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UNC Basketball: Brooks, Pierce ruled OUT versus No. 11 Louisville

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 11: Garrison Brooks #15 of the North Carolina Tar Heels plays during a game against the Clemson Tigers on January 11, 2020 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Clemson won 76-79 in overtime. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 11: Garrison Brooks #15 of the North Carolina Tar Heels plays during a game against the Clemson Tigers on January 11, 2020 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Clemson won 76-79 in overtime. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /
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The UNC basketball team will be shorthanded on Saturday afternoon, as Garrison Brooks and Justin Pierce have been ruled out of the Tar Heels’ game at Louisville.

Garrison Brooks and Justin Pierce have been ruled out of North Carolina’s Saturday afternoon game against Louisville at the KFC Yum Center. The announcement comes less than two hours prior to the start of the game. Brooks will miss the game with an undisclosed illness, while Pierce is nursing a sprained right ankle.

Brooks has been arguably the Tar Heels’ best player this season, averaging 15.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He’s also shooting better than 53 percent from the floor, and has posted 10 double-doubles this season. Pierce, on the other hand, has averaged 5.3 points and four rebounds off the UNC bench this season. He’s been struggling throughout the season, but has been a valuable asset on a short North Carolina bench.

This is just the latest in a series of events that’s seen numerous North Carolina players miss dozens of games due to a myriad of medical reasons. At this point, UNC players who have not missed time with injury or illness this season are in the minority.

The Tar Heels were nowhere near a perfect team prior to their uncanny, injury-plagued season, but their lack of healthy personnel certainly hasn’t helped their case. They lost junior big man Sterling Manley for the season prior to their first game, and freshman guard Anthony Harris was lost to a season-ending ACL injury after just five games. Leaky Black, Armando Bacot and Cole Anthony are among the long list of other Tar Heels to miss time this season.

The Brooks-less, Pierce-less Tar Heels will tip-off with the Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. EST, hoping to beat the unthinkable odds, and leave Louisville with a victory.

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Stick with Keeping It Heel for live coverage of the game, and all the latest on the UNC basketball program.

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