Despite 27 points from senior guard Brandon Robinson, the UNC men's basketball team (8-8, 1-4 ACC) was defeated by Clemson (8-7, 2-3 ACC) in overtime on Saturday, 79-76. The win by the Tigers was Clemson's first ever in Chapel Hill, ending a 59-game streak by UNC.
At Roy Williams' press conference on Friday, UNC's head coach made it clear he wasn't concerned about his team's home win streak against Clemson, instead focusing on the issues the Tar Heels have had on the court amidst a difficult season.
The deeper reason for UNC's struggle is pretty simple. They can’t make 3-point shots at the rate Roy Williams' teams normally do.
After losing its second game in a row, the North Carolina men's basketball team is faced with a sobering realization.
If any of UNC’s seven losses this season truly cast a shadow of doubt on the team’s NCAA Tournament chances, it was this one. Michigan, Ohio State, Gonzaga and Virginia are all ranked teams. An optimist could twist Wofford into a feel-out game, Cole Anthony's first on the sideline, and Georgia Tech into one of those early blips ACC teams so often have when conference play begins. After Wednesday's loss to Pittsburgh, Roy Williams stays next to Dean Smith on the NCAA’s all-time Division I wins list.
In a 73-65 triumph, the Panthers shot 23 of 52 from the field, and nine of 22 from 3-point range, in the second half to again keep head coach Roy Williams from passing Dean Smith in all-time NCAA Division I wins.
After more than 13 minutes of game time, a Garrison Brooks hook shot finally ended UNC's field goal drought. North Carolina missed its first 15 shots from every which way — in the paint, from deep, at the elbow, in the corner — before Brooks' bucket. The Smith Center crowd went into a frenzy. North Carolina had just cut the lead to 22.
In a 96-83 loss, the Tar Heels (8-6, 1-2 ACC) never led, trailed at one point by 24 points and allowed the Yellow Jackets to shoot 59 percent from the field. Junior forward Garrison Brooks put up a valiant 35 points in defeat.
As the seconds ticked down to single digits on the shot clock, Jeremiah Francis stood in a three-point stance a few feet past half court.
Before Monday's 70-67 win against Yale, Brandon Robinson was relaxing with his teammates when his eyes flickered toward the flatscreen. There, scrolling on the ESPN ticker, was the only thing anyone would want to talk about six hours later.
The North Carolina men's basketball team suffered another cold shooting night, but held on to the end to defeat Yale, 70-67. The win gave head coach Roy Williams his 879th career win, tying Dean Smith.
The North Carolina men's basketball team (7-5, 1-1 ACC) snapped a four-game losing streak and knocked off UCLA (7-5) on Saturday as part of the CBS Sports Classic, 74-64. The Tar Heels sank six three-pointers and overcame a 17-turnover day to get the win.
“I know we’re gonna benefit in the long run from it,” Roy Williams said, “but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant to go through right now for sure.”
Perhaps those absences, particularly Anthony's, made the 68-64 upset shocking. But the way it all went down — K.J. Smith running point, an airballed free throw from Justin Pierce and...Roy Williams calling a timeout? — was baffling to say the least.
The No. 17 North Carolina men's basketball team (6-4, 1-1 ACC) fell to Wofford (7-4), 68-64, in a rare home game in Carmichael Arena on Sunday. The Tar Heels missed the talents of first-year guard Cole Anthony, who is out indefinitely with a right knee injury that was announced hours before tipoff.
A 90-79 win over N.C. State on Jan. 4, 1986 was the program’s last hoorah in storied Carmichael Arena. Head coach Roy Williams, then an assistant under Dean Smith, hopes Sunday’s trip down memory lane — when No. 17 UNC hosts Wofford at Carmichael — allows some of that old-time magic to rub off on his current squad.
If the rim looks like an ocean when you’re hot, UNC’s 2019-20 team is staring at a puddle right now. The Tar Heels had plenty of shortcomings in a 56-47 loss at Virginia, but their total lack of an outside game stuck out like a sore thumb. North Carolina shot just 1 of 14 from deep.
Anthony continued his Sisyphean slog against the Cavaliers en route to 12 points on 4-15 shooting. On this day, the boulder won.
In a second straight poor offensive outing, the No. 7 North Carolina men's basketball team (6-3, 1-1 ACC) fell to No. 5 Virginia (8-1, 2-0 ACC), 56-47, on Sunday. The Tar Heels sank just one three-pointer and shot 37.8 percent from the field in the loss.
In Roy Williams' Friday press conference, the head coach detailed how his team hasn't been playing with as much pace as he would like and how that affects the rest of the offense.
