UNC men's basketball has historically bad shooting performance in season's first loss

While showcasing offensive clinics against Portland and Arkansas in its first two games of the PK80 Invitational, the No. 13 North Carolina men’s basketball team responded by laying an egg in its first true test of the young season, losing 63-45 to No. 3 Michigan State in the championship game of the event on Sunday night. 

Here are three takeaways from the historic loss, where the Tar Heels put on the worst shooting performance in UNC history.

Ball movement needs to improve

The most jaw-dropping statistics to arise from the loss to Michigan State would be the horrendous shooting display, with the Tar Heels finishing the game by shooting 24.6 percent from the field and 1-18 from the 3-point line — both record lows for the history of the program.

Although these numbers are noteworthy, these shooting woes didn't come out of the blue. The Tar Heels' poor shooting stemmed from the fact that UNC had poor ball movement throughout the game, which ultimately resulted in poor shot selection.

Many players for UNC resorted to trying to create their own shots off the dribble, which were easily stifled by Michigan State’s suffocating man-to-man defense. This is evident in looking at the team’s assist-to-turnover ratio: the Tar Heels only had nine assists in comparison to 16 turnovers. Whenever a team incurs more turnovers than field goal attempts made (15), that is a recipe for disaster which is just not going to cut it against a top-five opponent.

Lack of physicality 

It was clear that the Michigan State frontcourt vastly intimidated UNC from the get-go. The young Tar Heel big men revealed their inexperience against Michigan State, as the group was categorically manhandled on the glass and in the paint.

The combination of first-year big men Garrison Brooks, Sterling Manley and Brandon Huffman combined to shoot just 1-11 and had their shots blocked repeatedly. Michigan State forwards Nick Ward (four blocks) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (two blocks) often bestowed their will on the struggling opposition.

The Spartans concluded the game by blocking seven shots and out-rebounding the Tar Heels by 16. 

Even though head coach Roy Williams’ teams are usually known for their toughness and grit — last year’s UNC national championship team was No. 1 in team rebounding with 43.5 total rebounds per game — this year’s group will definitely go through some early growing pains as the first-year forwards try to catch up to the strength and speed of the college game.

North Carolina's best players didn't step up

Despite the fact that the entire team as a whole did not play well, the most disappointing part of the game was the realization that not even the experienced leaders could keep the Tar Heels in the game. Throughout the majority of the contest, senior guard Joel Berry II and junior forward Luke Maye were practically nonexistent. 

Berry, the Most Outstanding Player in last year’s Final Four, was frequently outmatched by Michigan State’s length and size on the perimeter, being forced into poor shot selection and turnovers on numerous instances. He ended the game with seven points, three assists and three turnovers on 2-11 shooting. 

Maye, who was the first Tar Heel player to open the season in the first five games with 100 points and 50 rebounds since Antawn Jamison, was also brought back down to Earth versus Michigan State, as he was missing point-blank layups and open jumpers in the process. Maye finished with a subpar stat-line in comparison to his recent ones, concluding with eight points and six rebounds on 3-13 shooting.

Although UNC is just six games into a long season, Sunday's loss exposed plenty of weaknesses on a 5-1 team.

@KEberly1996

sports@dailytarheel.com