UNC Basketball: Tar Heels lose to Panthers in uninspired performance

Roy Williams and the UNC basketball team continue to slide, losing their fourth straight game, and eighth out of the last 10.

Xavier Johnson scored a game-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists, as the Pittsburgh Panthers knocked off the North Carolina Tar Heels 66-52 at the Peterson Events Center on Saturday afternoon.

Johnson hit 4-of-11 shots from the floor, 2-of-5 from three-point range and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Reserve guard Ryan Murphy scored 13 points off the bench, and five other Panthers scored at least five points.

The Panthers connected on 43.5 percent of their shots overall, and 33 percent of their three-pointers. They converted just 19-of-27 free throws for the afternoon, but committed just nine turnovers in 40 minutes.

North Carolina was led by junior forward Garrison Brooks, who recorded his fifth consecutive double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Armando Bacot notched a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double, and senior guard Brandon Robinson scored a dozen points.

Per the usual, the Tar Heels were absolutely abysmal in just about every facet of the game. They hit less than 32 percent of their shots from the floor, and 22 percent (4-for-18) from beyond the arc. They were terrible from the free throw line, too, hitting just 10 of their 21 attempts for the game. They won the rebounding battle, sure, but turned the ball over 16 times and barely hit the half-century mark in scoring.

North Carolina has lost four straight games for the second time this season, something they hadn’t done in more than 15 years. The loss also drops the Tar Heels to 8-9 on the season — their first sub-500 record since November 2004 — and 1-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. They’ll be in action again on January 22 when they face off with the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg, Virginia.

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