UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team on a Three-Game Losing Streak

by Derrick Clyburn

This North Carolina basketball team is in the midst of adversity on many fronts. They had lost two games in a row before tonight and lost their backup point guard Jalek Felton to a domestic legal matter. Then they lost Theo Pinson their glue guy to a shoulder injury in the first half. UNC seemed to be playing with a loser’s limp throughout the first half. In the second half, the Tar Heels showed more intensity and fought back to tie the game at 72 with less than 3 minutes remaining. A few missed box outs and not getting over screens was the difference in the end. Joel Berry and Cameron Johnson put Carolina on their back in the frantic comeback. Berry had 27 points and Johnson led all scoring with 32 points.

UNC Game Stats

North Carolina

Box Score   FG     3PT     FT   REB  AST STL BLK TO   PF  PTS

1. Pinson         0-0    0-0     0-0     1       1       0       0       0       0       0
2. Maye            2-8    0-2     0-0     9       2       2       3       2       4       4
3. Berry II       10-16 3-7     4-4     3       4       2       0       3       2       27
4. Johnson     10-18 6-10  6-6     4       1       1       0       2       3       32
5. Williams     2-6     1-3      1-1     3       1       0       0       0       1       6
6. Brooks        1-3     0-0     0-0     4       1       0       0       0       3       2
7. Manley       3-6     0-0     0-0     6       1       0       2       1       3       6
8. Huffman   0-1     0-0      0-0     1       0       0       0       1       1       0
9. Platek        0-2    0-1       0-0     3       1       0       0       1       2       0
10. Robinson 0-2    0-1        1-3      2       2       0       0       1       1       1

TEAM  28-62   10-24   12-14  40  14      5     5       11      20    78

45.2%   41.7%   85.7%

Clemson

Box Score FG   3PT     FT   REB  AST STL BLK  TO    PF  PTS

1. Skara          1-3    1-3     2-2       1       0       0       2       1       3       5
2. Thomas    3-11  0-0     5-11    6       0       0       6       3       4       11
3. Reed          5-15 3-8     7-7      8       5       1       0       0       1       20
4. Mitchell    4-10 3-6     3-4     4       4       0       0       2       2       14
5. DeVoe      6-12  5-8     0-0     3       4       1       0       1       3       17
6. William     1-3     1-1     0-0     3       1       1       0       0       3       3
7. Simms     2-3     1-2     1-2       5       1       0       1       3       1       6
8. Trapp       2-4     1-2     1-1        1       2       0       0       0       1       6

TEAM  24-61  15-30 19-27 36   17    3       9     10      18      82

39.3% 50.0% 70.4%

UNC Bright Spots

 

Cameron Johnson had a career-high 32 points, 4 rebounds, and was 6-10 shooting the three.

Joel Berry had 27 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels needs to guard the three-point line much better. They gave up 15 3-pointers for the second straight game. They need to stop doubling down from the weak side of the defense. That is where they are getting torched.

Final Observations

North Carolina can’t hang their heads. The ACC will have no pity on them. They must fight and play with urgency every game. Yes, UNC has some adversity to deal with, but they have dealt with it before with higher stakes involved. They can do it again. The freshmen bigs have to keep working hard to bring production to the low post. It was good to see Cam Johnson get his shooting stroke back. The Tar Heels need all of their veterans to score in double figures every game to reach their potential. It is the third straight game where two players carried the scoring load and two starters didn’t reach double figures. Kenny Williams hasn’t reached double figures in the last 4 games.