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Monday night's 80-72 loss to Miami was a tough one to swallow for Tar Heel Nation on several fronts. Positivity had crept back into the fan base after Saturday's manhandling of Clemson. A win over a ranked Hurricane team would put UNC solidly back into the NCAA Tournament picture after entering the game as a projected 11-seed by Joe Lunardi.

A positive outcome would also give North Carolina on the floor confidence with big back-to-back wins after losing nine of its first 24 games.

It didn't work out that way. Miami went on a 22-6 run midway through the game and never looked back. The Heels fought back late in the game, and cut a 12-point deficit with 4:20 left to four with 36 seconds remaining, but they could get no closer.

Perhaps the most painful pill to swallow with the on-court play was rinse-and-repeat for the 16-10 Tar Heels, who are now only one game above .500 with 15 games under their belt in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Their are obvious hurdles that this season's team simply hasn't been able to overcome: