UNC Regular season recap

UNC has just finished the 2009-2010 regular season with a record of 16-15. Going into the season, most of us thought it would be "a given" that the Heels would win 20 regular season games. It just wasn't meant to happen. I thought I'd recap the "missed opportunities" that the Heels had during the regular season.

1. Kentucky 68, UNC 66. Kentucky had control of the game, but the Heels made a surge at the end. Hard fought game, but UK had the better talent.
2. College of Charleston 82, UNC 79 (OT). Probably the beginning of the end for the Heels 2009-10 season. If the Heels had done a better job of protecting the lead, the floodgates might not have opened up for the remainder of the season.
3. Georgia Tech 73, UNC 71. GT had a 19 point lead with less than 19 minutes left, but the Heels surged ahead, gaining a 2 point lead. GT was tougher than the Heels in the last 2 minutes of the game.
4. VT 74, UNC 70. The Heels were down by 3 with 17 seconds left in the game and the ball. Another tough loss.
5. Duke 64, UNC 54. The Heels were down by 1 with 6 minutes left in the game. The Heels played a great game, but had an unlucky "break" when Ed Davis went down with a broken wrist.
6. BC 71, UNC 67. 100 seconds left in the game, and the Heels are down by 3. Another tough loss.

The Heels had some close victories in 2009-2010...but only a few.

1. UNC 80, Nevada 73. With 7 minutes left in the game, Nevada had a 2 point lead.
2. UNC 81, Rutgers 67. UNC only had a 4 point lead with 2 minutes left in the game.
3. UNC 77, Wake 68. UNC has a 3 point lead with 1 minute left in the game.
4. UNC 69, Miami 62. UNC had an 18 point lead, but Miami cuts it down to 1.

In the past, UNC would win around 70-75% of the close games. This year, they won 40% of them. If the Heels had won 3 more games during the regular season, their record could have been 19-12, and on the NCAA tourney bubble.

For all intent and purpose, the UNC 2009-10 season is over. I expect the Heels to lose to GT in the opening round of the ACC tourney. I doubt if the Heels will go "Nitting" either.

But don't fret! The Heels will have some solid players arriving in Chapel Hill next year. Also, we should have a healthy Tyler Zeller, Ed Davis, and the Wear Twins back in action.