No. 6 Ohio State dominates No. 7 UNC in ACC-Big Ten challenge
Roy Williams had seen enough.
The Tar Heels just kept missing. And with about 10 minutes left, trailing by 14 to Ohio State, Williams benched his starters and put in three walk-ons and two reserves.
Yes, the Tar Heels were that bad.
They shot below 30 percent from the floor, and lost to the sixth-ranked Buckeyes at the Dean Smith Center 74-49.
“The head basketball coach at North Carolina did a sorry-ass job tonight,” Williams said after the game.
It was the fewest number of points scored in a game since it scored 49 against Virginia January 2018.
UNC freshman guard Cole Anthony led the Tar Heels with 15 points, but he shot 4 of 15 from the floor.
The Tar Heels have lost two of their last three games, and the schedule is not getting any easier. The Tar Heels face No. 5 Virginia on Sunday.
The Tar Heels’ start to Wednesday’s game seemed promising. They hit their first two shots — a layup by Garrison Brooks and a 3-pointer by Leaky Black — and led 5-0.
But that lead did not last long.
UNC freshman forward Armando Bacot went down with ankle injury with about 12 minutes left in the first half. He did not return.
After his injury, the Tar Heels struggled in the paint and could not keep Ohio State off the glass.
In the first half, the Tar Heels kept it close by not turning the ball over. They trailed by two points at halftime.
But in the second half, everything began to unravel.
After Ohio State took a nine-point lead with a little more than 17 minutes left, UNC freshman guard Cole Anthony hit two consecutive 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cut the Buckeye’s lead to three points with about 16 minutes left.
But that was the closest the Tar Heels would get. The Buckeyes extended their lead to 14 points with about 10 minutes remaining.
Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell capped off the 13-2 run with a fast break dunk.
The Buckeyes kept extending their lead.
“Tonight wasn’t our night,” said UNC forward Justin Pierce, who finished with 7 points and 3 rebounds.
With four minutes left, the Tar Heel fans began to leave, and all that was heard were the cheers of the Ohio State fans left in the arena.
And one
UNC’s bench gave the Tar Heels a brief spark defensively. They forced a number of turnovers in the second half, and kept the game in reach before the starters returned.
But when they came out, Ohio State just extended the lead even further.
Lane violation
The Tar Heels had an awful shooting night. They shot 27 percent from the floor.
ICYMI
Bacot injured his left ankle when came down on an Ohio State player’s foot. He seemed to roll the ankle. Bacot appeared in serious pain and had to be helped off the floor by two teammates. He did not put any weight on his left foot.
Bacot, a 6-10, 235-pound forward, was coming off his best performances of the season last week against Oregon. He scored 23 points, had 12 rebounds and six blocks.
Making sense of the numbers
27: The number of points UNC scored in the first half. It was the fewest points scored by the Tar Heels in a half this season. That is, until the second half. The Tar Heels shot 29 percent from the floor in the first half.
54: The percentage Ohio State shot in the second half.
25: The Tar Heels’ 25 point loss was the largest home loss under Roy Williams.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 11:39 PM.
