Well played

The disappointment was evident on their faces at the postgame interview table.

Hawaii’s players and coaches thought they could beat No. 5 North Carolina on Friday night. They had a good chunk of the sellout crowd in the Stan Sheriff Center convinced of that, too, until the Tar Heels ultimately won 83-68.

You have to respect that belief.

UH had to deal with a huge size disparity, one that ultimately proved too much. It was still much, much closer than most people expected. It was a three-point game with 16 minutes left.

UNC coach Roy Williams called it “one of the ugliest games I’ve coached in my life.” You have to give some credit to UH for making that happen. The Heels were just straight ineffective on the perimeter until some late jumpers put it away.

UH coach Eran Ganot was very complimentary of Williams in the postgame, but it was clear he had aspirations to win it and shock the college basketball world.

The ‘Bows ramped up their charge-taking attempts at overdrive at one end, getting the benefit on some (Gibson Johnson and Sheriff Drammeh are going to have a tight race for the season lead) but not others, including a key one that was reversed against Johnson.

On offense, UH’s identity is coming in to sharper focus. Drammeh and Noah Allen were able to beat Carolina defenders off the dribble repeatedly. Allen looked to finish most of those driving chances himself, as he should; it’s clear he’s UH’s best finisher. Drammeh looked to suck in the D and dish to the perimeter for teammates’ open looks there.

The rotation has seen some tweaks. Brocke Stepteau and Zigmars Raimo were in quickly off the bench Friday, while Matt Owies and Larry Lewis Jr. did not appear at all. Leland Green struggled to 0-for-6 and took a seat late. Stepteau played crunch-time minutes alongside Drammeh.

It’ll be interesting to see if that was just a blip because of a supremely talented opponent, or if that’s the new norm.

Hawaii continues play on Tuesday against its sister school Hawaii Hilo on Tuesday at the Sheriff.