It’s hard to win basketball games when a team is consistently turning the ball over, but North Carolina found a way to do that on Jan. 2 against then-No. 12 Miami in Chapel Hill.
Wednesday night the Tar Heels weren’t as lucky.
No. 6 Miami didn’t have to do much in its 61-37 victory against No. 22 North Carolina (17-7, 7-4 ACC), as UNC surrendered the ball a season-high 35 times, just two shy of its point total. That is four more turnovers than their previous season high, tallied earlier this season in the first match against Miami.
The Hurricanes capitalized, scoring 39 points off turnovers.
“When you can score that many points off turnovers you don’t have to do much of anything else,” UNC Coach Sylvia Hatchell said.
The Hurricanes shot just 37 percent from the field, but with the Tar Heels shooting 27 percent, including an abysmal 18 percent in the second half, it was enough for the Hurricanes to leave the BankUnited Center with a victory.
With a little more than 11 minutes remaining in the second half, the Tar Heels had 27 turnovers to 26 points.
North Carolina’s chances looked bleak early. After UNC grabbed the first four points of the game, it did not make another shot for six minutes. In that time the Hurricanes snatched a 17-4 lead.
Typically a presence in the paint, senior Chay Shegog, who came into Wednesday averaging 16.8 points per game, scored only six.