North Carolina Basketball: 3 takeaways after Tar Heels fall to NC State Wolfpack

2. Erase the slow starts

Similar to the first two games of the ACC Tournament, they fought through relatively slow starts against the Seminoles and the Panthers. However, they were ultimately able to blow by that stage and find their stride on the hardwood court. Though the Tar Heels never got around to placing their foot in the door, that allowed them to explode, as seen prior. 

It took awhile for UNC to speed up, as instructed by Coach Davis. The Heels were looking out of sorts too much for their liking with an ACC championship on the line.

Within the first couple of minutes after the tip-off, the Wolfpack jumped out to a 14-4 lead at the 15:33 mark, courtesy of a Mohamed Diarra swish from behind the arc. Despite trailing, the Heels were able to find their footing a little bit as they started to creep up on State the sooner the halftime break came around.

Unfortunately, this slow start was all that the Wolfpack needed to stay competitive, even though the Heels went into the break with a one-point lead, succeeding Cormac Ryan's bucket at the buzzer-beater.

DJ Horne and DJ Burns entered the interlude with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Interestingly enough, Burns led the team with six assists, escaping double-teams by North Carolina effectively.