Pittsburgh @ North Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2019 ) North Carolina 85, Pittsburgh 60

North Carolina's latest effort was so embarrassing to coach Roy Williams that he apologized to the fans in his post-game remarks saying the Tar Heels "stunk it up," in a 96-83 home loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday. North Carolina will try to turn things around when Pittsburgh, a team it has beaten seven straight times, comes to town Wednesday.

Carolina trailed 30-6 before connecting on its first field goal just over 13 minutes in and trailed by 20 at the half. "We need to have better leadership, we need to have more toughness," Williams told ESPN. "Sometimes I've felt like I could supply that and I don't know that I've supplied any of that with this group." Pittsburgh also fell to 1-2 in the conference after dropping a 69-65 home game to Wake Forest on Saturday in a contest that featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes. In addition to the slide against the Tar Heels, the Panthers have lost 22 consecutive ACC road games.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (10-4, 1-2 ACC): The Panthers missed their last five shots, including a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 27 seconds left by Trey McGowens, who also had a potential game-tying layup blocked with less than one second to go. "Down the stretch, disappointing in our last few possessions, we didn't get the shots that we really wanted," coach Jeff Capel told reporters. "That's on all of us and we have to do a better job in those situations. ... We can't panic." Ryan Murphy (11.5 points, team-high 28 3-pointers) returned to the starting lineup and led the way with 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the arc while adding four assists after the Charlotte transfer had 27 points on 7-of-14 from the arc in his last two games off the bench.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (8-6, 1-2): One bright spot for the Tar Heels against Georgia Tech was junior forward Garrison Brooks (13.9 points, 8.7 rebounds), who scored a career-high 35 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 17-of-18 from the free-throw line. Senior guard Brandon Robinson (10.5 points, 3.2 assists) drained four 3-pointers for 12 points to join Brooks in double figures, but the rest of the team combined for 36 points and two 3-pointers. The Tar Heels, especially since Cole Anthony (19.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists) was hurt four weeks ago, have fallen off offensively this season; their effective field-goal percentage (44.4) is 316th this season entering Tuesday after ranking no lower than 135 the last six seasons.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Carolina leads the all-time series 14-2, including 10-1 in Chapel Hill. Departed stars Coby White, Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson combined for 54 points in an 85-60 triumph last season, while McGowens had 17 points and Xavier Johnson 14 for the Panthers.

2. North Carolina averages 72.7 possessions per 40 minutes, which was 42nd in the nation entering Tuesday, while Pitt averages 65.2 and was 334th.

3. North Carolina freshman G Anthony Harris (6.8 points) suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and will undergo surgery this week. This is Harris' second ACL injury in the past 13 months.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 71, Pittsburgh 63