Woe is three: UNC basketball tries to find 3-point range ahead of matchup at Wake Forest
North Carolina is again teetering among the worst 3-point shooting percentage teams in program history. The Tar Heels are collectively shooting 30.8 percent from behind the arc, which is second-worst behind only the 2019-20 season, which shot 30.4 percent.
Three of the past four seasons, UNC has shot below 32 percent from 3-point range.
That particular shortcoming has been amplified the past two games, losses to Pitt and Duke in which Carolina combined to go 12-for-54 from 3. The Heels totaled 27 attempts in each game, but UNC coach Hubert Davis said against Pitt it was too many. In the loss to the Blue Devils, he looked at their 27 attempts a bit differently.
“The Pitt game, I felt like we shot too many and we felt like that we got away from attacking the basket through post or penetration,” Davis said. “Against Duke, I felt like we attacked the basket. It was also a little bit more difficult with (Dereck) Lively in the middle because of his ability to block shots and alter shots.”
Carolina has shot 35 percent or better from 3-point range just six times all season and in just three games in ACC play. The Heels face one of the teams against which they shot in well when they travel to face Wake Forest on Tuesday in Winston-Salem.
UNC went 9-for-24 from 3 in its 88-79 home win over the Demon Deacons on Jan. 4. In that game, R.J. Davis accounted for five of those 3s and Leaky Black added three.
Black, who scored a career-high 18 points against the Deacs, also made three 3s in Saturday’s loss at Duke. He had a chance to make a fourth with a wide-open look with 1:05 left that would have given Carolina the lead.
It was a good shot, and could even be called the right shot given that Black made all of his 3s in the second half. But statistically speaking, it’s a shot the Heels haven’t been consistently making this season.
“At the end of the day from 3, we’ve had some wide open looks — especially in the last two games — and we just haven’t hit them,” Hubert Davis said. “We make one or two 3s (versus) Pitt, one two 3s against Duke and it’s a whole different story. And so with the open shots, I encourage those guys to shoot open shots and just at the end of the day, we’re just going to have to make them.”
If they don’t against Wake, they’ll be staring at an undesirable three — as in, a three game losing streak.
Tipoff time + TV channel for Wednesday’s game
The game will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday and will air on ESPN.
How to stream UNC vs Wake Forest game online
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Game day details: UNC vs Wake Forest
Teams: UNC Tar Heels vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Where: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 7
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Series history: The Tar Heels lead the overall series 164-68 including an 88-79 win in Chapel Hill on Jan. 4.
