Analysis: Three takeaways from UNC basketball's loss at Florida State

The North Carolina men’s basketball team fell to No. 8 Florida State on the road Monday night, 65-59, after a long dry spell in the second half. 

Despite solid defensive play, UNC (10-12, 3-8 ACC) struggled to score, a common occurrence so far this season. The Tar Heels finished the game shooting less than 31 percent from the field while the Seminoles (19-3, 9-2 ACC) shot 41.8 percent from the floor.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Going 11 minutes without scoring will not win you games

After junior forward Garrison Brooks made a difficult jumper in the paint to give his team a four-point lead with over 16 minutes remaining in the second half, the Tar Heels failed to score another field goal until graduate guard Christian Keeling made a layup at the 5:23 mark.

UNC was held to only five points, all free throws, during that time span, and was fortunate to still be in the game in the final minutes. If it wasn’t for FSU’s own offensive struggles — the Seminoles made only two field goals in the final 5:45 — the game could've turned into a blowout quickly.  

North Carolina looked out of sync throughout the entire second half. Time was wasted dribbling the ball until someone decided to shoot in traffic near the end of the shot clock. As a result, the team was unable to find any good looks.

The offensive drought cost North Carolina the game and a chance to get a Quadrant 1 victory over a top-10 team.

Brooks and Bacot struggle again 

After Roy Williams said he was “disappointed” in the performance of his two starting bigs against Boston College, the struggles of Brooks and first-year Armando Bacot continued in Tallahassee. They ended up scoring just 11 points combined on 4-11 shooting and struggled to get the looks they wanted inside. Florida State as a whole, meanwhile, blocked 10 North Carolina shots.

Cole Anthony’s return was supposed to space the floor and help open up the paint for post play. But it's led to an admitted lack of movement and aggression from Brooks and Bacot, which has caused UNC’s offensive issues to continue.

In a season full of lows, North Carolina has impressed on the boards, ranking first in the country in rebounds per game going into Monday night. But the Tar Heel starting forwards only grabbed a combined 10 rebounds as their team got out-boarded 43-37 by the No. 264 rebounding team in the NCAA. 

UNC squanders a great defensive performance and a great day for Keeling

North Carolina’s defense was the main reason the game remained close. It kept FSU out of rhythm all night and shut down the Seminoles' best player in Devin Vassell, who scored a career-high 27 points in his previous game against Virginia Tech. The sophomore only had six points on 3-8 shooting.

The Tar Heels also forced the Seminoles to make a lot of sloppy mistakes, forcing 16 turnovers, seven of which came from steals. Still, it wasn't enough for a win.

Keeling had one of the best games of his UNC career. He scored 14 points, including two crunch-time layups and a 3-pointer to cut the FSU lead to four with under a minute left. It was just the second game this year in which he reached double digits.

It has not been an easy season for Keeling, but he was a big bright spot in a game that lacked offensive firepower. If he can continue to find his groove and play at a high level, it will greatly improve his team’s chances of finishing its rough season on a positive note. 

@ryanheller23

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com