You won’t need deep analytics to understand why UNC struggled against Wake Forest on Saturday. The box score tells the story, but does not fully explain how the Tar Heels spent most of another game getting bullied by the other team, showing little resistance on drives to the basket, and allowing uncontested 3-point shots again and again. Ups and downs are fun on a seesaw, but not in basketball. Perhaps it’s not time to panic, but after 18 games the Tar Heels still have not shown that they are capable of consistently playing at a high level on either side of the court.
