CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — With No. 2 Gonzaga on the horizon, the North Carolina Tar Heels must find a semblance of offense with the loss of freshman guard Cole Anthony.
Anthony, UNC’s leading scorer, will miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure to treat a partially torn meniscus in his right knee. He was averaging 19.1 points per game prior to the injury.
The Tar Heels currently sit at 6-4 and have lost three consecutive games. The skid knocked the team out of the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time since 2014.
A win over Gonzaga may vault them back into the top 25.
Despite a tough road matchup with the Bulldogs set for Dec. 18, UNC has not lost four consecutive games since the 2009-10 season.
Surprisingly so, Carolina has played well defensively during their losing streak, holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the floor.
Gonzaga will be UNC’s third top-10 opponent in the last four contests. The Zags are UNC’s highest-ranked (AP) non-conference opponent since the Heels defeated No. 2 Gonzaga in the 2017 NCAA championship game.
North Carolina and Gonzaga will tip-off at 9 p.m. on Dec. 18 on ESPN2.
