Robert Willett - rwillett@newsobserver.com
UNC's Reggie Bullock gets tangled with Florida State's Luke Loucks as they battle on Jan. 14.
CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina returned to practice this week with a desire to correct a lot of things in the wake of Saturday's humbling 90-57 loss at Florida State. Chief among the Tar Heels' deficiencies - apart from a lack of intensity, defensive lapses - has been an inability to succeed away from the Smith Center.
Following an 80-70 loss against UNLV on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, and the 73-72 defeat at Kentucky on Dec. 3, UNC's loss at Florida State was its third consecutive away from home.
"We need to correct a lot of things, and that's one of them," UNC senior forward Tyler Zeller said earlier this week. "We've got to be able to show that we can play on the road. And if we want to have a chance of winning the ACC, you've got to be able to win on the road."
The Tar Heels will have a chance to end their road woes tonight at Virginia Tech (9 p.m., ESPN), which has won two of the past three meetings between the teams at Cassell Coliseum. Zeller and his teammates, meanwhile, have had difficulty explaining what's gone wrong when they travel.
At home, UNC is in the midst of a record 28-game winning streak at the Smith Center - the longest in the building's history. But the Tar Heels have won only one game on the road this season - a 91-75 victory at UNC-Asheville on Nov. 13.
UNC hasn't won consecutive regular-season road games since February 2011, when the Tar Heels beat Clemson, N.C. State and Florida State. This season, UNC's performances on the road have been marred by mental lapses and by poor execution on both offense and defense.
The Tar Heels struggled to guard the perimeter against UNLV and suffered breakdowns in the final moments at Kentucky. At Florida State, nearly the entire game could have been described as a breakdown.
After Saturday's defeat, UNC sophomore Harrison Barnes dismissed comparisons between the loss against the Seminoles and UNC's other two setbacks on the road. But the theme of the games all fit, he said.
"I mean, those (two) were a little closer," Barnes said. "But the biggest thing is just a sense of urgency. Coming out - just being ready to play on the defensive end."
Indeed, three of UNC's worst defensive performances have come on the road. Florida State shot 48.4 percent against the Tar Heels, who haven't allowed any other opponent as good of a shooting percentage. Kentucky and UNLV shot the third- and fourth-best percentages of any UNC opponent this season.
Earlier this week, coach Roy Williams acknowledged the notion that his team is due to bounce back from its lopsided loss at FSU, which was the worst in Williams' nine seasons at UNC. But he quickly dismissed that assumption.
"We're not going to go up and beat Virginia Tech just because we lost on Saturday," he said.
