Five Things to Watch as UNC Meets UCLA: Tough Enough, Good Garrison and Francis the Future?

The Tar Heels meet the Bruins at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

North Carolina looks to snap a four-game losing streak as it travels to Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon to meet UCLA to wrap up its West Coast road trip.

With neither of the blue-blood programs playing up to their lofty standards this season, here’s what to watch for as the Tar Heels (6-5) meet the Bruins (7-4) at T-Mobile Arena (3 p.m., CBS).

Tough Enough?

To say it’s been a bad month for Carolina would be kind.

The Tar Heels haven’t won a game since Nov. 29, and with a nine-day break looming after Saturday, it would be pretty easy to go through the motions and prepare for flights home for the holidays.

Roy Williams has been looking for more toughness from his team in every aspect of the game, and although UCLA isn’t incredibly talented this year, Mick Cronin’s team will show up ready for a fight.

This is a great opportunity for Carolina to prove it’s taken a step forward in both focus and toughness if it can take care of business in a game it should win.

Defensive Issues

Cole Anthony’s absence has proven an issue on the defensive end, too.

Against Wofford, the Tar Heels were out of place one time after another as the Terriers knocked down 14 3-pointers. At Gonzaga, the Bulldogs were 9/18 from beyond the arc and won both the battles on the fast break and in the paint.

The Tar Heels have been poor in transition defense, and in turn, those mismatches have led to open shots all over the floor.

Carolina was only able to force five turnovers against Wofford, and while it got 11 against the Zags, the Tar Heels committed 12 themselves to negate any easy buckets they were able to create on the break.

To be fair, Gonzaga ranks fourth nationally in offensive efficiency – easily the best team Carolina has faced this season. UCLA ranks 72nd.

Nell Redmond | USA TODAY Sports

Francis, the Future?

One of few bright spots this month has been the emergence of Jeremiah Francis at point guard, going from three minutes at Virginia, 15 vs. Wofford and 23 at Gonzaga.

His ability to get up to speed quickly has been miraculous, and his play has been encouraging, scoring 11 points to go with three assists and zero turnovers at Gonzaga, pushing his assist turnover rate to 3:1 in limited action.

Carolina’s offense, which has rarely looked to be running smoothly this season, has functioned at a much higher level with the freshman running the show.

K.J. Smith — who has played well, too — has started the past two games, but could Francis get his first start against the Bruins? At the least, it’s probable he’ll see the larger share of minutes. At a time some fans are already looking forward to the future — whether that be Anthony’s return or next season — Francis is providing hope for what Carolina’s offense can be.

Bacot Bounce Back?

Hindered by a bum right ankle, Armando Bacot has struggled in his past two games, shooting 3 of 20 from the floor with a total of 16 rebounds and three turnovers in 43 minutes.

Carolina’s best chance for staying afloat over the next month without Anthony revolves around Bacot and Garrison Brooks in the post, and to this point, Bacot hasn’t provided much to help the Tar Heels.

It’s possible Bacot came back too quickly to play against Virginia, and if that’s the case, it would make sense for him to sit out and get healthy before Carolina dives back into the ACC schedule in the new year.

If he’s healthy and available, he’s got to provide more than he’s been able to do in the past two games as he’s had a hard time against physical defenders in the paint. If Bacot plays to his potential in this one, Carolina should win. It’s that simple.

Good Garrison

Garrison Brooks has done his part in making up for the absence of Anthony.

With the Tar Heels refocusing the offense on the post, Brooks has averaged 16.5 points and 9 rebounds on 15 of 21 from the field.

Already Carolina’s smartest and best defensive player, Brooks has made massive strides on offense this season and proven it several times during the season.

His 17 points against Wofford were viewed as a solid night against sub-par competition, but there’s no doubting what he did against one of the nation’s best front lines in Gonzaga.

Brooks is playing the best basketball of his career and perhaps more than anyone, putting his heart and soul into trying to will the Tar Heels out of their losing streak.