UNC basketball is in flux right now. After getting outplayed by Pittsburgh on Saturday, the Tar Heels will look to stop their second four-game losing streak of the season when they travel to Blacksburg to battle Virginia Tech on Wednesday.
Here's what they need to do to end the skid and finally give Roy Williams his 880th win.
Defend the three
North Carolina hasn't been able to defend much of anything this season, but opposing teams have especially been lighting it up from behind the arc. Pittsburgh, one of the worst shooting teams in the country, went 8-12 from deep in the second half in the teams' first meeting. In the rematch, the Panthers shot 40 percent from 3-point range in the first half to give themselves a 20-point lead.
The threes Clemson hit in the heartbreaker last week? You can watch those for yourself.
Virginia Tech's offense is built around the 3-point shot. The Hokies are in the top 50 in 3-pointers attempted and make the eighth-most per game (10.4) so far this season.
With UNC's scoring struggles, it's become imperative for the team to sell out on defense, so the team doesn't get caught on the wrong side of the math game.
That means locking down VT's Jalen Cone, who is shooting a wild 55.7 percent from deep this season and who went 4-8 from 3 against Syracuse last Saturday in his first career start. Landers Nolley II is also shooting 38.3 percent while taking on the brunt of the Hokies' scoring load (17.8 points per game).
