he was trying to create something. It was coming from a place of ‘let me try to create a good look for my team.’ And this will be valuable, valuable learning, this film, when we watch it.”

On the bad habits that bothered you tonight?

“If you talk to enough coaches, there are certain plays in a game that will just drive you absolutely bonkers, and free-throw box-out is one of them. You’re in a close game, I think we were up by one with four or five minutes to go, and then they closed on that 13-4 run. You cannot allow a team to get a free throw box out, that’s just a lack of discipline and physicality. You cannot give up a three to a guy who’s got five threes on the night, who we’ve said we want to run him off the three-point line, and we close short, and we have our hand here. It’s not good enough when they run a pick-and-roll, and the roller rolls, and no one meets them for a layup. All the breakdowns that we had, and these are things that we work on. And our finishing. We missed two dunks tonight. We missed eight other layups. We shot 56% at the rim. That is not nearly good enough. So we have some pretty good looks. We’re just unable to knock them down.”

Get away from the fast break?

“We stopped getting stops. It’s really simple. We got off to a really good start in that second half in terms of getting stops and rebounding, and then run, and that’s all we talk about. That’s how we want to play: defend, rebound, run. And then, obviously, as that second half wore on, we stopped getting as many stops, we stopped getting as many rebounds, which prohibited us from getting out and running and playing with that transition attack that you allude to. So, it’s something that we’re building towards, trying to sustain it for much longer stretches, and then it became much more of a half-court game. And then when you play them in the half court, once again, all their switching was able to kind of bottle us up and make us very stagnant.”

On how Georgia's offense tested his defense

“It was the 14 threes that really hurt us. That was the area that was a big concern for me. For them to go 14 of 36, and No. 6, Catchings, had five of them. When you identify a guy who’s got it going, Blue Cain had four of them. That’s nine of theirs. And as the game goes on, you have to have a heightened awareness of who you’re guarding, and who’s on the floor. So, yeah, give them credit.”

Message at halftime?

“I showed one clip, and it was a clip where there was a loose ball, and it was an example of who wants the ball, and (Georgia) won that 50-50 battle, and they got a wide-open three off of it. I said those are the types of plays that can win or lose games, so we have to be the more desperate team, we have to be the more hungry team, be first to the floor, win those 50-50 battles, and I just wanted us to play more aggressive. I felt we were on our heels most of that first half, and they were the aggressor, and we were able to start that second half with an aggressive mindset. Just unfortunately, not able to sustain it.”

On Maximo Adams evaluation?

“He’s just been outstanding for us. Offensively, look at his numbers. 1-of-8 from the field, 0-4 from three, but some guys, when they shoot those numbers, they let that impact the rest of their game. And what I love about Maxi is, ‘okay, I’m not making shots. One thing I know I can do that requires no skill is I can rebound the ball.’ And for him to go out there and get five offensive boards, 11 total, that was great to see. And that’s why I put him in late in the game. He was getting closing minutes for a freshman. Those minutes were invaluable, and that will only aid in his continued player development.”

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Michael Malone on what went wrong for UNC against Georgia