Seeking his 900th career victory on Wednesday night at the Smith Center, UNC head coach Roy Williams will instead have to wait a little longer—as his Tar Heels couldn’t dig themselves out of an early hole in an 83-70 loss to Marquette.

Just four days removed from arguably its most impressive win of the season—a 45-point blowout over Louisville—UNC (14-8) came out flat in the first half and ended up suffering its first home loss of the year.

Marquette (11-12) had lost six of its previous eight outings heading into this rare late-season non-conference game, but the Golden Eagles built an early double-digit lead and were ahead by as many as 18 points in the final minute before halftime.

The Tar Heels scored just four points over the first seven and a half minutes of action and struggled to convert much of anything on the perimeter. Forwards Garrison Brooks and Walker Kessler combined to make all but three of UNC’s made field goals in the first half, which allowed Marquette to build enough cushion to hold off a spirited Tar Heel comeback attempt in the second half.

Primarily using a full-court press on defense, UNC was able to force the Golden Eagles into 13 second-half turnovers—cutting the lead down to just eight at one point. The Tar Heels went cold down the stretch, however, as they were unable to finish the job for their head coach. 

“We’ve had a couple of good wins, then we turn around and we think we’re a lot better than we really are,” Williams said. “We don’t have the attention to detail. It’s bad coaching. Bad coaching.  

“I called a set one time, then they got out there and they ran another set,” he added. “They’re not disciplined enough to do what I say. They went out on the court and they changed their minds.” 

The game was scheduled on just four days’ notice after UNC sought out a replacement opponent for Boston College, who the Tar Heels were originally supposed to play on Tuesday.

Brooks led the team offensively with 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the floor.

As a unit, though, UNC shot just over 40 percent while allowing Marquette to top the 50-percent mark on the other end. In addition, only two other games this season have seen the Tar Heels turn the ball over more than the 19 times they did so on Wednesday.

UNC can take solace in the fact that this loss won’t count in the ACC standings, but with an NCAA Tournament berth still in question–and a showdown against No. 11 Florida State looming this weekend–it’s safe to say things didn’t exactly go as planned. 

“Guys, we’ve laid an egg a couple of times this year,” Williams said. “Let’s make sure we say this right here. Marquette beat our rear ends. They outplayed us. I’ve said outcoached us. That’s not something I enjoy saying. 

“They outcoached us,” he reiterated. “They outplayed us. They wanted it more. Everything. I was very concerned before the game.” 

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will host No. 11 Florida State on Saturday in a rematch of a game won 82-75 by the Seminoles back on Jan. 16 in Tallahassee.

Game Notes:

  • This was just the 18th non-conference loss that UNC has suffered in the 35-year history of the Dean E. Smith Center.
  • R.J. Davis had 11 points and Walker Kessler had 10 as the only other Tar Heels to join Brooks in double figures.
  • Marquette’s Steve Wojciechowski was 0-4 at the Dean Dome while playing for Duke from 1995-98, but won Wednesday in his first game in Chapel Hill as a head coach.
  • The Golden Eagles were led by freshman forward Dawson Garcia, who racked up a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

Photo via Robert Willett (ACC Media)

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