By Adam Lucas 1. Another brutally close game ends in a 67-66 Wake Forest win.

2. That’s now nine one-possession games this year for the Heels (5-4 overall) and five one-possession games in ACC play out of eight played (Carolina is 3-2). Carolina was up 54-53 after a Jae’Lyn Withers three-pointer with just over five minutes to play, but the Deacs then went on a 12-2 run to take control. 

3. Indicative of how the game went: during that 12-2 Wake run, three of the four shots Carolina took were three-pointers (one by Withers, one by RJ Davis, one by Ian Jackson) and all three missed. The other UNC possession (other than a Seth Trimble basket) was a turnover.

4. This one, though, felt different than the other close games. Carolina had two big problems in this game: first, they struggled shooting the ball. The Tar Heels made just eight of 32 three-point attempts, one of which came at the buzzer and was essentially meaningless. They were 18 of 33 from two-point range, but if you’re following the math, that means the Heels hoisted essentially half their shots from three on a night when they weren’t hitting from three. Some of those definitely came when they were trying to close the gap, but it started early–four of UNC’s first six shots were 3s, nine of the first 17 and 10 of the first 18. 5. The other problem: Carolina couldn’t get to the free throw line in the second half. Literally did not attempt a free throw…after a first half in which Wake was whistled for 13 fouls and the two teams combined for 27 fouls. Wake was called for four fouls in the second half, two of which came after they started fouling intentionally because they had numerous fouls to give and didn’t want to let Carolina attempt a shot. The lack of offense means UNC has broken 75 points in just two ACC games. If you aren’t getting points from the line and aren’t making three-point shots, it’s very hard to win an ACC road game.

6. Individual highs: RJ Davis scored 21 points and Elliot Cadeau scored 14 to go with his 13 assists. Wake, meanwhile, put four players in double figures, led by Cameron Hildreth with 20 (ten of them came from the line as he went 10-12, which means he attempted more free throws by himself than Carolina’s team). 

7. The Tar Heels went deeper into the bench during the first half, thanks largely to a foul-plagued first half that saw Washington and Ven-Allen Lubin both saddled with two fouls. Cade Tyson, Ty Claude and James Brown all saw significant minutes. That led to some unusual lineups that likely haven’t seen much time together, including the four UNC guards along with Brown late in the first half. 

8. But in a first half with a tight whistle, the Heels needed those minutes. And both Claude and Brown gave Carolina some lively energy (Brown even got a technical foul) in a first 20 minutes that didn’t have much rhythm. Seth Trimble was also hit with two early fouls and was limited in the first half.

9. That first half wasn’t a work of art. The two teams combined for 19 turnovers and saw 27 fouls called. Wake shot 0-for-6 from three-point range, the Deacs didn’t have an assist, and neither team shot more than 35.5 percent from the field. After all that, the Heels held a two-point lead.

10. That Ian Jackson first half dunk will go on his season highlight reel. 

11. Carolina has now lost four in a row at Wake. The last time that happened was 1962-65 under a young unproven coach named Dean Smith. The Heels are back at home Saturday in what is quite obviously a must win game before a critical four-game stretch that starts at Pitt next Tuesday.