No. 17 UNC upset by Wofford at home, again. This time, without Cole Anthony
If you thought North Carolina had it bad after the Virginia and Ohio State losses, consider the news it got before its game on Sunday against Wofford.
Its best player, freshman guard Cole Anthony, was not suiting up.
Neither was starter Leaky Black, who also plays backup point. And as a result, the Tar Heels struggled against Wofford at Carmichael Arena. They went through a serious cold stretch early in the second half and allowed Wofford to take a commanding 13-point lead, as No. 17 UNC fell, 68-64.
“I’ll play in a damn Red Forest if we play better and be a lot happier,” UNC coach Roy Williams said.
This was the second time in three seasons that the Tar Heels lost to the Terriers. Wofford upset UNC at the Dean Smith Center 79-75 on Dec. 20, 2017.
As for this season, the Tar Heels (6-4, 1-1 ACC) have now lost three consecutive games and four of their last five before heading west on Wednesday to face No. 6 Gonzaga.
Though the game against Wofford was never in the Tar Heels’ control, they led by four points at halftime. They got out in transition, scoring 13 fastbreak points and 16 points in the paint.
However, it did not last.
After UNC guard Christian Keeling’s jumpshot gave the Tar Heels a 42-39 lead with a little more than 15 minutes left, the Terriers went on a 16-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 13-point lead. The run included four 3-pointers and two layups and forced Williams to call a timeout.
The Tar Heels responded with a 16-8 run over the next seven minutes to cut the lead to four points with a little less than three minutes remaining.
But Wofford senior guard Trevor Stumpe hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead back to seven.
Those four points were the closest the Tar Heels would get.
Junior forward Garrison Brooks led the Tar Heels with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman forward Armando Bacot had eight points and 13 rebounds, but he was 2 of 14 from the floor and did not play in the game’s final minute.
Lane Violation
Entering Sunday’s game, Wofford guard Storm Murphy, who led the team in scoring, was shooting 55 percent from 3. Yet, in the first half, the Tar Heels allowed him to shoot 5-for-6 from behind the 3-point line.
And the majority of his 3-pointers were wide open. In the second half, the Tar Heels did a better job defending him. He missed his next four 3-pointers.
And one
The Tar Heels dominated on the boards 51-34. They were taller than the Terriers, who like to go small.
However, it was not enough to help them win.
ICYMI
With both Black and Anthony out, that meant more playing time for UNC’s reserves.
Both guards K.J. Smith and freshman Jeremiah Francis played a season-high in minutes on Sunday. And the two made the most of it.
Smith made his first career start. He scored seven points on 2 of 5 shooting in the first half, and had two assists.
Francis had two first-half assists, and the Tar Heels led by four points at halftime. Francis was playing his his second game this season.
“I’m so proud of Jeremiah for trying,” Williams said. “He hasn’t played in three years... K.J. hadn’t played. Did some things that helps us. We’re going to benefit in the long run from it, but that doesn’t make it any pleasant to go through for sure.”
Making sense of the numbers
14 The number of 3-pointers Wofford made on Sunday. The Terriers shot 35 percent from behind the 3-point line.
5 The number of turnovers Wofford committed. The Terriers did not give away many possessions to the Tar Heels.
This story was originally published December 15, 2019 at 5:58 PM with the headline "No. 17 UNC upset by Wofford at home, again. This time, without Cole Anthony."
