University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: J.D. Lyon Jr.
Lucas: Droughts
February 4, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
A bad offensive stretch doomed the Tar Heels in Tallahassee.
By Adam Lucas
TALLAHASSEE—As of right now in the first week of February, Florida State is a better defensive team than Carolina is an offensive team.
That's what we learned on Monday night in Tallahassee, as a barren second-half stretch and a rangy, athletic Seminole defense combined to give the 'Noles a 65-59 victory.
Recapping the grim span when Carolina missed 17 shots in a row tells the story of the game. Six different players missed shots. The Tar Heels missed midrange jumpers. They missed three-pointers. They missed shots right under the basket. They missed, as you are well aware, everything.
But take a closer look at that sequence, which lasted nearly 11 minutes. Garrison Brooks, Carolina's most consistent player over the last two months, took just two shots. One of those two came off an offensive rebound.
Armando Bacot took zero of the 17 missed shots and did not attempt a field goal in the second half. That's right—Carolina's starting center did not take a shot (or attempt a free throw) in the second half, when he was limited by foul trouble but still played 12 minutes.
The struggles of Brooks and Bacot aren't solely their fault. It's a team problem—the guards aren't getting them the ball frequently enough in good scoring position, and they're not making themselves available often enough in scoring position. The offense as a whole is sometimes too willing to spectate while Cole Anthony dribbles. Add in the fact that Anthony shot 5-for-22 and Florida State's arms-and-hands-everywhere defense, and you've got the recipe for one of the most painful stretches of a difficult season.
"We have to find a way to get Armando and Garrison to move better and our perimeter players to throw it to them better," Roy Williams said.
What's become most frustrating about this season is that it feels like the Tar Heels are always just slightly short. Florida State is a much better team than Boston College. But Carolina found a way to play poorly enough to lose to the Eagles, then came out and played much better in Tallahassee—but the opponent was much better, so the result was the same.
Remember, Leonard Hamilton has coached his team into the national top ten. And there was Carolina, in a four-point game on the road against them without one of the Tar Heels' best offensive threats in Brandon Robinson.
There have been just enough flashes to keep you thinking there might be a chance. Christian Keeling has improved and played perhaps his best game, scoring 14 points. Leaky Black is healthier and looks much more confident.
Think of all the games when Brooks or Anthony or Robinson have carried Carolina and you've thought, "If the Heels could just get some contributions from elsewhere, they'd have a shot." On Monday, they got those contributions from elsewhere…but Anthony was 5-for-22, Brooks was 2-for-8, and Robinson was on crutches.
"I think we played harder and had more heart," Williams said in comparing the FSU performance to Boston College. "If we make a couple of free throws (the Tar Heels were 11-17 from the line and missed two front ends of one-and-ones) and dunks (UNC shot 9-21 on layups and dunks) then you've really got a chance. Saturday it was a much closer game but I didn't think we fought nearly as hard as we did tonight."
It's just been that type of year: always one piece short, but never the same piece. Players are starting to show visible frustration on the court, as Anthony and Justin Pierce did on Monday, and it's difficult not to have empathy for them and their teammates. Anthony's triumphant return has started 0-2. Pierce came to Chapel Hill with the express desire just to play in the NCAA Tournament, a goal that seemed easy enough back in October but is now slipping away. Everyone in some way is feeling the weight of an unsatisfying season.
As the Tar Heels have learned this year, winning is much more difficult than it ever seems during those seasons when it's almost taken for granted. But the opposite might be even more challenging.
TALLAHASSEE—As of right now in the first week of February, Florida State is a better defensive team than Carolina is an offensive team.
That's what we learned on Monday night in Tallahassee, as a barren second-half stretch and a rangy, athletic Seminole defense combined to give the 'Noles a 65-59 victory.
Recapping the grim span when Carolina missed 17 shots in a row tells the story of the game. Six different players missed shots. The Tar Heels missed midrange jumpers. They missed three-pointers. They missed shots right under the basket. They missed, as you are well aware, everything.
But take a closer look at that sequence, which lasted nearly 11 minutes. Garrison Brooks, Carolina's most consistent player over the last two months, took just two shots. One of those two came off an offensive rebound.
Armando Bacot took zero of the 17 missed shots and did not attempt a field goal in the second half. That's right—Carolina's starting center did not take a shot (or attempt a free throw) in the second half, when he was limited by foul trouble but still played 12 minutes.
The struggles of Brooks and Bacot aren't solely their fault. It's a team problem—the guards aren't getting them the ball frequently enough in good scoring position, and they're not making themselves available often enough in scoring position. The offense as a whole is sometimes too willing to spectate while Cole Anthony dribbles. Add in the fact that Anthony shot 5-for-22 and Florida State's arms-and-hands-everywhere defense, and you've got the recipe for one of the most painful stretches of a difficult season.
"We have to find a way to get Armando and Garrison to move better and our perimeter players to throw it to them better," Roy Williams said.
What's become most frustrating about this season is that it feels like the Tar Heels are always just slightly short. Florida State is a much better team than Boston College. But Carolina found a way to play poorly enough to lose to the Eagles, then came out and played much better in Tallahassee—but the opponent was much better, so the result was the same.
Remember, Leonard Hamilton has coached his team into the national top ten. And there was Carolina, in a four-point game on the road against them without one of the Tar Heels' best offensive threats in Brandon Robinson.
There have been just enough flashes to keep you thinking there might be a chance. Christian Keeling has improved and played perhaps his best game, scoring 14 points. Leaky Black is healthier and looks much more confident.
Think of all the games when Brooks or Anthony or Robinson have carried Carolina and you've thought, "If the Heels could just get some contributions from elsewhere, they'd have a shot." On Monday, they got those contributions from elsewhere…but Anthony was 5-for-22, Brooks was 2-for-8, and Robinson was on crutches.
"I think we played harder and had more heart," Williams said in comparing the FSU performance to Boston College. "If we make a couple of free throws (the Tar Heels were 11-17 from the line and missed two front ends of one-and-ones) and dunks (UNC shot 9-21 on layups and dunks) then you've really got a chance. Saturday it was a much closer game but I didn't think we fought nearly as hard as we did tonight."
It's just been that type of year: always one piece short, but never the same piece. Players are starting to show visible frustration on the court, as Anthony and Justin Pierce did on Monday, and it's difficult not to have empathy for them and their teammates. Anthony's triumphant return has started 0-2. Pierce came to Chapel Hill with the express desire just to play in the NCAA Tournament, a goal that seemed easy enough back in October but is now slipping away. Everyone in some way is feeling the weight of an unsatisfying season.
As the Tar Heels have learned this year, winning is much more difficult than it ever seems during those seasons when it's almost taken for granted. But the opposite might be even more challenging.
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