“Tar heels face a big trouble today” following by RJ Davis-Cormac Ryan and Elliot Cadeau..
ATLANTA — This loss was not because of one play.
But that’s as good a place to start as any.
Because, fairly or not, it will be the enduring image from Saturday, the one that sticks in the gut of North Carolina fans everywhere. Put 11.9 seconds on the clock, UNC down three to Kentucky, and let the tape roll: Freshman guard Elliot Cadeau — who hadn’t played, to that point, in almost nine minutes — bringing the ball up the floor and right after crossing half court, flinging a pass to the right to Cormac Ryan … who still had his back turned, never looking to receive it. The ball ricocheted off Ryan’s tailbone, then dribbled haplessly back toward midcourt. RJ Davis, he of the game-high 27 points, sprinted mercilessly from the corner to corral it … but only as it was crossing the half-court line. Over and back. Turnover. And with 5.2 seconds left? Ballgame.
