UNC Basketball: Inconsistency Still Plaguing Tar Heels in 2014-15

North Carolina's locker room at the Dean Smith Center has plenty of swanky amenities, the fancy bells and whistles that make the school a top choice of prized recruits.

Despite the way some Tar Heels have looked this season, though, one feature it does not include is a wheel that players spin to determine their game-by-game performance.

Monday's 71-70 home loss to Notre Dame continued a season-long trend of inconsistently for North Carolina, a fourth loss for a team that has looked pretty darn good in most of its wins.

This defeat might have been the most boggling—not because of the opponent but because of how good the Tar Heels had looked during a five-game win streak, most notably during their 24-point win at Clemson two nights earlier.

Notre Dame was better than any team UNC had played in that win streak, but that didn't factor into the outcome as much as how the 11-4 Tar Heels themselves performed. More specifically, how certain players looked on the court, with some again resembling individual versions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

UNC shot 36.9 percent against the Fighting Irish, with Justin Jackson being the only starter to make half of his attempts. However, he only shot the ball four times, finishing with six points after scoring 13 in the previous game.

He is one of many players who remain unable to string more than two good games together.

Kennedy Meeks, coming off his sixth double-double of the season, played only 17 minutes because of foul trouble and was a non-factor most of the night.

Brice Johnson, who came in shooting 55.6 percent from the field but often held back on shooting much, attempted 11 or more shots for just the fourth time but connected on only three.

Player	High-scoring game	Low-scoring game	Season average
Marcus Paige	21	5	13.5
Kennedy Meeks	21	7	12.7
Brice Johnson	23	2	11.3
Justin Jackson	18	4	9.6
J.P. Tokoto	19	3	9.1

This isn't just a "struggle in losses, thrive in wins" scenario, however.

J.P. Tokoto only had three points against Clemson, then was among the more aggressive players on Monday, finishing with 12. At times, this is because of the game plan as well as what the defense is giving the Tar Heels, but it's equally a matter of inconsistency.

Without knowing who can be relied on nightly, the expectation to get on a good run is almost nonexistent.

Three of North Carolina's four losses have come in games where it figured to have a decided advantage inside, yet it didn't work in its favor. Despite owning the boards against Notre Dame, the Heels couldn't capitalize on 21 offensive rebounds.

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This was supposed to be the start of a big, momentum-building homestand for UNC, getting a five-day break between visits from Notre Dame and fellow one-loss team Louisville, which it faces on Saturday.

Instead, the days in between Monday's loss and a second straight ranked opponent will be filled with uncertainty about which UNC team will hit the court next time out.

It could be the one that played lights-out in beating Ohio State at the CBS Sports Classic or looked pretty good despite losing by 14 at Kentucky, or the one that got overwhelmed by a smaller Butler team at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament or appeared listless and disinterested when falling at home to Iowa.

Which will it be on Saturday? If there was a "wheel of performance" in the Heels' locker room, at least we could spin it now and get prepared for the outcome.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.