UNC men's basketball falls to Miami, 77-62, after horrid offensive showing

No matter what the North Carolina men’s basketball team did, it kept getting worse.

Head coach Roy Williams played almost every possible lineup combination, but the No. 9 Tar Heels simply had no answer for Miami and left Coral Gables, Fla., with a 77-62 defeat that brings UNC back to reality after winning seven consecutive games.

Opening the game on an 11-2 run, North Carolina (19-4, 7-2 ACC) couldn’t have gotten off to a better start against the Hurricanes (14-6, 4-4 ACC). The Tar Heels engaged defensively, attacked the basket and looked like they would avoid the early afternoon road trap game.

But for the final 16 minutes of the first half, UNC scored just 11 points and struggled guarding ball screens. The Tar Heels trailed 39-22 at half, their largest halftime deficit of the season. Aside from Justin Jackson, it didn’t look like anyone from UNC came ready to play.

The sloppy play continued well into the second half, even with the Tar Heels playing with a greater sense of urgency. As North Carolina attempted to get back in the game, it was simply too little, too late, and the “overrated” chants rained down from the crowd at the Watsco Center.

First-half drought

With Miami constantly alternating between man-to-man defense and a 2-3 zone, North Carolina was never able to get into any sort of rhythm offensively. UNC struggled to find many open shots, leading to a season-low 20.7 shooting percentage in the first half.

More concerning than the poor shooting was how careless UNC was with the basketball. The Tar Heels made six shots and committed nine turnovers. The turnovers were particularly problematic when Williams had his second unit on the floor.

With Theo Pinson in a walking boot, the second unit perimeter lineup of Seventh Woods, Nate Britt and Brandon Robinson looked overwhelmed against the Hurricanes’ pressure defense, and the unit had far too many empty possessions.

Even when Williams put his starters back in the game, the drought for North Carolina continued. For the final 8:46 of the first half, the Tar Heels did not make a field goal as the deficit began to spiral out of control.

Outmanned on the interior

On Thursday, the Tar Heels dominated Virginia Tech on the backboards, but Miami had a 41-36 rebounding edge Saturday. North Carolina didn’t have a single player with more than six rebounds in the game. With so much of the UNC offense coming off offensive rebounds, Miami did an excellent job holding North Carolina to one shot and surrendered just eight second-chance points.

In addition to the rebounding edge the Hurricanes had, they were also the tougher team on the inside. When UNC tried to pound the ball inside, the Miami defense used its athleticism to alter shots and was in position to take charge when the Tar Heels recklessly attacked the basket.

Berry a non-factor

On the first possession of the game, Joel Berry fearlessly attacked the basket and was rewarded with two free throws. Those were Berry’s last points of the game. Berry was 0-for-8 from the field and had a tough time staying in front of Miami’s Bruce Brown (30 points) and Ja’Quan Newton (18 points) in pick-and-roll situations.

For the balance of the game, the most noteworthy moment from Berry occurred during the under-four media timeout in the first half, when he picked up a technical foul following a Justin Jackson offensive foul. Williams then scolded Berry in the huddle and sat him for the remainder of the half.

Much of North Carolina’s offensive struggles can be explained by Berry’s poor outing. When the UNC offense stalls, Berry has been able to bail them out late in the shot clock by pulling up from behind the arc or attacking the basket. But Berry never looked comfortable no matter where he tried to score from.

@david_adler94

sports@dailytarheel.com