No. 23 Virginia Upsets No. 5 UNC, Holds Tar Heels to Lowest Point Total in Roy Williams Era

With a chance to clinch an outright ACC regular season title Monday night in Charlottesville against No. 23 Virginia, the fifth-ranked Tar Heels put together an atrocious offensive performance in a 53-43 loss to the Cavaliers.

Point guard Joel Berry had 12 points to lead UNC in scoring, but was the only player on head coach Roy Williams’ team to reach double figures–as the ACC’s top defense held the ACC’s top offense to half its season scoring average.

It was also the lowest point total for the Tar Heels (25-6, 13-4 ACC) since Williams took over as the head coach prior to the 2003-2004 season.

Both teams shot terribly–each less than 36 percent to be precise. However, Virginia (20-9, 10-7 ACC) got just enough scoring from guard Kyle Guy, who finished with 17 points and five three-pointers, to pull off the upset at home.

“It’s the ACC,” Williams told reporters after the game. “That’s what it is, guys. You guys act like it’s nothing, but it’s a pretty doggone tough league. We can stink it up one night, then we can play like great balls of fire the next night–and so can the other teams.”

The Tar Heels treated the ball like butter in the first half, with eight different players combining to turn the ball over 12 times–a number the team has reached in only three of its last 12 full games.

Virginia built much of its 27-23 halftime lead by scoring 18 points directly off of those turnovers.

Although UNC coughed up the rock just twice in the second half, it had already dug itself into a hole against a defense with no intentions of giving up easy looks.

“I didn’t like the turnovers and I didn’t like shooting 28 percent in the second half,” Williams said. “But when you turn the ball over, it’s usually because the defense does something. And when you shoot 28 percent it’s usually because the defense does something.

“So let’s give them some credit.”

The Cavaliers’ pack-line defense also kept UNC from executing its preferred offensive strategy of pounding the ball into the paint–limiting the Tar Heels’ starting frontcourt of Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks to a combined eight points in the game, while forcing them to turn the ball over six times.

During a nationally televised halftime interview, head coach Roy Williams said his big guys were playing like they were “Out there lookin’ for mama.”

Perhaps most importantly, Virginia also grabbed more offensive rebounds than UNC–an area where the Tar Heels have held a significant advantage in some of their most important victories this season.

Another key factor was the ineffectiveness of the UNC’s ACC Player of the Year candidate, Justin Jackson. The 6-foot-8 junior was held to just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting, matching his season-low in scoring.

The Tar Heels, amazingly, did manage to cut Virginia’s lead to just one point midway through the second half, but the Cavaliers received back-to-back three-pointers from star guard London Perrantes soon after–and held on the rest of the way.

Looking at the big picture, this performance won’t make or break the Tar Heels’ season, but it certainly provided a glimpse of what could happen in a single elimination scenario if an opponent is able to make UNC uncomfortable.

“I think everyone really thought Virginia was gonna be a good team [coming into the season],” Williams said. “We beat them at our place, but nothing went right for them at our place.

“Tonight I don’t think it’s as much what we did wrong, as it was how good their defense was.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will conclude their regular season on Saturday against Duke inside the comforts of the Dean Dome–looking to avenge an 86-78 loss suffered in Durham on Feb. 9.

Game Notes:

• Over UNC’s last three games, Isaiah Hicks has 13 fouls and just 10 points.
• The Tar Heels held the lead for just five minutes during the game, all during the first half.
• UNC connected on just four of its 16 attempts from three-point range, the least it’s made since making four in the loss to Duke three weeks ago.
• Virginia shot just 32 percent overall in the game, the Tar Heels’ third-best defensive field goal percentage allowed this season.

 

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