UNC basketball didn’t get the impressive post presence it seemingly needed coming out of the transfer portal in the offseason. As a result, the 12th-ranked Tar Heels (4-2, 0-0 ACC) have seen opposing big men post double-doubles of the 20-10 variety in their two losses to as many ranked opponents they have ever faced.

Kansas graduate center Hunter Dickinson totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds against the visiting Tar Heels on Nov. 8, helping the No. 1 Jayhawks win 92-89.

And on Tuesday night, Hubert Davis’ undersized fourth-seeded UNC basketball team suffered an 85-72 loss to No. 4 Auburn in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational. In fact, the Tigers enjoyed a 23-point, 19-goal, three-block lead over their fifth-year player, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Johni Broome.

Auburn outrebounded UNC 42-35. Additionally, the Tar Heels received just two points and two rebounds from their fifth-place starter, junior forward Jalen Washington.

Sure, junior forward Ven-Allen Lubin, who announced his transfer to UNC after the team came up empty in countless other big-time Portal chases in Chapel Hill, delivered an encouraging performance in his 23 minutes off the bench to finish the game 10 points nine boards.

But as many Tar Heel supporters feared back in the spring, the presence of Washington and Lubin, who effectively served as the program’s only offseason addition with a chance to join legendary UNC basketball double-double producer Armando Bacot, was enough replace, against big-time enemies with huge weapons.

The Tar Heels will now face unranked Michigan State in the Maui Invitational third-place game at the Lahaina Civic Center on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

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