‘It is not nuclear science.’ Roy Williams frustrated as UNC goes cold, loses at No. 8 FSU.
For about 28 minutes on Monday, North Carolina made a win look possible.
The Tar Heels, up by 2 with a little more than 12 minutes left, looked like they had a chance to upset No. 8 Florida State in Tallahassee, and end its 18-game home-winning streak.
Then came an 11-minute stretch where the Tar Heels went cold, missed 17 straight shots and let the Seminoles take control of the game.
Florida State went on a 17-5 run, and held on to win 65-59 at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
“I’m tired of these kind of press conferences, but it is what it is,” UNC coach Roy Williams said after the game. “They were really good, they were hard to guard, they were athletic, and they do a great job defensively.”
“We ended up standing more than we did anything else.”
The Tar Heels (10-12, 3-8 ACC) have lost two consecutive games since freshman Cole Anthony returned Saturday from a knee injury that kept him out for two months.
He led the Tar Heels with 16 points, but he missed eight consecutive shots in the second half and finished the game 5 for 22 from the floor.
In the visitor’s locker room after the game, Anthony’s head hung low and his dread locks fell down and covered his face.
UNC’s big men were in foul trouble for much of the second half. Freshman forward Armando Bacot picked up his third foul five minutes into the second half, and junior forward Garrison Brooks picked up his fourth with about 10 minutes left.
Both played sparingly after halftime, and it hurt the Tar Heels. The two combined for 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“I am just pissed off right now, I don’t think about optimism, or pessimism right now,” Williams, the UNC coach, said after the game. “We need to get to practice, get to work and try to get better. It is not nuclear science out there, we have to get better, we have to get shots to go in, and get some defensive stops.”
The Seminoles outrebounded the Tar Heels 43-37 and took advantage of second-chance points.
Senior guard Trent Forest and freshman forward Patrick Williams each had 14 points.
Strong first half
The Tar Heels led 18-12 midway through the first half and looked like the better team for a while. They led 28-20 with less than three minutes to go in the half. Anthony hit a 3-pointer from the left wing that gave the Tar Heels their largest lead of the game.
At that point, UNC had played well defensively. FSU (19-3, 9-2) was having trouble scoring and the Tar Heels were able to score fast-break points.
But over the next 2:23, UNC missed a number of open 3-pointers, and FSU went on a 9-0 run to go up by one at the half.
In the second half, UNC took control again and held a small lead. Then they went cold — and that was all FSU needed. They took over and never relinquished the lead.
And one
The Seminoles are one of the top teams in the country and have one of the best offenses. They started the game with the second-best record in the ACC. The Tar Heels defended well in the first half, when the Seminoles shot 36 percent.
But there are two halves and FSU got into a rhythm in the second.
Personal foul
The 11-minute stretch the Tar Heels went without scoring a field goal. UNC missed 17 consecutive shots at one point.
ICYMI
UNC senior guard Brandon Robinson did not play. He suffered a sprained right ankle in the final seconds of UNC’s 71-70 loss at Boston College on Saturday. It was the same ankle he sprained in the preseason.
He made the trip to Tallahassee Monday but he was on crutches and wore a boot.
Robinson missed one game last month — a 79-77 double overtime loss at Virginia Tech — after he was in a car accident that involved a woman in another car being arrested and charged with misdemeanor DWI.
Making sense of the numbers
31 UNC’s shooting percentage for the game.
4 Points off turnovers for Florida State. The Seminoles rank No. 5 in the country in forcing turnovers. The Tar Heels had only nine turnovers.
14 Points from UNC grad transfer Christian Keeling. It was his best game of the season and he was 5 of 10 from the floor.
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 9:10 PM with the headline "‘It is not nuclear science.’ Roy Williams frustrated as UNC goes cold, loses at No. 8 FSU.."
