GoHeels Exclusive: Miscues Haunt Tar Heels At UVA

by Pat James, GoHeels.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In its final four nonconference games, the North Carolina men's basketball team showed some carelessness with the ball, averaging 16 turnovers against Western Carolina, Tennessee, Wofford and Ohio State.

But since Atlantic Coast Conference play began, the Tar Heels had appeared to remedy those turnovers troubles.

They committed 12 against Wake Forest and seven at Florida State. Yet neither of those opponents, nor anyone else UNC will face this season, play with the same defensive intensity as Virginia.

Roy Williams emphasized Friday the importance of not turning the ball over against the Cavaliers. But that's what ultimately doomed the Tar Heels in Saturday's 61-49 defeat at John Paul Jones Arena, where they committed a season-high 19 turnovers.

They came via shot-clock violations and casual passes. And by game's end, Virginia led 25-3 in points off turnovers, marking UNC's largest deficit in that category since being outscored 29-6 by Harvard in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

When asked if those miscues were because of a lack of poise or experience, Williams pointed to numerous factors.

"When you get beat 25-3, it's every blessed thing possible," he said. "You turn it over three times – two of them are a freshman and one is a senior – at the 10-second line. And check the scoreboard at half; it's a seven-point game. It's like we gave them six before the game started.

"It's a lot of things. We've got to be stronger with the ball… You've got to get your brain and your heart both involved."

Both seemed to be missing Saturday, especially during the first half.

Three of the Tar Heels' first-half turnovers occurred at midcourt and led to easy dunks. Behind those, the Cavaliers entered halftime with a 35-28 lead.

The turnovers continued into the second half, with UNC committing nine. Still, despite Virginia's defensive play, the Tar Heels mostly remained within single digits until Isaiah Wilkins handed the Cavaliers a 58-48 lead on his dunk with five minutes, 45 seconds left.

In the end, the possessions UNC lost by coughing the ball up prevented it from making much of a comeback.

"We're a team that will go down and shoot if we can get a shot with the shot clock at 26; that's our offense," Joel Berry II said. "But when they go down (on offense), you might be playing 25 seconds almost every possession. So when those turnovers happen like that and the clock is running down, it's hard to get possession and get back in the game."

Williams has often said in recent weeks that his team needs to play smarter. It's only January, but that sentiment hasn't been more pronounced than it was Saturday.

"Playing smarter is not 19 turnovers," Kenny Williams said. "It's the complete opposite of that. Playing smarter is not having those mental lapses that you have during the game that we had today when we lost focus on plays. We just need to keep our focus for the whole 40 minutes. We've just got to play smarter, man.

"You can't turn the ball over 19 times on the road and expect to be in the game."

Players Mentioned

Joel Berry II

Kenny Williams

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