Roy Williams felt he hadn’t prepared his players well enough for their final possession in the final seconds of a shocking 83-80 defeat against Belmont, which trailed by eight points with about 2 1/2 minutes to play before completing a dramatic comeback with five points in the final 14 seconds.
“I apologized to them,” Williams said. “I told them it was my fault."
In a game with no shortage of mistakes, UNC made two critical ones in the final 15 seconds.
First, the Tar Heels allowed Belmont senior guard J.J. Mann an open 3-pointer near the top of the key. Mann, who finished with a game-high 28 points, made the shot with 14 seconds to play, and it gave the Bruins an 81-80 lead.
After Mann’s shot went in, Williams elected not to call a timeout.