UNC 49, Virginia 61: Tar Heels drop another in Charlottesville

Almost every single thing that would have worried UNC people going into this game happened.

The Tar Heels turned the ball over 19 times against Virginia’s defense. Said defense allowed UNC to do next to nothing on the offensive end, as they shot 29%. From two it was even worse, as they went just 8-31. Virginia’s offense was its normal fairly efficient, but not in a hurry self.

It’s close to exactly how Virginia would have drawn it up, and unfortunately that spelled out a really ugly game for UNC. The Tar Heels lost their fifth straight in Charlottesville, as UVA won 61-49.

For much of the first half, it was a back and forth game. Carolina led by as many as five early, but that would be followed by a Virginia run that put them up six. UNC would then answer with a run that saw them down two heading into the under-four timeout in the first half. However, that’s the closest the score would be in the last 24ish minutes left in the game.

Virginia closed the first half on a 9-4 run, and then kept the lead at around 7-10 points for most of the rest of the game. Carolina got the deficit to as small as five at one point, but couldn’t extend any run long enough to really make a difference. They scored just one point in the last seven minutes of the game, and that was that.

The 18 turnovers stand out on the box score, and it really stood out watching the game. So many of them lead to easy layups or dunks for Virginia at the other end. UVA racked up 25 points off those turnovers.

The Tar Heels were also obviously affected by UVA in the paint. As mentioned early, they went just 8-31 from two. The four bigs combined for just 12 points. That includes Luke Maye, who had six, but four of those came from a three-pointer and a free throw.

If you looking for anyone who had anything resembling a decent game for UNC, for one there’s Joel Berry. The senior led the Tar Heels in scoring with 17. He went 7-17 from the floor, which obviously isn’t an amazing percentage, but still. Kenny Williams also had 11 on 4-9 shooting. Those two alone accounted for 57% of Carolina’s points on the day.

The good news is, UNC does not have to play Virginia again this season. The schedule does seemingly get a bit easier now with Boston College and a Bonzie Colson-less Notre Dame ahead.

It’s too early to panic about this team, but if you came out of this game extremely frustrated, you’re certainly not wrong.