Ask any athlete and they’ll tell you that one of the hardest, but most important, things in sports is having a short memory. When you have a bad play, you have to forget it so it won’t negatively effect the next play. When you have a good play you don’t revel in it or the opposing team will catch you slipping and make you pay. The same thing applies in wins and losses. Winning can make you complacent. It can make you comfortable. And when you have championship aspirations that’s the last thing you need to be. The same goes with losing. Tough losses, like the one the Tar Heels suffered Monday night against UVA, can have a ripple effect. You never want one loss to turn into two, because you’re busy lamenting what you could’ve or should’ve done. That’s UNC’s focus now…forgetting Virginia.
Game Notes:
- Falls to 19-5 overall, 9-2 in the ACC and 11-2 at home this season.
- The loss snaps UNC’s seven-game ACC win streak.
- The 61 points are a season low. Previous low was 62 in the home loss to Louisville.
- Carolina shot 35.4 percent for the game, lowest since shooting 34.5 in that loss to Louisville.
- Carolina tied its season-low for free throw attempts with six (also at Georgia Tech), but set a season low in free throw attempts with just seven (previous was 11 at Georgia Tech).
- Carolina tied its season low for points in the paint with 22 (also at Georgia Tech).
- Carolina made nine three-pointers, but its last was a Coby White three with 12:06 to play that gave UNC a 49-43 lead.
- Carolina scored eight points in the final 8:57. The Tar Heels led 53-46 with 8:58 to play after a Cameron Johnson basket.
Player Notes:
- Coby White led UNC in scoring with 17 points, the second game in a row and eighth time this season he led UNC in scoring.
- Luke Maye had a game-high 11 rebounds but was held to four points, which tied his season low (also at Georgia Tech).
- Kenny Williams led UNC with five assists and had no turnovers. Williams matched his season high with three 3FGs (also at Michigan and at Miami).
- Garrison Brooks scored 12 points and matched his career best with five offensive rebounds (eight boards total).
- Nassir Little played just two minutes in the first half before spraining his right ankle. He did not return.
- White attempted 19 field goals, which equal the most this year by a Tar Heel (Maye vs. Notre Dame).
- White’s 11 three-point attempts equal the 11 he took against Virginia Tech as the most by a Tar Heel this year.
UNC Continues to Shine into the Final Stretch