Keeping It Heel
Fansided

No. 7 North Carolina falls short at No. 5 Virginia, 56-47

By Marcos Chisholm

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts to a play in the second half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on December 7, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts to a play in the second half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on December 7, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /
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The UNC Basketball program suffered their second-straight loss, dropping them to 6-3 on the season

On Sunday, the No. 7 Tar Heels fell short to No. 5 Virginia 56-47 on the road at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. This effectively gives North Carolina its first conference loss this season.

North Carolina and Virginia began the matchup playing some of their best defense all season — both teams were limited to a combined 42 points in the first half. However, Roy Williams’ and Tony Bennett’s squads put on surprisingly cold-shooting displays that quickly overshadowed their efforts to protect the perimeter and paint. Before halftime, North Carolina shot 30.4 percent while Virginia only made 32 percent of their attempts.

In spite of fluid ball movement that both teams produced in different moments throughout the game, guards such as North Carolina’s Cole Anthony and Virginia’s Kihei Clark had set the tone for rushed offensive sets and transitions that contributed to the game’s 27 total turnovers — Virginia had 13 and North Carolina produced 14, 6 of which came from Anthony.

During a season where North Carolina has lacked consistent secondary scoring options, problems on UNC’s offense continue to show no signs of stopping against the Cavaliers. The Tar Heels only converted one three-point field goal in the entire game, shooting for a measly 7.1% from beyond the arc.

Stat of the Game

Bench scoring: Virginia’s 25 to 10 advantage in bench points is further proof the Tar Heels will need more than strong defense to defeat ranked teams.

Although Cole Anthony and Armando Bacot produced nearly half of UNC’s points on Sunday, the Tar Heel’s currently run an offense that has become one-dimensional in recent games. Garrison Brooks failed to make an impact with his often efficient showcases of second-chance and inside scoring, only scoring 6 points on 2 of 5 attempts. Bench players such as Andrew Platek, Justin Pierce, and Caleb Ellis went for a combined 0 of 4 when shooting three-pointers, while Virginia collectively shot 6 of 17 (35.3 percent) from three.

To the surprise of many viewers, Jeremiah Francis and Anthony Harris made their first appearances in a game this season as Roy Williams continues to find a spark from a new class of UNC recruits that are struggling in their transition.

This loss marks North Carolina’s second defeat against a top-25 ranked team this season.

Player of the Game

After pleading with head coach Roy Williams to return to the lineup following his ankle injury in North Carolina’s 74-49 defeat to Ohio State on December 4th, Armando Bacot’s 11 points should not come as a footnote. While no timetable was set for his return, Bacot still established his presence in the paint against a Virginia team that led the country in opponent points per game allowed entering Sunday. The no. 18 recruit on the ESPN 300 showed no serious signs of injury against the Cavaliers, comfortably converting spot-up mid-range shots and post-up opportunities with relative ease.

What’s Next

The North Carolina Tar Heels will play at home on Sunday, December 15 against the Wofford Terriers at 4 pm EST.

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