UNC Basketball: The terrible basketball continues…

The UNC basketball once again put together an abysmal performance, as they dropped their third straight game to fall to 5-3 on the season.

Another day, another very disappointing performance from the UNC basketball program.

In their final ACC/Big Ten Challenge contest, the Tar Heels came out flat, as they were dominated by the No. 10 ranked Indiana Hoosiers on Wednesday night.

The score doesn’t necessarily indicate it, but this game wasn’t as close as the final numbers show. Without the Tar Heels’ advantage at the free throw line, the Hoosiers would’ve won this game by a lot more.

Why is that?

Well, for starters, they absolutely dominated the paint.

In the first half, Indiana outscored North Carolina 22-6 in the paint. Over the final 20 minutes of action, the Hoosiers put up 50, yes, 50 points in the paint, outscoring the Tar Heels (who had just 20) by 30.

North Carolina struggled from the floor, shooting just under 34 percent for the contest. Indiana, on the other hand, knocked down 50 percent of its shot attempts, which is impressive given that they were just 3-21 from deep.

Every time it felt as if the Tar Heels had a chance to get back into the game, a costly turnover would swing the momentum right back to the Hoosiers.

The biggest came down the stretch, as the Tar Heels picked up a steal and had a chance to cut Indiana’s lead to at least six with just under two minutes to play. With a fast break advantage, RJ Davis pulled up for a 17-foot jumper and missed, while no Tar Heels were near the play for the rebound.

This is just one of many examples of how poor the shot selection has been for the UNC basketball program, especially the duo of Davis and Caleb Love.

Armando Bacot, who was already playing with a hurt ankle, suffered some sort of right shoulder injury early in the game. He played through it (and recorded his 53rd career double-double as a Tar Heel), but you could tell that the injury was nagging him throughout.

Pete Nance recorded his first-ever UNC basketball double-double, as he led the team with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Love finished with 13 points on 5-13 shooting, while Davis had 11 of his own while knocking down just four of his 11 attempts.

It’s a rough time for the UNC basketball program, as they are a team that lacks an offensive rhythm. This is getting very concerning, as the team as a whole was limited to just five assists on the night.

Additionally, Hubert Davis continues to rely on his short rotation, and at this point, it may be time to see what others are capable of. Tyler Nickel and Dontrez Styles have been worked out of the rotation, as maybe one (or both) of these guys could help provide some type of spark.

It doesn’t get any easier for North Carolina, as they face yet another very tough road game this weekend at Virginia Tech.

I don’t think it’s time to fully hit the “panic button,” but the UNC basketball program’s play so far this season is starting to become a major concern as we get deeper into non-conference play.

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