After watching the Tar Heels get blown out in the 1st quarter of play against Miami, I wondered if this was the worst beatdown the Heels have experienced since I started tracking stats in 935 games since 1996. In fact, this game was the 8th-worst margin of defeat for the Heels. However margin of victory sometimes doesn't really reflect how we played as well as Dean Smith's favorite stat, points per possession.
Coach Smith set as an offensive goal to exceed 0.95 points per possession, and set a defensive goal to keep the opponent below 0.85 points per possession. If we combine the shortcomings on both sides of the ball, we get what I call the Smith Index. A score of 0.000 means the team exactly met both goals, or compensated for failures of one factor with excellence on the other.
The most dominant performance was the 2009 games against UNC-Asheville. In that game the Heels scored 1.21 points per possession and held UNC-A to only 0.48 points per possession. It was a 68 point win, and the Smith Index was an amazing +0.633.
Enough of that pleasant memory! Let's get back to figuring out the other end of the spectrum. Here are the 10 Most-Awful UNC Performances:
#10
at Michigan, 2019 (67-84)
SmithIndex: -0.450
2019 was a strong year for the ACC, fielding 3 #1 seeds in the tournament (Duke, UVA, UNC). While the 2019 Heels were excellent on offense, they were a mediocre defensive team. We saw their defensive nadir when they went to Michigan for the Big Ten Challenge and got blown out by 17 points to a hot #7 Michigan team. UNC shot 39% from the field, 33% from 3, but allowed Michigan to shoot 57% from the field and 50% from behind the arc. Michigan turned it over on only 10% of their possessions.
UNC scored 0.817 points per possession, but allowed a sky-high 1.17 points per possession by Michigan.
#9
at Miami, 2013 (61-87)
SmithIndex: -0.453
After Kendall Marshall was tackled by a Creighton player in 2012, it took UNC a few years to hit their stride. The 2013 campaign featured good defense, and poor offense as a whole. When they visited #8 Miami, UNC was good on neither side of the ball.
Shooting 39% from the field and 30% from 3 is no recipe to win, as are allowing 54% shooting and 58% shooting from 3. The Heels were a bad 0.79 points per possession, but were scorched by a hot 1.15 points per possession performance by Miami. UNC had a 1-possession advantage for the game.
#8
at Florida State, 2012 (57-90)
SmithIndex: -0.463
The 2012 squad for UNC was the program's 5th best defensive unit since the introduction of the 3-point line. The 3rd-ranked Heels went into Tallahassee with a 15-2 record and emerged with one of the program's worst losses, inexplicably. This was the game where Roy took his team, except for the 5 walk-ons who finished the game, into the dressing room before the game's conclusion in order to avoid the ensuing court storm.
UNC was a bad 37% from the floor, but was a putrid 19% from behind the arc. The Tar Heels allowed 0.99 points per possession from FSU, a number that certainly isn't unprecedented. However it turned in a 0.63 points per possession performance with the ball. There was no rebounding difference in this game.
#7
Wisconsin, 2021 - NCAA Tournament (62-85)
SmithIndex: -0.464
The 2021 Heels had a season in front of empty arenas, as COVID-19 forced administrators to limit attendance at games. The talented, but young, UNC squad entered the 2021 NCAA tournament as the school's 2nd-worst offensive team in history, but somewhat salvaged their awful defensive standing from the beginning of February. It was all for naught, though, as a lousy showing in the NCAA tournament would not only end the season, it would be Roy Williams' final game as a coach.
The Heels shot 39% from the field and from the arc, and turned it over on 13% of their possessions; not the worst we've seen. Defense was an entirely different problem, though. Wisconsin did exactly what they wanted, shooting 51% from the field, 48% from behind the arc, and turning the ball over 10% of the time.
In the end UNC scored 0.785 points per possession and spectated Wisconsin's 1.15 points per possession performance.
#6
at #19 Wake Forest, 2002 (66-90)
SmithIndex: -0.466
UNC's worst team had its worst game in Winston Salem. The hapless Heels scored a poor 0.76 points per possession, but allowed Wake Forest to score 1.13 points per possession. The Heels turned it over on a whopping 28% of their possessions.
Thankfully the Heels outrebounded Wake and ended up with a 7-possession advantage.
Continued...
Coach Smith set as an offensive goal to exceed 0.95 points per possession, and set a defensive goal to keep the opponent below 0.85 points per possession. If we combine the shortcomings on both sides of the ball, we get what I call the Smith Index. A score of 0.000 means the team exactly met both goals, or compensated for failures of one factor with excellence on the other.
The most dominant performance was the 2009 games against UNC-Asheville. In that game the Heels scored 1.21 points per possession and held UNC-A to only 0.48 points per possession. It was a 68 point win, and the Smith Index was an amazing +0.633.
Enough of that pleasant memory! Let's get back to figuring out the other end of the spectrum. Here are the 10 Most-Awful UNC Performances:
#10
at Michigan, 2019 (67-84)
SmithIndex: -0.450
2019 was a strong year for the ACC, fielding 3 #1 seeds in the tournament (Duke, UVA, UNC). While the 2019 Heels were excellent on offense, they were a mediocre defensive team. We saw their defensive nadir when they went to Michigan for the Big Ten Challenge and got blown out by 17 points to a hot #7 Michigan team. UNC shot 39% from the field, 33% from 3, but allowed Michigan to shoot 57% from the field and 50% from behind the arc. Michigan turned it over on only 10% of their possessions.
UNC scored 0.817 points per possession, but allowed a sky-high 1.17 points per possession by Michigan.
#9
at Miami, 2013 (61-87)
SmithIndex: -0.453
After Kendall Marshall was tackled by a Creighton player in 2012, it took UNC a few years to hit their stride. The 2013 campaign featured good defense, and poor offense as a whole. When they visited #8 Miami, UNC was good on neither side of the ball.
Shooting 39% from the field and 30% from 3 is no recipe to win, as are allowing 54% shooting and 58% shooting from 3. The Heels were a bad 0.79 points per possession, but were scorched by a hot 1.15 points per possession performance by Miami. UNC had a 1-possession advantage for the game.
#8
at Florida State, 2012 (57-90)
SmithIndex: -0.463
The 2012 squad for UNC was the program's 5th best defensive unit since the introduction of the 3-point line. The 3rd-ranked Heels went into Tallahassee with a 15-2 record and emerged with one of the program's worst losses, inexplicably. This was the game where Roy took his team, except for the 5 walk-ons who finished the game, into the dressing room before the game's conclusion in order to avoid the ensuing court storm.
UNC was a bad 37% from the floor, but was a putrid 19% from behind the arc. The Tar Heels allowed 0.99 points per possession from FSU, a number that certainly isn't unprecedented. However it turned in a 0.63 points per possession performance with the ball. There was no rebounding difference in this game.
#7
Wisconsin, 2021 - NCAA Tournament (62-85)
SmithIndex: -0.464
The 2021 Heels had a season in front of empty arenas, as COVID-19 forced administrators to limit attendance at games. The talented, but young, UNC squad entered the 2021 NCAA tournament as the school's 2nd-worst offensive team in history, but somewhat salvaged their awful defensive standing from the beginning of February. It was all for naught, though, as a lousy showing in the NCAA tournament would not only end the season, it would be Roy Williams' final game as a coach.
The Heels shot 39% from the field and from the arc, and turned it over on 13% of their possessions; not the worst we've seen. Defense was an entirely different problem, though. Wisconsin did exactly what they wanted, shooting 51% from the field, 48% from behind the arc, and turning the ball over 10% of the time.
In the end UNC scored 0.785 points per possession and spectated Wisconsin's 1.15 points per possession performance.
#6
at #19 Wake Forest, 2002 (66-90)
SmithIndex: -0.466
UNC's worst team had its worst game in Winston Salem. The hapless Heels scored a poor 0.76 points per possession, but allowed Wake Forest to score 1.13 points per possession. The Heels turned it over on a whopping 28% of their possessions.
Thankfully the Heels outrebounded Wake and ended up with a 7-possession advantage.
Continued...
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