What could go wrong has seemingly happened for North Carolina this season.

UNC topped NC State 75-65 on Jan. 27 in Raleigh and has lost the last seven games. Of the seven losses, four have been under excruciating endings. Toss in a litany of injuries from serious to minor and the Tar Heels are essentially playing out the string and waiting for a loaded 2020 recruiting class to arrive.

NC State (17-9 overall, 8-7 ACC) plays at North Carolina (10-17 overall, 3-13 ACC) at 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Dean E. Smith Center on ESPN.

North Carolina prefers to pound the ball inside to junior Garrison Brooks and freshman Armando Bacot in the post, and then hope to get enough three-point shooting.

Freshman point guard Cole Anthony is always a threat to have a big game and will be a first-round draft pick whenever he elects to turn pro. The X-factor is senior wing Brandon Robinson, who battled injuries in the first game against NC State, but also has had big games this season.

Rankings

In the newly established NET rankings done by the NCAA, North Carolina is ranked No. 96 in the country this season.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has North Carolina ranked No. 80, and KenPom.com has the Tar Heels at No. 91.

North Carolina is ranked No. 129 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Shooting

North Carolina is tied for ninth with 70.6 points per game, but are just 13th in field-goal percentage (41.3) and last in the league in three-point shooting percentage (29.1).

Outside shooting has been problematic this season, with senior wing Brandon Robinson and Anthony leading the way. Robinson is making 34.4 percent from three-point land and Anthony is at 31.8. No other player in the rotation is above 30 percent.

Rebounding

UNC leads the ACC with 42.6 rebounds per game and 13.9 offensive rebounds a contest. North Carolina is also first with an 8.0 rebounding margin.

The one-two punch of Brooks and Bacot combine for 16.9 rebounds per game, and then Anthony is a quality rebounder for his position at 6.3 a contest.

Defense

The Tar Heels ranked 13th in the ACC in allowing 71.7 points per game, and 10th in allowing 41.8 percent from the field. UNC is 11th in the league in allowing 33.5 percent on three-pointers.

Bacot leads the way with 35 blocks and Rechon “Leaky” Black has 21 from the perimeter spot. Black also has a team-high 37 steals, with Anthony second with 22.

Depth

UNC isn’t as deep as it normally is due to season-ending injuries to freshman guard Anthony Harris and junior center Sterling Manley, plus an assortment of other injuries.

Graduate transfers Christian Keeling, a wing, and forward Justin Pierce were expected to provide a punch this season, but found the adjustment to the ACC harder than expected.

Junior wing Andrew Platek and freshman point guard Jeremiah Francis, who has battled serious injuries since his junior year of high school, round out the depth.

North Carolina was desperate to land Cole Anthony last spring due to point guard Coby White becoming a one-and-done player for the NBA Draft.

Anthony picked UNC over Oregon, Notre Dame, Georgetown and others, and it was supposed to be a seamless transition. He underwent knee surgery after the Dec. 8 loss at Virginia, and the season started to fall apart for both the Tar Heels and Anthony.

Anthony returned Feb. 1 against Boston College, and he has played a heavy workload, including playing 43 of 45 minutes in the overtime loss against Duke. That allayed any theories that Anthony would save himself for the draft. NBADraft.net has Anthony slotted at No. 5 pick for the draft this June. UNC has lost seven straight games since Anthony has returned.

Anthony opened the season with a spectacular game in the win over Notre Dame, pouring in 34 points, 11 boards and five assists. He went 6 of 11 on three-pointers in the 76-65 win Nov. 6. Anthony has reached 20-plus points in seven games and he is averaging 19.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.

In the last three games, Anthony has shot an identical 7 of 16 from the field in each contest and he’s averaging 19.3 points per game.

NC State

PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Sr., 13.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 6.4 apg, 1.9 spg)

SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 13.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.3 spg)

G — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, R-Jr., 12.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.7 spg)

PF — 0 D.J. Funderburk (6-10, 225, R-Jr., 12.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.3 apg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-Fr., 5.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.3 apg, 2.9 bpg)

North Carolina

PG — 2 Cole Anthony (6-3, 190, Fr., 19.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.4 spg)

SG — 4 Brandon Robinson (6-5, 173, Sr., 12.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.1 spg)

SF — 1 Rechon Black (6-8, 195, Soph., 6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.4 spg)

PF — 5 Armando Bacot (6-10, 232, Fr., 10.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 bpg)

C — 15 Garrison Brooks (6-9, 235, Jr., 15.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.1 apg)

3: Games this season where North Carolina has shot 50 percent from the field — Miami on Jan. 25, Duke on Feb. 8 and Virginia on Feb. 15.

9: Nine of the last 12 games, UNC’s opponents have scored the tying or winning points in the last 27 seconds of the second half or an overtime period. Six of those nine have come with three seconds or less.

334: Ranking nationally for North Carolina in three-point field-goal percentage. UNC is 144 of 495 for 29.1 percent.

North Carolina junior post player Garrison Brooks went to work against NC State in the first matchup, and finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in the win.

Brooks missed the Louisville game this past weekend due to illness. Brooks combined for 42 points and 12 rebounds his last two games, shooting 20 of 32 from the field in losses at Notre Dame on Monday and vs. Virginia on Feb. 15.

Brooks is shooting 53.2 percent from the field, but is struggling at the free-throw line at 56.5 percent. He’s averaging 15.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Brooks shredded Georgia Tech for 35 points and 11 rebounds in a 96-83 loss Jan. 4. He had 28 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the 79-77 double overtime loss at Virginia Tech on Jan. 22.

The 6-9, 235-pounder had originally picked and signed with Mississippi State, where his father was an assistant coach. He ended up getting out of his letter of intent and the Tar Heels circled back on him the following spring spring. Rivals.com ranked him No. 123 overall in the class of 2017.

NC State redshirt junior post player D.J. Funderburk is averaging 12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this season.

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