It’s hard to be happy about a 13-point loss to unranked Wake Forest when your team had legitimate championship aspirations this season, but SB Nation’s North Carolina blog Carolina March felt somewhat encouraged even in defeat.
Carolina March: Actually, This Loss Wasn’t So Bad
There were signs of life, however. The Wear brothers played well. The interior defense was stronger than we’ve seen yet this season, holding Wake’s big men to 8 of 17 shooting. The rebounding could still use some work, but without [Ed] Davis and [Tyler] Zeller, they weren’t the pushovers inside I was expecting. On a more observational aspect, if anything the team was too hesitant on offense. They played as if their propensity for mistakes had caused them to seize up, especially [Larry] Drew, who drove often and shot rarely. That being said, there was no sense of dejection or shellshocked faces like the last couple of games brought. The team was undermanned and unexperienced, but there was heart I’ve haven’t seen much this season. It’s hard to come away from a thirteen point loss – and only a buzzer-beating three from Drew made it that close – and come away feeling optimistic, but I actually am.
Is this a glass half-full approach? Absolutely. Is it a fair one? I mean, without Ed Davis, any ACC road game is tough. But still, who would have thought Carolina fans would feel encouraged by a 13-point loss to unranked Wake Forest when the season started?
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