Tennessee coach Rick Barnes previews No. 20 Tennessee against No. 7 North Carolina Mike Wilson/News Sentinel
It was just like last year in so many ways for Tennessee against North Carolina on Sunday.
And the brutal end in a close loss was the most unfortunate part of all.
The No. 20 Vols dropped 78-73 to No. 20 North Carolina on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena in a game the Tar Heels led for only 91 seconds.
Grant Williams led Tennessee 15 points and James Daniel III had a season-high 14. Joel Berry and Luke Maye led the Tar Heels with 21 and 15, respectively.
Tennessee held the lead almost the entire game, taking over early in the first half and having a hold on the game until the final three minutes.
The Tar Heels took the lead for good on a Kenny Williams 3-pointer that came off a brutal turnover from guard Lamonte Turner, who threw a wild pass down the court as he was trapped in a corner. The ball rolled right to North Carolina’s Luke Maye and Williams punctuated the possession – and the game – with a wing 3-pointer to put the defending national champs up 72-70.
The Tar Heels made a handful of free throws to seal the win.
Tennessee had a one- or two-possession lead for most of the second half and it held a one-point edge at the final media timeout. But after the Vols didn’t get off a good shot, UNC freshman Garrison Brooks scored at the other end to give the Tar Heels just their third lead of the game.
Jordan Bowden flipped the lead right back for Tennessee with a pair of free throws and Schofield made what looked like the play of the game at the time. The junior forward broke on a UNC inbounds pass, deflecting it off the fingertips of UNC freshman Sterling Manley and giving the ball back to the Vols.
Williams made a terrific drive and shot to push the UT lead up to 70-67. It was all North Carolina from there, though.
After Berry made two free throws, Turner’s turnover sent Tennessee spiraling. Williams made the game-changing 3-pointer. Schofield missed a jumper. UNC made two free throws to take a two-possession. The Vols turned over the ball off another inbounds play. UNC made more free throws and the Vols were left wondering what could have been.
Tennessee weathered the storm time and time again earlier in the game.
Berry gave North Carolina a 53-51 lead with 12:02 to play – its first lead since it was 3-2 just 51 seconds into the game.
Chris Darrington put Tennessee right back in the lead with a 3-pointer that bounced around the rim before falling through. Daniel III followed up with a 3-pointer – his fourth of the game – and Turner scored in transition to re-establish the Tennessee lead at 59-53.
But the Tar Heels kept pushing and the Vols had no answer in the end.
The Vols led by as many as nine in the first half, racing out to a lead with a pair of 7-0 runs.
Daniel III hit three 3-pointers in the first half and had 11 points, while Jordan Bone had 10 points. The Vols took advantage of a dozen North Carolina turnovers and turned them into 15 points.
Up next
The Vols host Furman at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday (SEC Network)