The victory over the Irish also marks North Carolina’s third straight win against the spread, allaying concerns about the squad’s ability to win big after covering in just four of its previous 13 outings.
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It’s all starting to look right for the Tar Heels headed into the NCAA Tournament. Virginia is also playing for a top seed in the tournament so theses teams will be giving it everything they got. Stacked with traditional power programs in Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana and Wisconsin, this bracket has no shortage of star power. Berry was named ACC tournament MVP, per InsideCarolina.
The Tar Heels knocked the ‘Hoos out in the semifinals past year.
Five teams are headed into March on the right trajectory.
The NCAA case is still pending.
Outside of the two seniors, one of North Carolina’s biggest strengths is its multifaceted offensive attack. While Joel Berry and Marcus Paige shot well from three doesn’t mean UNC should settle for threes. The Tar Heels are about to enter college basketball’s highest-profile stage with the NCAA case still looming over their heads.
“We were wondering what we were going to do for that entire time; all of a sudden we knew rather quickly”, coach Jamie Dixon said. “You don’t think you’re gonna go into Sunday and get shutout or shut anybody else out”. There’s been some negative stuff for three years, (but) these kids believed. We’ve been having negative recruiting against us. We’re okay. We’re okay. “We’re just happy to be back”. “I think we are a veteran club and don’t listen to that”.
Us-against-the-world mottos ring hollow in context with the systematic academic fraud that happened at North Carolina.
“There’s no special feeling about being a No. 1 seed, because when you get there you’ve got to play”, Williams said.
Marcus Paige can’t shoot anymore and should return to point guard, the critics said.
Notre Dame was not able to enact the gameplan they used last game against the Tar Heels. As well, the defensive game plan was good unfortunately North Carolina was better.
Over the past eight days, North Carolina turned these narratives on their head. The Tar Heels have advanced to the Final Four eight times and won four national championships (’82, ’93, ’05, ’09) as a No. 1 seed.
One reason that snapped drought raises eyebrows is that simply by appearing in the ACC Tournament final, North Carolina kept up appearances not only for itself but romanticism for ACC basketball as the nation’s best conference. Ten of those came in the opening period Saturday. North Carolina beat Virginia at its own game, winning the lowest-scoring ACC Tournament championship game since 1985.
Malcolm Brogdon’s 21st shot of the ACC tournament final was a desperate three-pointer that cut Virginia’s deficit to six points against North Carolina in the closing minutes. Paige added a pair of steals, and UVa went scoreless for the critical five-minute stretch of the game. “We did that tonight and that’s what we have to continue to do”. Yet when the team could have come back, Tar Heel defense stopped it. He finished the ballgame with 19 points and was efficient as well, shooting 5-for-8 from the field as well 3-for-3 from behind the arc. “So at the end of the day, that’s what you expect in the championship game: to have two really good teams”.
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This game resonates as the most intriguing stylistic matchup of the first round. They’re loose and confident, a ideal ingredient for March. By halftime, the Tar Heels held edges of 21-12 in total rebounds and 18-4 on points in the paint. “No one is wondering what their role is or what we’re supposed to be doing”.
