North Carolina Tar Heels Upset by the UAB Blazers

Kelly Lambert-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 16 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels were in high spirits after defeating the No. 3 Louisville Cardinals 93 – 84 in their biggest win of the season so far. However, that major upset is now out the window as the Tar Heels fell to the UAB Blazers 63 – 59.

North Carolina wins games on the back of Marcus Paige, and he had a terrible night shooting for the Tar Heels, going 6 – 16 and missing all of his attempts from three point range. If other players don’t begin to step in when Paige has bad games, they will continue to lose to teams that are much worse than UAB.

UNC plays the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans next in a game that, previously, was expected to be close. However, the Spartans excel at defense and should be expected to run away with this one. North Carolina won’t have an answer for Tom Izzo and company, and I think that, despite a strong fight in the first half, the Tar Heels don’t have the all around talent that Michigan State will have on the court.

However, UNC fans shouldn’t panic after the loss to UAB. The Tar Heels are a long way from not making the 2014 NCAA Tournament. With the difficulty of their nonconference schedule, as well as the increasing difficulty once ACC play begins, North Carolina should be on track to go to the big dance. The loss to UAB was a fluke and Roy Williams will have this team ready to make a run to at least the Sweet Sixteen by the time March comes around.

Taylor Sturm is an SEC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS or add him to your network on Google

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