After suffering a 72-55 loss on Saturday afternoon at No. 11 Louisville, the UNC men’s basketball team now finds itself mired in a seven-game losing streak—the longest the program has ever had under head coach Roy Williams.

Just hours before the game began, the Tar Heels (10-17, 3-13 ACC) found out they would be without the services of junior forward Garrison Brooks and graduate transfer Justin Pierce. This left UNC extremely thin in the frontcourt, as Brooks and Pierce are two of the three forwards in the regular rotation.

As a result, the Cardinals won the rebounding battle 38-29 and were able to control the game with ease. Preseason ACC Player of the Year Jordan Nwora led Louisville with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

By halftime, the Tar Heels found themselves with a 13-point deficit on the scoreboard. The second half followed a similar script as Louisville built its lead to as many 24 while never allowing the Tar Heels to get any closer than they were at the break.

Freshman point guard Cole Anthony led UNC with a team-high 18 points, but was the only Tar Heel to score in double figures for the game.

UNC did what it could to try and slow the game down against the more talented Cardinals, however the Tar Heels turned the ball over 17 times—leading to a number of easy baskets for Louisville on the other end.

“We didn’t play as well as we wanted to play, to say the least,” Williams told reporters afterwards. “We muddied it up a little bit, and probably made them look a little uglier than they really are as well. But 18 points off turnovers, and for us to have 17 turnovers in a relatively low possession game is not what we want.”

UNC has still yet to win a game in February and has only four regular season games remaining to try and get things together before the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. That will be the Tar Heels’ only hope at making the NCAA Tournament this season, and they’ll likely have to win five games in five days to do so.

Needless to say, it’s been a long and draining year for the program—with Saturday’s game simply the latest chapter in a season the head coach is ready to forget about.

“If I’m alive in a month or so, I can guarantee you I’m not gonna think about this crap,” Williams said. “I’ll be thinking about some way to figure it out so we’ll be better. You know, that kind of thing. But it’s part of the game”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels return to the court at the Dean Dome on Tuesday to host NC State in a rivalry game set to tip-off at 9 p.m.

Game Notes:

  • Sophomore guard Leaky Black started in place of Brooks in the frontcourt. Cole Anthony, Brandon Robinson, Christian Keeling and Armando Bacot were the rest of the Tar Heel starters–representing the ninth different starting lineup UNC has used this season.
  • Keeling and Andrew Platek tied for second on the Tar Heels with nine points apiece.
  • Little-used forward Walker Miller received eight minutes of playing time to give UNC a little more size inside. He finished with zero points, zero rebounds and two turnovers.

 

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

Cover photo via Associated Press

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