Three Takeaways: UNC’s defensive woes continue in 84-78 loss to Cal

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Three Takeaways: UNC’s defensive woes continue in 84-78 loss to Cal

Grant Chachere, Tar Heels Wire · Tar Heels Wire

Sun, Jan 18, 2026 ·

3 min read

Groundhog Day

Jan 17, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears forward John Camden (left) reacts after scoring while being fouled during the first half against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

UNC has shown once again it cannot stop anyone defensively . The Tar Heels allowed Cal to shoot 29-for-58 (50%) from the floor and 10-for-16 (62.5%) from 3-point range. UNC has surrendered a 40% clip from 3-point range for four straight games. Since the start of ACC play, opponents have hit 72 3-pointers against UNC — an average of 14.4 per game.

It's quite ironic that Cal shot as well as it did, as the Bears shot just 37% from the floor and 22% from beyond the arc in their 71-55 loss to Duke just a few days earlier. Going into Saturday, the Bears had made only 38.2% of their field goal attempts in their first five ACC games — second to last in the ACC — and 26.8% from beyond the arc, which ranks last. They also rank second to last in effective field goal percentage at 44.2%.

Cal's John Camden, Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen combined for 58 points. The trio shot 55.5% from the field and 58.8% from 3-point range.

Free throws plagued Carolina once again as well, a common theme of the season even when the Tar Heels had success in the nonconference slate. They made only 60.7% of their free throws to Cal's 75%. Considering the Bears are the best free throw shooting team in the ACC and how close this game was, it made all the difference in this one — along with UNC's putrid defending as well.

Carolina Loses Rebounding Battle

Jan 17, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Jaydon Young (4) reacts during the second half against the California Golden Bears at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

While the rebounding battle was deadlocked at 34, Carolina effectively lost it. While UNC had two more offensive rebounds than Cal did, the Bears had 18 second-chance points to the Tar Heels' 10. Going into the game, Cal had a 22.2% offensive rebound rate, last in the ACC.

Cal also outrebounded UNC on the defensive glass 26-24.

Derek Dixon's Strong Second Half

Jan 14, 2026; Stanford, California, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Derek Dixon (3) dribbles against Stanford Cardinal guard Jeremy Dent-Smith (25) in the second half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

(Eakin Howard, Eakin Howard-Imagn Images)

Carolina was down by 20 points early in the second half but was able to pull within three in the final 20 seconds of the game. A large part of that was Dixon's shooting. Dixon scored nine of his 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting, all of which came from 3-point range. He also dished out two assists. Dixon's second-half point total was tied for the most on Carolina with Wilson.