Losing streak will end for No. 19 North Carolina or Pitt

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- No. 19 North Carolina has experienced troubling issues recently, but its three-game losing streak looks mild compared with what Pittsburgh is going through.

Pittsburgh arrives Saturday night at the Smith Center with a 10-game losing streak.

"They're struggling right now, but at the same time we're struggling," North Carolina senior guard Theo Pinson said Friday.

North Carolina (16-7, 5-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) is trying to avoid its first four-game skid since a stretch in January-February 2010.

Part of the backdrop for the game involves North Carolina junior swingman Cameron Johnson. He's a graduate transfer from Pittsburgh who became immediately eligible after an offseason delay in granting clearance for a transfer within the ACC.

Johnson is coming off the best offensive game of his career when he poured in 32 points Tuesday night in an 82-78 loss at Clemson.

Johnson started in 34 games across two seasons with Pittsburgh. This season, he's averaging 12.7 points in 12 games after missing the first 11 with injuries.

"Not speaking from experience, I don't really know," Williams said of Johnson's mindset for the game against his former team. "Just play basketball."

Pitt coach Kevin Stallings is a former assistant coach under Williams at Kansas.

Pittsburgh (8-15, 0-10) has used lineup combinations with five freshmen on the court this season, so those Panthers never played alongside Johnson in the past.

In its last three games, Pittsburgh gave spirited efforts with chances to win against North Carolina State and Syracuse, and challenged Miami earlier this week.

"We have played better basketball, but still don't have anything to show for it," Stallings said. "Our defense has continued to get a little better."

Stallings said there's no sense fretting about the disappointing results. He's intent on seeing improvement.

"Our focus has continued to be the same," Stallings said. "We're not worried about what we're confronted with. We're worried about trying to make ourselves better. ... (Our players) continue to believe if we can play like we believe we can for a 40-minute game, we can win some games."

North Carolina has concerns on defense after giving up 15 baskets from 3-point range in consecutive games.

"We need to have a sense of urgency," Williams said. "I don't think I've been pleased with their defense all year long."

The Tar Heels expect to have Pinson back after he exited less than two minutes into the game against Clemson, crashing to the court when he was undercut while going for a rebound.

Pinson said his strained left shoulder is fine, though his tailbone is still sore.

While Pinson was a spectator for most of the game against Clemson, he said he saw encouraging aspects from how his teammates performed.

"My message was to build off that second half we had at Clemson," Pinson said. "I think that got the train rolling."

North Carolina leads Pittsburgh by 12-3 in the series, including a 5-2 record since the Panthers joined the ACC. The Tar Heels have won the past four meetings.