CHAPEL HILL, N.C. _ North Carolina coach Roy Williams had heard enough questions about the Tar Heels' game against Gardner-Webb. It was nearly midnight, his team had just won 77-61 at home, and Williams was annoyed.
"Do I believe we're getting better? 'Yes,'" Williams said. "Am I ticked off right now? 'Yes.' Am I a scrooge probably this time close to Christmas? 'Yes.' But we've got to play better."
The Tar Heels are 3-0. However, they haven't looked like a team capable of going far in the NCAA tournament.
One of the biggest reasons is the Tar Heels have yet to find a consistent scorer outside of freshman guard Cole Anthony. It appeared like it would be Justin Pierce or Garrison Brooks, but both players struggled Friday.
When Anthony's shot has gone cold, the Tar Heels have had trouble generating points.
Through the first 5 { minutes of Friday's game, the Tar Heels led the Runnin' Bulldogs 4-2. During that stretch, the Tar Heels shot 1 of 8 from the floor. They also missed 11 of their first 14.
"Fifty% in the second half," Williams said. "But we are shooting the worst percentage than any team I have ever coached.
"You think about it, we are 1 of 10 (from 3) at the half and we had pretty good open looks from three. We just didn't make any of them."
UNC has shot 46.7 percent, 37.5% and 45.6% from the floor in the first three games. It's the first time since the 2012-13 season that UNC has not shot 50% in the first three games. UNC finished 26-11 that season and lost in the Round of 32 to Kansas.
Against Gardner-Webb, the Tar Heels eventually got going. But the slow starts and lack of scoring won't be a winning formula as the Tar Heels' schedule gets tougher. Later this month, the Tar Heels play in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, where they will face Alabama and potentially Iowa State, Michigan, No. 8 Gonzaga, No. 12 Seton Hall or No. 14 Oregon.
"We can't get out to these slow starts," junior guard Andrew Platek said. "I mean, Gardner-Webb is a good team, but with our schedule, and in the ACC, we're not going to have the luxury of just turning it on in the second half."
Anthony once again picked up the load. He scored a team-high 28 points. He was 7 of 17 from the floor and 11 of 13 from the free throw line.
Anthony has scored 82 points through the first three games of his college career, 19 more than any other UNC freshman ever has.
He's also averaging 21.7 shots attempts per game. Part of that is because he's had to shoot that much. Anthony is the only UNC player to score in double figures in every game this season.
The next best scorer in Friday's game was freshman forward Armando Bacot, who scored 12 points on 6 of 9 shooting.
The Tar Heels are used to having teams with multiple scorers. Last season, UNC had three players _ Cam Johnson, Coby White and Luke Maye _ who averaged 14 points or more points. This season, only Anthony is above 14.
"We'll have to have guys score," Anthony said. "It might change every game ... I'd love for everyone to average 12. We could score 100-something points. That would be awesome. But as long as everyone is doing their job, I think we're going to be good."
The Tar Heels should get some added scoring soon. Senior guard Brandon Robinson, who has missed the first three games with an ankle sprain is expected to return soon. While he did not play on Friday, he dressed out for the first time all year. He shot better than 45% from 3-point range last season.
Williams has said he hopes to get Robinson back before the Tar Heels play in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament later this month.
"I think we can be a good shooting team," Williams said. "But so far, we haven't been."
