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North Carolina basketball: 2019-20 season review and 2020-2021 early preview

By Cody Williams

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Cole Anthony #2 talks with head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of their game against the Boston College Eaglesat the Dean Smith Center on February 01, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 01: Cole Anthony #2 talks with head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of their game against the Boston College Eaglesat the Dean Smith Center on February 01, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Season-defining moments

Anthony drops 34 in season-opener

Billed as a version of Russell Westbrook for the Tar Heels, Anthony didn’t disappoint in his first outing donning Carolina blue. The freshman phenom took the floor for his first college basketball game against Notre Dame and, though the team as a whole had their struggles, Anthony took charge and raised hopes.

The young guard put up 34 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the season-opener, leading North Carolina to a 76-65 victory over the Irish while shooting 12-of-24 from the floor and 6-of-11 from 3-point range. And from there, it seemed the hype train was only going to gain steam.

Blowout loss to Ohio State in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

While the Tar Heels did suffer a tough loss to Michigan in the Battle 4 Atlantis, they rebounded with a win over Oregon and seemingly had the ship righted for the time being. But then came another big test as they welcomed the Ohio State Buckeyes to Chapel Hill for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and the wheels really started to come off. UNC was dominated in every facet of the game on their home floor and, in a 25-point blowout loss, looked like they didn’t belong with the big boys of college basketball.

The Anthony injury

On Dec. 8, the then No. 7 ranked Tar Heels suffered a tough road loss to the defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers to move to 6-3 on the season — not ideal but possible to recover from. However, in the wake of that game, it was revealed Anthony had suffered a torn meniscus and would miss up to six weeks. He went on to miss 11 games, which North Carolina went only 4-7 in, dropping to 10-10 on the season.

And when Anthony returned on Feb. 1, UNC took some time to find their footing again. Not only was the freshman point guard pressing but the team struggled to gel around him.

Buzzer-beater loss to Duke in Chapel Hill

The one time that the Heels seemed to gel once Anthony returned, however, was in the first meeting against the rival Duke Blue Devils. For roughly 36 minutes of action, North Carolina dominated at home against Coach K’s club. In the final 3:55 of regulation though, UNC lost the plot and was outscored 20-7 for Duke to force overtime on a Tre Jones buzzer-beater, in which the Blue Devils were victorious.

A win in the Tobacco Road rivalry could’ve possibly turned things around for Roy’s group. Instead, it was the third defeat in a seven-game losing streak that ultimately sunk the Tar Heels’ chances.

Demoralizing exit from ACC Tournament

If there was one chance for North Carolina basketball to make it to March Madness, it would’ve been in the ACC Tournament after they tied for last place in the conference in the regular season at 13-18 overall and 6-14 in the ACC. And they started off well before the tournament’s cancellation, handling Virginia Tech in a 22-point win. However, in one of the final college basketball games of the year, UNC was actually eliminated from the ACC tourney as they got dismantled by Syracuse, 81-53, in a fittingly disheartening end to the Heels’ season.