Scoring will likely remain a struggle for UNC. But here’s how the Tar Heels can win.
If North Carolina doesn’t want to be embarrassed by Pitt on Wednesday like it was against Georgia Tech on Saturday, the Tar Heels must get back to playing better defense.
The Tar Heels (8-6, 1-2 ACC) didn’t score their first field goal against Georgia Tech until 6:49 left in the first half, which to those who’ve watched every game this season, probably came as no surprise.
Not to fans. Not to Roy Williams, who said on Monday that even if the 3-point line was moved to six feet, “we wouldn’t be able throw it in the freakin’ ocean.”
Williams is currently tied with Dean Smith for No. 4 on the all-time coaching wins list. He’ll get a second chance to pass Smith against Pitt (10-4, 1-2).
UNC’s offense isn’t getting much better as long as Cole Anthony, who is rehabbing a knee injury, remains out. That part is clear.
But the Tar Heels’ defense had at least kept them in games. In their 78-74 win over then-No. 11 Oregon on Nov. 29, the Tar Heels held the Ducks to 35.7 percent shooting.
In their 74-64 win over UCLA on Dec. 21, the Tar Heels forced 22 turnovers and the Bruins shot 42.4 percent from the floor.
UNC won its toughest games this year by playing good defense.
But against Georgia Tech, the Tar Heels played with little defensive intensity, made silly mistakes, allowed a number of backdoor cuts, and were dominated in the paint.
“Sometimes shots don’t fall, but we can control on effort on defense,” UNC junior forward Garrison Brooks said after Saturday’s game.
A struggling defense
The Yellow Jackets, who shot 59 percent for the game, also scored 58 points in the paint.
Two things appeared to be happening:
UNC’s guards had trouble staying in front of their man, which forced its big men to help out, which left Georgia Tech’s big men wide open. And UNC’s big men were not blocking and altering shots.
UNC had only two blocks — one by guard Christian Keeling and the other by guard Leaky Black.
The Tar Heels have the country’s 65th-most efficient defense, allowing 93.7 points per 100 possessions, according to Ken Pomeroy’s Advanced Analytics. The last time a UNC team finished outside the top 50 was during the 2002-03 season, a year before Williams became its head coach.
“We’ve had some teams defensively that were really, really good,” Williams said in the ACC’s weekly teleconference on Monday, “and I’ll shock the world here; I even coached a team that led the nation in defensive field goal percentage.
“And if you watched that game on Saturday, we don’t even know how to spell it.”
Bacot’s inconsistency
It’s clear UNC’s defense must get better.
One player in particular who must be better is 6-10, 232-pound freshman forward Armando Bacot. He’s arguably the Tar Heels’ most athletic and most talented player on this current roster.
Bacot wheeled the Tar Heels to their upset victory over Oregon. He had 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks.
But he’s struggling now. And as a result, his minutes have dropped.
Bacot played 16 minutes against Georgia Tech, and 17 minutes against Yale. In those games, he combined to score six points, grab nine rebounds and did not block a shot. He was 1-for-11 from the field.
Last month, Williams said the coaching staff is trying to get Bacot to become a consistent scorer.
They believe he has the talent to do that. But he hasn’t scored in double figures in at least two consecutive games since he scored 12, 22 and 12 against Gardner-Webb, Elon and Alabama in November.
Because of his struggles, Williams has gone with Justin Pierce at the four often. While Pierce gives the Tar Heels an extra shooter, it also hurt the Tar Heels on defense with one less rim protector.
Pierce struggled to contain Georgia Tech’s Moses Wright, who scored 22 points against the Tar Heels. The Tar Heels need both Pierce and Bacot to play well to stay competitive.
Otherwise their streak of nine consecutive NCAA tournament berths will come to an end.
“We are going to work our tail off and try to get better,” Williams said, “and if we lose the next 17 games, our butts are going to be out there on the court trying to get better the day before the last one as well.”
UNC vs. Pitt
When: Wednesday, Jan. 8, 7 p.m.
Where: Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill
TV: ACCNetwork
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 10:05 AM.
