No. 5 Virginia hands No. 7 UNC its third loss in four games
North Carolina coach Roy Williams was “99.9999” percent certain on Friday that freshman forward Armando Bacot was not going to play against Virginia on Sunday.
After all, he saw his ankle and it didn’t look good. It was swollen after Bacot sprained it trying to tip in a miss in UNC’s game against Ohio State earlier last week.
But by Sunday, two days after Williams’ comments, Bacot was healthy enough to start. He scored 11 points against the Cavaliers. But even that was not enough, as No. 7 UNC lost to No. 5 Virginia 56-47 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was the second consecutive game that the Tar Heels have not scored above 50 points, the first time that has happened since February 1947.
The Tar Heels have also lost three of their past four games.
“For me it’s very disappointing,”Williams said, pointing to a defensive mistake the Tar Heels made in the second half. “I’m beside myself.”
Bacot’s return was probably the only good news that occurred Sunday. After a poor performance against Ohio State on Wednesday, the Tar Heels weren’t much better.
For the second consecutive game, they shot below 40 percent from the floor.
Freshman guard Cole Anthony scored 12 points but was 4-of-15 from the floor.
He had no assists and six turnovers.
While Virginia’s defense was good, the Tar Heels didn’t do themselves any favors. They missed open 3-pointers and, at times, made questionable passes that led to turnovers.
The only reason the game was as close as it was early on was because, for one half, Virginia looked just as bad.
The two teams combined to shoot 2-for-18 in the first seven minutes of the game. And at halftime, UVA led 24-18.
In the second half the two teams found a better rhythm, although that is relatively speaking. The difference was turnovers. After committing nine turnovers in the first half, Virginia committed only four in the second half.
UVA senior Mamadi Diakete scored a team-high 12 points and had three rebounds.
And one
There wasn’t much good in this game, but the Tar Heels did shoot better than the Cavaliers. The Tar Heels shot 37 percent from the floor. The Cavaliers shot 33 percent.
Lane violation
There were at least three times the Tar Heels fouled a Virginia player who was shooting a 3-point shot. Those led to easy points when the Cavaliers were otherwise likely to miss those shots.
Virginia was 18 of 25 from the free-throw line.
ICYMI
Freshmen guards Anthony Harris and Jeremiah Francis both made their season debuts Sunday. Both were coming off injuries they suffered in high school. Harris scored four points, and Harris had one point.
Making sense of the numbers
7: The Tar Heels’ 3-point shooting percentage on Sunday.
The Tar Heels were 0-for-8 from 3 in the first half. It was a big reason UNC scored a season-low 18 points in the first half. They were 1-for-6 in the second half.
35: The Cavaliers’ 3-point shooting percentage. Virginia entered the game as the worst 3-point shooting team in the country. But the Cavaliers made 6 of 17 on Sunday.
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 6:09 PM.
