UNC Basketball: The struggles in Charlottesville continue…

The UNC basketball program battled without star big man Armando Bacot but couldn’t do enough to upset No. 13 Virginia on the road. 

Charlottesville, Virginia continues to be a place of horror for the UNC basketball program.

For the eighth consecutive time, the Tar Heels have lost on the road at Virginia, as the No. 13-ranked Cavaliers defended their home court with a seven-point victory on Tuesday night.

The storyline of the game was North Carolina star big man Armando Bacot, who appeared to roll his ankle within the first minute and 20 seconds of the game. Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels were forced to play without Bacot for the remainder of the game, as the hope is that the injury is nothing too serious.

Once Bacot went down, you could send the Tar Heels were impacted negatively by it. They went down 10-3, but thanks to the emergence of freshman Jalen Washington, the UNC basketball program stormed back.

Without Bacot and Pete Nance, who was still sidelined due to a lower back injury, the Tar Heels had to rely heavily on Justin McKoy and the aforementioned Washington. The first half was the Jalen Washington show, as his 12 points played a big role in North Carolina taking a two-point lead into the half.

Unfortunately, the second half was controlled by the Cavaliers, as they shot 53.5% percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes of play. Some sloppy play from the Tar Heels, guided by seven second-half turnovers, also didn’t help North Carolina in its pursuit of an upset victory.

RJ Davis led the Tar Heels with 16 points, while Caleb Love, who struggled mightily through essentially three-quarters of the game, ended the night with 13 points and five assists. Washington was slowed down in the second half, only scoring a single point in that span to finish with 13 points of his own.

Of course, not having the two big men, especially Bacot hurt. You can easily make the case that the outcome is different if Bacot doesn’t go down with an injury.

However, the Tar Heels were up by as many as 9 but made some costly mistakes that helped the Cavaliers not only crawl back into this one but ultimately take the lead for good.

The focus now will turn to the injury status of Bacot, as the UNC basketball program will hold its breath until an official diagnosis is figured out. Until then, the Tar Heels will focus on its upcoming Saturday afternoon matchup at Louisville, as they hope to have a healthy roster to work with.

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