North Carolina Rolls Past UNC Greensboro 96-63

In their last game before beginning ACC play, the UNC Tarheels cruised past UNC Greensboro 96-63. But no one in Chapel Hill came away feeling very happy. Everyone, including their best players, knows UNC can score, but they’ve yet to show consistency at the defensive end of the floor.

“I’m frustrated because guys shoot 52 percent against us,” Brian Johnson, who finished the night with 16 points and 16 rebounds, said after the Spartans did that after halftime. “I keep saying to them: `Guys, nobody’s ever been the best team unless they guarded people.”

Junior guard Nate Britt agreed. “Obviously we can score. We have so many weapons,” the junior said. “Coach talked about that today … that we have to improve on the defensive end — and we’ll be as good as we can be if we do that.”

The seventh ranked Tarheels will hope to have that figured out before their grueling ACC schedule begins on Wednesday night. They will host Clemson and Georgia Tech on either side of New Year’s before visiting Florida State and Syracuse. To further compound matters, even if the injured Kennedy Meeks returns, he likely won’t be at 100% for the first few games.

Photo: Diamond Stone #33 of the Maryland Terrapins fouls Theo Pinson #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at the Dean Smith Center on December 1, 2015 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 89-81. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)