CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. _ North Carolina coach Roy Williams was "99.9999"% certain on Friday that freshman forward Armando Bacot was not going to play against Virginia Sunday.
After all, he saw his ankle and it didn't look good. It was swollen after Bacot sprained it trying to tip in a miss in UNC's game against Ohio State earlier that week.
But by Sunday, two days after Williams' comments, Bacot was healthy enough to start. He scored 11 points against the Cavaliers. But even that was not enough, as No. 7 UNC lost to No. 5 Virginia 56-47 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. The Tar Heels have now lost two consecutive games, and three of their last four.
Bacot's return was probably the only good news that occurred on Sunday. After a poor performance against Ohio State on Wednesday, the Tar Heels weren't much better.
For the second consecutive game, they shot below 40% from the floor.
Freshman guard Cole Anthony scored 12 points, but was 4 of 15 from the floor.
He had no assists and six turnovers.
While Virginia's defense was good, the Tar Heels didn't themselves any favors. They missed open 3-pointers and, at times, made questionable passes that led to turnovers.
The only reason the game was as close as it was early on, was because, for one half, Virginia looked just as bad.
The two teams combined to shoot 2-for-18 in the first seven minutes of the game. And at hafltime, UVA led 24-18.
In the second half, the two teams found a better rhythm, although that is relatively speaking. The difference was turnovers. After committing nine turnovers in the first half, Virginia committed only one in the second half.
UVA senior Mamadi Diakete scored 12 points and had three rebounds.
