A statistical breakdown of UNC's offense five games into ACC play

North Carolina has stumbled early in ACC play despite a hot start to the season.

Carolina entered ACC play with a 12-1 record, its best start in 17 years. However, the Tar Heels have faltered in conference, going 2-3 through their first five ACC games. They have also lost three of their last four, falling to SMU, Stanford and California.

UNC’s struggles, though, have little to do with the offense, which has been one of the most efficient in ACC play. Here is a look at several key offensive categories.

Offensive Rankings (Among ACC Teams)

• Scoring Offense - 83.4 points per game (1st)
• Offensive Efficiency - 117.9 (2nd)
• Field Goal Percentage - 49.3% (1st)
• Two-Point Percentage - 60.7% (2nd)
• Three-Point Percentage - 34.1% (5th)
• Effective Field Goal Percentage - 56.6% (1st)
• Free Throw Percentage - 65.1% (17th)
• Free Throw Attempts - 25.8 (3rd)
• Assists - 16.4 per game (2nd)
• Assist Percentage - 56.6% (6th)
• Offensive Rebounds - 9.2 per game (8th)
• Offensive Rebound Percentage - 33.7% (7th)
• Turnovers - 10.6 per game (8th)
• Turnover Percentage - 15.3% (4th)

While North Carolina has had sizable bumps throughout ACC play, its offense has done more than enough to win games.

The Tar Heels lead the conference in scoring offense, field-goal percentage and effective field-goal percentage. They are second in assists per game, offensive efficiency and 2-point percentage.

A large part of this efficiency comes from the frontcourt duo of Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson. Veesaar (64.7%) and Wilson (63.5%) rank No. 2 and No. 3 in the ACC in field-goal percentage. Wilson is eighth in scoring at 20.0 points per game, while Veesaar is averaging 18.2 points, which ranks 13th.

However, the biggest concern remains Carolina’s free-throw shooting. In ACC play, the Tar Heels are shooting 65.7% from the line, which ranks second to last in the league. It’s even more troubling that they are third in free-throw attempts per game — a volume that only magnifies how costly all those misses have been.

This has been an ongoing problem all season. UNC has made just 61.7% of its free throws, which ranks 322nd nationally out of 360 Division I teams. No other ACC team has taken as many free throws as the Tar Heels, which only makes their inefficiency at the line more alarming.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Offensive stats and rankings five games into ACC play