Postgame, the North Carolina men's basketball team said all the right things.

"We're definitely going to have get back to the gym and focus on what we can control," Luke Maye said.

"We have to stay hungry," Kenny Williams said.

"We have to realize who we are," Joel Berry said.

But after the Tar Heels 79-75 loss to the Wofford late Wednesday evening, it was the words of their coach that stood above all.

"We got to by-God be ready to play and not act like we are prima donnas, that we are North Carolina and we can walk out there and the other team is going to fold," Coach Roy Williams said. "It was a disgusting thing for me the entire game."

Perhaps it was the win over Tennessee that had the team come out too high on themselves. Perhaps it was just the random midweek, 9 p.m. tip that threw the Heels off their game. Maybe the return of Cameron Johnson threw off the rotation just enough.

On the other hand, it was Wofford's first win over a ranked opponent, ever. No. 5 UNC lost, at home, to a team picked to finish 6th in the Southern Conference.

"A mountain top experience," Wofford head coach Mike Young said of the win. "To bring a team in here, you know not only compete and fight and do some really good things but win, that is a mouthful."

"We just made their season," Berry said. "It is just hard when you see a team like this that is not as talented as us but you think you're going to go out there and just beat them."

It was ugly from the tip-off. Wofford jumped out to an 11-5 lead by the first media timeout, UNC's largest deficit at home up until that point in the season. UNC responded, crawling back to take the lead by as many as seven points in the first half, but it never felt safe. Eight first half turnovers. A cold shooting half from every Tar Heel but Garrison Brooks. Only outrebounding the Terriers by two.

And the dagger, a circus shot layup by Wofford's star guard, Fletcher Magee, to put the Terriers up 1 at 34-33 going into halftime.

From there, it was all Terriers. 45-39 after the first media timeout in the second. Magee, one of the nation's top 3-point shooters, finally getting some shots from behind the arc to fall. Effort plays on the glass. Getting stuffed at the rim. You blinked, and Wofford was up 14.

"The difference was the effort," Kenny Williams said. "They played a lot harder than us."

The big things weren't going the Tar Heels way in either half. But the little things are what's going to stick out after the loss. The poor defensive switches that lead to way too many open shots. The poor decision making from Joel and Theo leading to them getting pulled, only for Jalek Felton to turnover the ball over in their absence. Getting in the bonus with 15 minutes left in the second half and missing six free throws down the stretch.

Some little things went the team's way. Brooks forcing a five second violation during the comeback. Theo forcing a jumpball to get the turnover down three. Good ball movement during the Tar Heels comeback attempt.

But far bigger were the mishaps. Not fouling down three with five fouls to give and 45 seconds to go. Missing the trap despite Roy Williams jumping up and down on the sideline. Pinson only attempting on field goal, a three-pointer, the entire game. The team's second leading rebounder being Joel Berry instead of one of the bigs.

"Terrible, terrible coaching job," Coach Williams said. "We got a big win on Sunday and we are fat and happy and think that things are just going to be so easy for us."

"We came out flat," Kenny Williams said. "We came out lackluster, lackadaisical and they came out ready to fight."

Roy wished he could have the team in the gym at 6 a.m. for practice. He thanked his rules guy on staff for letting him know he had to wait at least eight hours until he could call the players back.

UNC flies to New Orleans to play Ohio State on Saturday. And if the 9 a.m. practice, or whatever time this morning Coach Williams calls his players in, goes like I think it will, I'd be hard pressed to see this team come out flat again.

@sjdoughton