Tar Heels suffer first loss at the hands of Iowa State

North Carolina watched a 7-point lead dwindle away in the final minutes, as the Cyclones handed them their first loss of the season.

Eight minutes after North Carolina's heartbreaking loss to N.C. State on the gridiron, the Tar Heels were dealt another blow across the country in Portland.

Iowa State guard Caleb Grill entered Friday night's matchup against North Carolina shooting 4-for-24 from three on the season. Grill eclipsed his season total in 40 minutes, connecting on seven three-point attempts and scoring 31 points in Iowa State's 70-65 upset win over the Tar Heels.

Despite his hot shooting night and Iowa State shooting 45 percent from three compared to their normal 28, North Carolina still had every opportunity to close out their second game in Portland with a victory.

Leaky Black converted a layup attempt with 3:57 remaining to give the Tar Heels a 60-53 advantage, marking the last made field goal for North Carolina.

Over the final 3:32, the Cyclones relied on the hot hand of Grill and turned up the defensive intensity to amass a 17-5 run to stun the No. 1 ranked Tar Heels.

14 turnovers coupled with a 3-for-18 performance from beyond the arc made for a defeat that was well in the making. After flirting with disaster numerous times over the season's first five games, the Tar Heels were unable to stave off an Iowa State offense that turned in its best performance on the young season.

Coming into the season as the nation's No. 1 team, expectations have been sky-high for a North Carolina team that return four starters from their National Championship Game appearance.

In the early going, they have turned in some uninspiring performance against lesser competition, but rose to the challenge to close out multiple contests.

For a team that is focused on March, underwhelming play and lack of cohesion in the season's first month is no cause for concern, but the way Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels bounce back will indicate how much they've learned and where there focus lies.

A chance to earn a quality win against a talented Alabama team awaits on Sunday before North Carolina heads to Bloomington for a road matchup with the Indiana Hoosiers.

The Tar Heels and Crimson Tide will tip-off at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.