If you’re wondering how long it’s been since the North Carolina men’s basketball team was this bad, the easy answer is that it’s been a while.
The Tar Heels look terrible this season, and that’s not by the standards of a blue-blood program and (almost) a perennial national championship contender. That’s by average college basketball standards. They’re having a historically bad season, and the injuries — particularly playing without star freshman guard Cole Anthony, who’s been out since December after undergoing an arthroscopic knee procedure for a partially torn meniscus — aren’t helping.
After being down by 20 points on the road against Pitt on Saturday, UNC ultimately lost to the Panthers, 66-52. The final score makes it seem closer than it was, with the Tar Heels shooting 31.7 percent from the field, going 10-for-21 from the free throw line and turning the ball over 16 times.
With the loss, UNC drops to 8-9 overall and 1-5 in ACC play, including last weekend when Clemson snapped its 0-59 losing streak in Chapel Hill by beating the Tar Heels in overtime. Afterward, coach Roy Williams called the loss the “lowest” point in his coaching career and said he should “probably” be fired for it. (He wasn’t.)
Although Williams’ took some responsibility after losing to Clemson, he also passed the buck to his players after the 96-83 loss to Georgia Tech, saying this squad is “probably the least gifted team I have ever coached.”
Their only ACC win was the season-opener against Notre Dame, and they’re in a tie with Wake Forest at the bottom of the conference standings. They could also miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
To add a little more context, here are five stats illustrating the bigger picture of UNC’s uncharacteristic struggles this season.
1. It’s UNC’s worst start in almost 20 years
This is what we meant by historically bad. Through a little more than half of the 2019-20 season, the Tar Heels are 8-9, marking this the program’s worst start since the 2001-02 season when they opened at 6-11, the Associate Press noted. That’s… not great.
2. UNC still has not won a game in 2020
.@Pitt_MBB defeats North Carolina 66-52.
It is the first time the Panthers have swept the Tar Heels since joining the ACC.
UNC has lost 4 straight and is still winless this decade. pic.twitter.com/fUwusV52zt
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 18, 2020
Yeah. The team is 0-4 through its first games of the new year, losing to Georgia Tech, Clemson and Pitt twice. Two of them were by double digits, and against the Yellow Jackets, the Tar Heels were down, 47-27, at the half. In the early January 73-65 loss to Pitt, the Tar Heels blew a nine-point halftime lead and were massively outscored in the second half.
3. UNC has lost 9 of its last 12 games
The Tar Heels’ three wins in there were against Oregon (now ranked No. 8), UCLA and Yale. However, their losses range from now-No. 1 Gonzaga to Wofford, which is currently the fifth-best team in the Southern Conference.
4. UNC isn’t shooting among the top-300 teams
Through the first 16 games of the season, UNC shot 40.5 percent from the field, putting it in a three-way tie for No. 322, along with Oklahoma State and Florida A&M. While the DI teams’ stats will be updated again when all of Saturday’s games end, it’s safe to stay that with the Tar Heels’ performance against Pitt, they’re not jumping into the top 300.
5. UNC is ranked 119th
Forget about the top-25 teams; out of 353 total teams, the NCAA had UNC ranked No. 119 going into Saturday, and with the loss to Pitt, we’re thinking the team stays put or drops a spot or two. Additionally, at the time of this post, the Tar Heels were ranked 89th in the KenPom ratings.
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