UNC basketball, atop the ACC and figuring out ways to win, suddenly feels inevitable
In a season when absolutely nothing in the ACC can be taken for granted, when Clemson can lose to Virginia Tech, when Virginia can lose to Notre Dame, when Duke can lose to Georgia Tech, when Miami can lose to Louisville, there is so far one single certainty.
It’s the same team, still with many of the same players, that was the most mystifying in the ACC the past two seasons, maybe in the entire country.
North Carolina, suddenly, is inevitable.
The Tar Heels keep winning games they so recently have made a habit of losing, first at Pittsburgh, then at Clemson, and Wednesday at N.C. State, pulling away late for a 67-54 win to claim sole possession of first place in the ACC, the league’s only undefeated team at 4-0.
It’s the ultimate turnabout for a team that went from flirting with missing the NCAA tournament to the national-title game, then from preseason favorite to postseason absentee, and now has been retooled into a find-a-way winning machine.
And yes, it helps when an opponent goes 2-for-21 from 3-point range, as N.C. State did Wednesday night. In the immortal words of Sidney R. Lowe, “gotta make shots.” The Tar Heels gave the Wolfpack any number of chances to get back into the game in the second half as they failed to push their lead past six or seven points, until they finally ripped off an 11-0 run to put the game away with five minutes to go.
But even while wavering, they never let the Wolfpack get into the lead, holding that advantage for the entire second half. They never gave N.C. State enough oxygen to get going. The Wolfpack’s defense could only hold on for so long. The eventual UNC run was, again, inevitable.
The differences were once again plain to see, starting with the newcomers. The stability of Elliot Cadeau at point guard. The energy of Harrison Ingram. The versatility of Seth Trimble off the bench, not a newcomer but a revelation as he continues to emerge.
Armando Bacot fought D.J. Burns to a draw, posting the rare single-single, and it never really mattered. These Tar Heels now contain multitudes.
Ingram had the biggest impact, mostly figuratively and a little bit literally. He was all over the court, pulling down 19 rebounds – N.C. State offered plenty of opportunity – and leaping over the broadcast table in pursuit of a loose ball, crash-landing directly on N.C. State booster Wendell Murphy.
The collision left Murphy grabbing at his right wrist while security swarmed the scene and everyone from Ingram to Kevin Keatts to referee Roger Ayers to N.C. State’s trainer stopped by to check on him. But Murphy remained in his seat – the only way he was leaving a State-Carolina game was on a stretcher – and said afterward he thought he escaped major injury.
“When he hit me, it hurt so bad I was sure it was broken,” Murphy said. “But it feels OK now.”
It was a minor win on a night for N.C. State when there were few. (The biggest roar of the final eight minutes was for a pair of missed free throws, by Ingram, that resulted in free fast-food chicken.) The Wolfpack had a chance to climb atop the ACC standings with a win, not a circumstance that has often presented itself lately, only to see their rivals seize that opportunity instead.
North Carolina’s out ahead of everyone now, apparently the one constant in a league where there are no others. The Tar Heels will be heavily favored in their next six games, and unlike the past two seasons, it doesn’t feel like disaster is lurking around the corner. It just feels like the Tar Heels keep figuring out ways to win.
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This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 10:51 PM.
