UNC Basketball: Are the Tar Heels in for Another Roller Coaster of a Season?

North Carolina fans have been on this ride before. It wasn't fun last time, either.

The Tar Heels' 60-55 home loss to Iowa on Wednesday night threw up all sorts of red flags about what kind of team UNC has this season. Paired with the surprising loss to Butler last week in the Bahamas, it makes the possibility of a topsy-turvy season similar to last year a distinct possibility.

It was the fourth loss in 90 games at home against nonconference opponents under Roy Williams, but three of those have been in the past two seasons.

Last year, UNC dropped early tilts to Texas and Belmont as part of an 11-7 start to 2013-14 that included a home loss to Miami but also wins at No. 11 Kentucky, at No. 1 Michigan State and against No. 3 Louisville in Connecticut.

USA TODAY Sports

Ugly games have never really gone in North Carolina's favor, but when both teams are struggling to hit shots, the advantage usually goes to the squad with the more accomplished frontcourt.

UNC had trouble in that area last season, something that was expected to be much better this season with Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson both undergoing offseason physical transformations.

However, UNC gave up 16 offensive rebounds in the second half, completely negating the fact that Iowa made only eight of 33 shots after halftime.

"Roy Williams tried almost everything, cycling through all of Carolina's post options, but it seemed no one could keep Iowa off the glass," wrote Adam Lucas of GoHeels.com.

Instead, Meeks and Johnson as well as Isaiah Hicks and Joel James were abused on the glass. This, and an inability to defend in the paint, led to copious amounts of fouling, with Meeks fouling out late after posting 15 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks.

The wings didn't provide any spark, either. Justin Jackson made just three of nine shots to finish with seven points, the lowest output of his career...other than when he had six in the loss to Butler.

Instead, it was junior Marcus Paige trying to do it all late, and as was the case in most of the losses from 2013-14, he wasn't able to achieve everything.

Paige had 13 points, but that was on 4-of-16 shooting, making just three of 12 outside shots that included a potential game-tying three that barely touched rim in the final seconds.

UNC shot only 27.9 percent from the field as a team and was 4-of-23 from three-point range.

"It was almost like a comedy," Williams said in his postgame press conference. "Except it's not very funny to me."

What also isn't amusing is how this same team that just scored its fewest points since losing 57-45 at Syracuse last January is also the one that looked quite good in beating No. 18 UCLA and No. 22 Florida—at least in the first half.

Results like that showed what UNC is capable of, what a team with veteran leadership in the form of Paige and juniors Johnson and J.P. Tokoto, and a super-talented freshman class should be able to accomplish.

Instead, it's looking like the Tar Heels can beat—or be beaten by—every team on their schedule.

Last season, UNC had the turmoil related to P.J. Hairston and Leslie McDonald's off-court issues contributing to the chaos. Without those players available for much or all of the season, the Tar Heels had to discover a new identity, which ended up being a whole lot of Paige.

This year, there are no depth concerns, though the looming academic scandal that has engulfed the entire athletic department can't be easy to ignore.

Three of the Tar Heels' next four games are away from home, which may enable them to escape some of the distractions, but new problems could arise in the form of what those upcoming opponents bring.

The remaining slate this month includes a Dec. 13 trip to top-ranked Kentucky followed by a game against No. 14 Ohio State in Chicago.

How UNC fares against Kentucky might not be the best barometer for what to expect from this team—not the way Kentucky has looked this season. Win or lose, though, expect a far better effort with the players tasked with being leaders making more of an effort to meet those expectations.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.