Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: Turnovers doom Tar Heels on the road

By Zack Pearson

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - JANUARY 6: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels calls a play in the second half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on January 6, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Virginia defeated North Carolina 61-49. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - JANUARY 6: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels calls a play in the second half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on January 6, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Virginia defeated North Carolina 61-49. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /
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It got ugly for the North Carolina Tar Heels on the road in Virginia Saturday

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

The North Carolina Tar Heels struggled in a road game in Charlottesville, Virginia losing to the Cavaliers. Yep, it happened again.

The Tar Heels have now lost five-straight games at Virginia after falling 61-49 to the Cavaliers, dropping them to 12-4 overall and 1-2 to start ACC play.

Saturday’s game was a rough one to watch.

The pace of the game played to Virginia’s strength as the Tar Heels were unable to get out on the fast break for easy buckets. Instead, the Cavaliers stingy pack it in defense gave UNC fits.

UNC didn’t help its own cause in the loss, either.

They committed a season-high 19 turnovers that led to 25 points for the Cavaliers. Virginia outscored UNC 25-3 on points off turnovers, a big factor in the win.

But it wasn’t just turnovers for UNC that hurt them.

The Tar Heels shot just 29.6% from the field in the loss, one of their worst efforts all season long.

That included making just eight two-point attempts, and shooting 26% on two pointers in the game.

UNC was led by Joel Berry’s 17 points as the senior attempted to lead the Tar Heels back into the game in the second half.

Berry didn’t receive much help as the only other player to reach double-digits was Kenny Williams who finished with 11. Williams scored 8 of those 11 points in the first half.

It was ugly all around for the Tar Heels and it ends a two-game road trip in which the Tar Heels lost to both Florida State and Virginia on the road.

There’s still a long way to go in this one but there are certainly plenty of things UNC will need to work on before the end of the season.

Stat of the game

We already mentioned that UNC committed a season-high 19 turnovers in the game but when you put that up against the total amount of field goals they made, it’s an alarming stat.

UNC made just 16 of their 54 field goal attempts on Saturday, including going 8-of-23 from the three-point line.

You wont win many games when you have more turnovers than field goals.

The turnovers have plagued UNC early in the season and it’s a trend that has to be bucked sooner than later.

Player of the Game

While there wasn’t many candidates for this, we have to give it to the senior Berry.

Berry did his best to keep UNC in the game in the second half, making a couple tough shots to keep the Tar Heels within striking distance. They got to within 6 with a few minutes left but couldn’t get any closer.

It’s clear Berry needs some more help moving forward. It’s just a matter of players around him stepping it up.

What’s next?

After a tough two-game road trip against ranked teams, UNC returns home. The Tar Heels will host Boston College on Tuesday night in the Dean Dome.

The Golden Eagles are 1-2 in ACC play with the lone win coming at home against Duke.

Check back for more including a game preview.

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