The Tarheels have lost 2 of their last 3, with Roy Williams stating the following after an 84-67 loss to Michigan last Wednesday:
Quote:North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he was "the most frustrated I've ever been" in his team and his own coaching performance after the 13th-ranked Tar Heels lost to No. 5 Michigan, 84-67, on Wednesday night.
"Right now, we stink," a dejected Williams told reporters in his postgame news conference.
"Guys, I've got no positive things. If you want some positive things, you better go out and find somebody on the street, because I've got no positives for me, no positives for my team."
So clearly, one would expect UNC to come out and play with pride in front of their home fans this Wednesday night and not let this become a "trap game" in preparation for a big contest with Gonzaga 10 days later. Bad news for the Seahawks.
UNC is led by senior big man
Luke Maye, who is nearly averaging a double-double (14.0 ppg, 9.4 rpg) to begin the season. His numbers are a little down from his junior campaign in scoring, rebounding, and shot-blocking (1.0 bpg in 2017-18, 0.4 bpg in '18-19), but that's likely the least of the team's concerns at the moment.
6-5 freshman guard
Colby White has been one of 2 standout newcomers for the Tarheels. The Goldsboro native leads the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and 3-pointers made (18), but also has a team-leading 17 turnovers on the season. White has chipped in 3.6 assists and is shooting .813 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, 6-9 grad transfer from Pitt,
Cameron Johnson is averaging 15.0 ppg, leads the team in steals (11), three-point % (.459) and has also collected 5.5 boards per contest. His length and ability to play inside and out make him a highly disruptive force for UNC.
Rounding out the starting 5 for the Heels are 6-9 sophomore forward
Garrison Brooks (9.3 ppg, .577 FG %, 5.8 rpg, 5 blocks) and 6-4 senior point guard
Kenny Williams (7.1 ppg, 4.5 apg, 7 steals). 6th man
Nassir Little, a 6-6 freshman forward, could work his way into the starting lineup with his play. Averaging 11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and shooting .529 from the field, the only piece missing would be to establish himself as a perimeter threat, where he is 5-18 (.278) thus far.
Despite Williams' dejected tone in his most recent postgame press conference, there's a lot to like about this year's Tarheel squad. Their 92.9 points per game rank 6th in the nation, and their scoring margin (+18.6 ppg) ranks 27th. And they've accomplished this against the 54th strongest schedule in D-I to date. The team is also ranked 4th in the nation in rebounding (45.1 rpg) and 8th in assists (19.8 apg).
Still, this isn't quite the level of play expected out of a UNC squad. With a neutral court loss to Texas and double-digit road loss against Michigan, the Tarheels missed out on two chances at the types of quality wins that really impress the Selection Committee, and could potentially hurt their tournament seeding down the road. But of course they'll have plenty of opportunities to make up for it, starting with the Nov 15 contest with Gonzaga and the always-tough ACC schedule.
This is a great opportunity for this developing UNCW squad. But after allowing over 90 points to Davidson, its hard to see how we avoid giving up a ton of points to UNC as well. An opportunity like this also comes with an important task for C.B. McGrath: Not allowing our guys to lose confidence or stop trying to improve on defense.
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@ UNC (Wednesday, Nov 5 @ 9 PM - ESPN2)
