North Carolina Issues Laid Bare Against Ohio State

It was a great result for the North Carolina Tar Heels, who escaped Saturday with a 71-70 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) dunks against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It should not have been that close of a game, with the Tar Heels building a comfortable lead halfway through the second half. Nonetheless, a win is a win, and North Carolina now owns an 11-1 record heading into the final week of December.

With that being said, there are blemishes of the Tar Heels' operation that were exposed despite prevailing on Saturday. Let's take a look at some areas North Carolina has to improve in heading into conference play.

Sluggish Starts

Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Derek Dixon (3) dribbles against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Slow, mundane starts have become the norm for the Tar Heels over the last three games, and that was evident against Ohio State.

In the first half, North Carolina shot 13-of-30 from the field, including 4-of-15 from three-point range, which allowed the Buckeyes to slowly crawl back. The Tar Heels closed the first half with a 34-31 lead, but that was a disappointing margin when considering North Carolina was up 29-20 right before halftime. Henri Veesaar, picking up his second foul with a little over two minutes remaining in the first half, played a part in that development, but it was still disappointing.

Fortunately for North Carolina, its defense is capable of keeping it in any game, no matter how poorly the offense is functioning. Nevertheless, the Tar Heels need to establish a rhythm earlier in games.

Lack of Consistency

Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard John Mobley Jr. (0) shoots over North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kyan Evans (0) in the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

This relates to the recent struggles in the first half, as briefly mentioned earlier, but North Carolina's inconsistencies popped up again on Saturday. After an underwhelming first half, from an offensive perspective, the Tar Heels jumped out to a 59-48 lead, with Veesaar, Seth Trimble, and Caleb Wilson taking over the game.

That lead slowly evaporated in an eight-minute span, so much so that North Carolina faced a three-point deficit with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis on the sideline against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

These lapses were relevant a couple of games prior against USC Upstate when the Tar Heels held a 15-point lead before seeing that lead deplete to eight points with four minutes left.

Ohio State is a quality opponent and one of the best scoring teams in the nation, but North Carolina will face tougher tasks in ACC play, including Duke and Louisville. Both of those teams are capable of punishing opposing teams for letting up.

Please follow us on X when you click right HERE! Please make sure you follow us today on our Facebook page when you click right HERE!

Never again miss one major story related to your beloved Tar Heels when you sign up for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes straight to your email with the latest news. SIGN UP HERE NOW