A band of Catamounts nearly derailed Michael Malone's honeymoon with North Carolina on Monday night. Though UNC avoided a disastrous loss, its 80-72 win over Western Carolina came layered in red flags.
The Catamounts gave UNC everything it could handle, cutting the Tar Heels' lead to one twice in the second half. It wasn't until Western Carolina's lead guard, Jaeden Roberts, fouled out with 5:57 remaining that UNC gained a bit of breathing room.
Moments later, a questionable over-the-back call on Western Carolina wiped off a putback and begat a technical foul on the Catamounts. By the time North Carolina was done shooting free throws, the sequence had produced a 6-point swing at the 5:25 mark, extending UNC's lead to 69-62. Without Roberts on the floor, Western Carolina couldn't climb all the way back as Malone's squad avoided catastrophe.
On a night when other unranked high-major teams with first-year coaches like NC State, Syracuse and Providence all cruised to easy wins in buy games, North Carolina's ugly slog made it an outlier.
College basketball scores, opening night winners and losers: No. 3 Illinois rolls, Memphis shocks Iowa State Isaac Trotter
Catamounts give Tar Heels a scare
After entering as 22-point underdogs, the Catamounts — picked to finish eighth in the SoCon — looked like nearly an even match for UNC in Malone's coaching debut.
Prunty's third triple of the night has us within two late in Chapel Hill.#CatamountCountry | #WTD pic.twitter.com/tzYUyf2cme
— Western Carolina Basketball (@CatamountMBB) November 3, 2026
North Carolina jumped out to a 10-0 lead behind eight straight points from NC State transfer Matt Able. It looked like the Tar Heels might be off to the races, like in the only prior meeting between the in-state foes. UNC won that game 104-61 in December 2017.
That's what this game should have been for the Tar Heels. It should have been an easy start that engendered optimism for the start of a new regime.
Instead, it underscored fears that arose during North Carolina's 2-1 exhibition slate, which included an uncomfortable overtime win over Charlotte.
North Carolina's shortcomings exposed
UNC was outworked 12-6 on the offensive glass vs. Charlotte in the exhibition game, resulting in an 18-10 edge in second-chance points for the 49ers.
Western Carolina followed a similar blueprint, using a 13-7 advantage in offensive rebounds to create a 13-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Starting center Sayon Keita has a 7-foot-7 wingspan, but it's clear the lanky 18 year old doesn't know how to use it yet. Keita and starting power forward Jarin Stevenson finished with just four rebounds apiece.
"You do all that hard work, only to see the shot taken and now they get an extra opportunity," Malone said. "I think it's something where we just have to continue to harp on it, drill it, demand it. I'm going to keep on pounding that rock. It's going to break one day."
Veesaar leaves void for Heels
That Malone and UNC couldn't retain 7-footer Henri Veesaar, who left to be the No. 52 pick in the NBA Draft, is going to haunt the Tar Heels.
UNC still had time after Veesaar's departure to find a suitable replacement. The Tar Heels didn't do it.
An opponent with more competent bigs than Western Carolina will make life miserable for this UNC team unless the Tar Heels resolve soon to make crashing the boards a higher priority. Indiana certainly did in a 76-58 exhibition win over the Tar Heels. The Hoosiers used a 20-10 edge in offensive rebounds to create a 17-7 edge in second-chance points. At the time, it could be written off as an exhibition aberration. Now, it's a verified problem.
"One thing I do know is that both Jarin Stevenson and Sayon Keita, it's not like they're not playing hard," Malone said. "It's not like they're out there not giving effort. So we'll watch some film, see what's really causing it. But big picture, yes, we need Jarin and Sayon to be 7-10 boards every night."
ACC foes will feast
Looking ahead to ACC play, what is Louisville center Flory Bidunga going to do against this team? What about hulking Florida State freshman Marcis Ponder? Most importantly, there are two games with Duke coming. The Blue Devils might have the most imposing front court in college basketball between junior center Patrick Ngongba and freshman phenom Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje.
The version of North Carolina's front court on display against Western Carolina will get demolished against those teams unless something changes quickly.
If this were the NBA world that Malone came from, his front office could go to the free agency scrap heap and sign the meanest big man available. Or, the Tar Heels could make a trade to address their deficiencies.
But roster construction season is over, and Malone's UNC honeymoon will be over soon, too, unless the Tar Heels can cultivate some rapid development in their frontcourt.
