When UNC’s greatest strength vanished in Dallas

North Carolina’s defense had been its strongest asset all season, and the numbers backed that up going into Saturday.

The Tar Heels had held every opponent to 75 points or fewer in their first 14 games, the program’s longest such streak to start a season since 1981-82. That team went all 34 games without allowing more than 75 and finished with a national championship. Opponents were averaging 63.5 points per game against North Carolina, the 14th-best mark in Division I.

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That standard collapsed Saturday, when the Tar Heels were overwhelmed 97-63 by SMU — the most points they have surrendered all year. The Mustangs shot 60% from the field, including 51.9% from 3-point range, and posted a staggering 1.426 points per possession. They were even more efficient after halftime, pouring in 58 points while shooting 71.4% from the floor and 60% from beyond the arc.

Before the game, UNC had limited opponents to 36.1% shooting from the field, which ranked fourth nationally and second in the ACC behind Duke. According to KenPom, foes were hitting just 40.6% on 2-point attempts, second nationally, and 28.2% from 3-point range, which ranked 21st.

“Not going to win hardly any games — any at all — if a team shoots 60%,” head coach Hubert Davis said after the game. “As difficult as offense was, we still shot 50% from the field. We shot the ball probably the best from three. So as I said before, it always starts and ends with us with defense, rebounding and taking care of the basketball, and defensively we just didn’t play the way we needed to to be able to beat a team here on the road.”

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UNC’s defensive performance ranks among the worst of the Davis era, given how ineffective the Tar Heels looked from start to finish. A large part of that was Boopie Miller, who carved them up with a 27-point, 12-assist double-double. He went 10-for-13 from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, controlling the game at every level.

“Offensively, Boopi (Miller) was in control of the ball, whether it’s one-on-one ball, screen action, his patience, being able to get to his spots, being able to score, being able to distribute,” Davis said. “We tried to take the ball out of his hands, and guys stepped up and made shots, but he still was able to get the ball to his teammates at the right spot to be able to do something with it, and he played a terrific game.”

North Carolina returns home next week to face Wake Forest on Jan. 10 at the Dean Smith Center at 6 p.m. ET. The game will air on ACC Network.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Defense collapses in lopsided loss at SMU