Despite putting forth a spirited effort for much of the night on Wednesday in Spokane, the UNC men’s basketball team simply didn’t have enough firepower as the game wore on as it suffered a 94-81 loss to the No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Once again without star freshman point guard Cole Anthony–who will be out at least four to six weeks after undergoing surgery on his right knee–the Tar Heels (6-5) have now lost four consecutive games.
Junior forward Garrison Brooks was UNC’s top performer against Gonzaga (12-1), scoring 16 points to go along with six rebounds, but the Tar Heels’ lack of perimeter scoring options was once again put on display.
The Bulldogs packed the paint early and often to try and force somebody other than the forward combo of Brooks and Armando Bacot to beat them, a plan that proved to have plenty of success.
Although Brooks played well, Bacot was in foul trouble all night long and ended the night with only two points and two rebounds in 14 minutes of action. To make matters worse, the Tar Heels got nothing going from the outside–connecting on just seven of their 19 attempts from three-point range, two of which came in the final minute of the game with the outcome no longer in doubt.
Midway through the first half, Gonzaga jumped out to a 14-point lead. UNC responded well by cutting that deficit down to seven at halftime, and even came within five points at the beginning of the second half before a 16-3 run by the Bulldogs put the proverbial nail in the Tar Heels’ coffin.
“Say all you want about somebody that’s not here,” UNC head coach Roy Williams said after the game. “That’s just excuses. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got some guys who have lost some confidence with their shot. Some other guys have to do better on the defensive end. But our whole team and coaching staff, we’ve got to be a heck of a lot better.”
From that point on, Gonzaga led by as many as 23 as it cruised to the program’s first ever win over the Tar Heels. Guard Corey Kispert led the Bulldogs with a game-high 26 points, including five makes on just six attempts from three-point range. Forward Filip Petrusev also added 20 points to the winning cause.
Perhaps the lone bright spot for the Tar Heels moving forward was the play of freshman guards Jeremiah Francis and Anthony Harris off the bench. Both players missed the Tar Heels’ first nine games of the season with injuries, but have begun to show effectiveness that could earn them each a lot more playing time in the future.
Francis ended Wednesday’s game with 11 points and three assists, while Harris chipped in eight points in front of the hostile Gonzaga crowd.
“I’m glad that I’m able to get Anthony and Jeremiah some more time,” Williams told reporters. “Because I think in the long term, that may help. I just don’t know if I’ll live that long.”
UNC reached another milestone, as well, by finally scoring at least 80 points for the first time all year.
Still, though, the fact remains that all signs point to this being a long season for the Tar Heels–with students at “The Kennel” serenading UNC players with chants of “N-I-T” and “We want Wofford” throughout the game.
Even with Anthony in the lineup, UNC has struggled to find any kind of success offensively. Although there won’t be many games tougher than this one over the next few weeks while he recovers, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to say that the Tar Heels will have to grind especially hard for any win they manage to get during this period.
“You can’t just keep feeling sorry for yourself,” Williams said. “Sometimes you have to draw a freakin’ line in the sand and say that, ‘I’m gonna step up, be a man and be a player.”
Up Next:
The Tar Heels will remain on the west coast for their next game, which will be in Las Vegas on Saturday against UCLA (7-4). Tip-off for that game is set for 3 p.m.
Game Notes:
- This is the Tar Heels’ first four-game losing streak since 2010, which is also the last time they missed the NCAA Tournament.
- UNC and Gonzaga have played one another three times over the last four seasons, with the Tar Heels now holding a 2-1 advantage in those games.
- Gonzaga’s 94 points were the most the Tar Heels have allowed in a game this season.
- Senior guard Brandon Robinson started the game for UNC and played 16 minutes in the first half without scoring. He did not play in the second half due to an illness.
Cover photo via Associated Press
This was not the first win for the GU over the Tarheels. The Zags beat UNC in 2006.