UNC Basketball: Keys to victory for Tar Heels on the road at UNCW

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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 06: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels talks with Christian Keeling #55 during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Dean Smith Center on November 06, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

1. Limit Turnovers

A key that will likely last throughout the season, the Tar Heels must once again watch how they handle the basketball.

After throwing the ball away 23 times in last week’s final exhibition game against Winston-Salem State, Roy Williams hammered the team for not playing with intelligence or poise. Quite simply, he referenced one cause for the numerous turnovers: “Stupidity.” The subsequent practice and film session likely saw a huge focus on taking care of the ball, considering that an ACC matchup was right around the corner.

Yet, against Notre Dame on Wednesday night in the home opener, the Tar Heels turned it over. A lot. It was a slight downtick, sure, but 18 turnovers are still not something Williams wants to see in the stat sheet after a game.

Cole Anthony finished with four turnovers, losing the ball at times when attacking the basket. Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot had three and two turnovers, respectively, struggling to maintain possession of the ball under the basket and struggling to make smart decisions out of the post. And Christian Keeling, who had zero assists, ended up with a game-high five turnovers on essentially the same play over and over again, with aimless drives through traffic that all resulted in easy strips for the defense.

UNCW is not an imposing defense. Last year they ranked 339th overall and only sported a 6.2% steal rate, which ranked 343rd in the nation. UNC likely isn’t that scared of what the Seahawk defense is capable of, but nonetheless, the team can’t continue to play so carelessly.

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