Thanks for this analysis. I wouldn’t use the UNC vs. Louisville game as a good example of this being a trend across the land. It’s fairly easy to hazard a guess why this happens to us so frequently.
We tend to be pretty good on offense, and occasionally just plain unstoppable. But shooting 50-70% from the floor isn’t usually sustainable. We’re not a good defensive team, so when the opponent starts hitting, and we slow down, the leads dwindle. Throw in poor rebounding, not getting to the line and poor free throw shooting, an unforced turnover here or there, you get blown leads. More than anything, poor defense makes it difficult to weather dry spells on offense and survive hot streaks by other teams. When you can’t get stops,you can’t come back no matter how good you are with the ball, and you can’t sustain leads.
