North Carolina drops fourth consecutive game, this one to No. 2 Gonzaga
North Carolina, which was playing without its best player Cole Anthony, knew that its game against No. 2 Gonzaga wouldn’t be easy.
Anthony was the biggest source for the Tar Heels’ offense, and without him, they had to figure out how to make up 19.1 points per game.
They tried, but ultimately the Zags were just too much, as they beat the Tar Heels 94-81 at McCarthey Athletic Center.
“Needless to say, we didn’t play as well as we needed to play, and I didn’t coach as well as I needed to coach,” UNC coach Roy Williams said.
The game was sold out, and tickets at the 6,000-seat arena were said to be in the thousands of dollars. In downtown Spokane, fans held a watch party at a local restaurant.
As the game reached its end, Gonzaga fans began to yell phrases like “We want Wofford,” and “N-I-T.”
UNC junior Garrison Brooks led the Tar Heels with 16 points. He also grabbed 6 rebounds. Graduate transfer Christian Keeling had 12 points.
The Tar Heels (6-5, 1-1 ACC) have now lost five of their last six games, including four straight. It is the first time UNC has lost four consecutive games since the 2009-10 season. That year, UNC missed out on the NCAA tournament. It was one of only two times in Williams’ head coaching career that his team did not make the NCAA tournament.
This game, while just as lopsided as the loss to Ohio State, was different. The Tar Heels played hard and were overmatched by the Zags.
The Zags were clearly the superior team. The Tar Heels led the Zags 19-17 with 12:25 left in the first half.
Nineteen seconds later the lead was gone. The Zags went on a 17-4 run over the next four minutes.
The closest the Tar Heels got to tying the game was five points early in the second half. A Brooks dunk two minutes into the second half, made it 44-39.
However, the Zags answered with a 16-3 run over the next 3 1/2 minutes to take a 60-42 lead with 14:13 left.
The Tar Heels answered with a 5-0 run. But it was quickly put to a stop after Gonzaga’s Killian Tillie knocked down a deep 3-pointer on a broken play before the shot clock expired.
After that, the Tar Heels never got within 10 points.
Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert scored a game-high 26 points on 10 of 12 shooting. He was 5 of 6 from 3.
And one
Freshman guard Jeremiah Francis looked good at times. He scored six points in the first half, including a step back 3-pointer from the left corner with a defender in his face. He was able to drive to the basket with ease.
He has the potential to create open shots for other players. This was Francis’ third game in three years. He had two knee surgeries that kept him from playing his junior and senior seasons in high school.
But on Wednesday against the No. 2 team in the country, he was aggressive and looked confident. He finished with a season-high 11 points.
“I’m glad that I’m able to get Anthony (Harris) and Jeremiah some more time, because I think that the long term it will help, but I just don’t know if I’ll live that long,” Williams said.
Personal foul
There were times, once again, when the Tar Heels offense grew stagnant. As their offensive possessions grew later in the shot clock, some players appeared to stand around and watched others play one-on-one basketball. They appeared out of sorts.
In the first half, the Tar Heels had four assists and seven turnovers. The Tar Heels played better in the second half. They finished with 13 assists and 12 turnovers.
ICYMI
This was the second consecutive game that UNC guard Cole Anthony did not play. The 6-3, 190-pound freshman point guard, who leads the team with 19.1 points per game, had an arthroscopic knee procedure performed on his right knee on Monday. He is expected to miss between four to six weeks, or at least six more games.
Also, senior guard Brandon Robinson, who scored four points in 16 minutes, did not play in the second half. He was sick, according to the school.
Making sense of the numbers
59 Gonzaga’s shooting percentage for the game. The Zags shot 72 percent in the second half.
81 points the Tar Heels finished with. This was the first time all season UNC has finished with more than 80 points. The Tar Heels shot 45.6 percent from the floor.
23 fastbreak points for Gonzaga. The Zags pushed the pace, too, which resulted in fast paced game, allowing the Tar Heels to get to 81 points.
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 10:59 PM.
