It’s gut-check time for UNC basketball.

Following an 86-79 loss at Syracuse on Tuesday night, the seventh-ranked Tar Heels have lost three of their last five games and opened the door for Duke (19-5, 10-3) and Virginia (19-6, 10-4) in the ACC standings.

UNC (19-6, 11-3 ACC) lost back-to-back games in December before reeling off 10 wins in a row – including six victories on the road – to take a commanding conference lead. The Tar Heels took a step back in a loss at Georgia Tech, but appeared to get back on track with a win against the Blue Devils.

Now, UNC has lost two of its last three games. With six games remaining in the regular season, is it time to push the panic button? Here’s a look at some reasons to worry about the Tar Heels.

UNC’s defense had no answer for Syracuse’s Judah Mintz, JJ Starling

The Tar Heels won their six ACC road games by an average of 9.3 points, allowing 63.5 points on 36.5% shooting.

UNC's adjusted defensive efficiency is 15th in the nation at 94.7, according to BartTorvik.com, but that number has risen to 102.7 in the last five games. The Tar Heels had six games above 100 in the first nine, but went the next 13 below 100 before this recent stretch of struggles.

Through 25 games, UNC is 2-5 when it allows at least 80 points and 17-1 when opposing teams don’t reach 80. After a 36-point loss in Chapel Hill on Jan. 13, Syracuse (16-9, 7-7) didn’t have any trouble reaching 80 points Tuesday night in New York.

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The Orange got 48 points from Judah Mintz (25) and JJ Starling (23), shot 63% from the floor and didn’t miss more than two shots in a row against the Heels.

After UNC took a 65-64 lead, Syracuse made its next four shots and used a 12-4 run that preceded a court-storming celebration at the JMA Wireless Dome. If the Tar Heels are going to end the regular season as the top team in the ACC, they have to get back to stringing together stops.

Tar Heels’ late-game situations, turnovers

Syracuse’s hot shooting might be the main story out of Tuesday’s game, but UNC didn’t provide much of a challenge down the stretch as the Tar Heels crumbled with their late-game execution.

RJ Davis gave UNC a 65-64 lead with 7:16 left, but the Tar Heels didn’t get off another shot until the final minute. Trailing by four with just under three minutes left, UNC had four turnovers in the final two minutes.

The Tar Heels had similar issues down the stretch in its loss to Clemson, with two critical turnovers after tying the game at 70. The Tigers scored 10 of the final 16 points to win in Chapel Hill.

The games aren’t going to get easier as March closes in on the calendar. UNC has to bring a better focus down the stretch in critical moments and make winning plays.

UNC's bench production has to be better

It appeared UNC had turned a corner with its bench production, particularly after getting 39 points from its reserves in the first meeting against Syracuse. But UNC has averaged 9.6 bench points in its last six games, including a season-worst one point at Miami.

Seth Trimble was out with an injury against Clemson and Miami, so his return as the top reserve should correct things a bit moving forward. The Tar Heels need more players to step up and provide a boost off the bench. If stars are in foul trouble, depth can be the difference between winning and losing.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Is it time to worry about UNC basketball after loss at Syracuse?