Michael Malone's debut as North Carolina coach exposes issues in Tar Heels' ugly win vs. Western Carolina

The Tar Heels were bullied on the offensive glass and needed a late swing to survive an alarming opening test under their new coach 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. After entering as 22-point underdogs, the Catamounts — picked to finish eighth in the SoCon — looked like nearly an even match for UNC