GREENSBORO, N.C. -- On paper, the inconsistent Tar Heels weren't a good match for the disciplined, machine-like Cavaliers -- the ACC tournament's top seed and the No. 3 team in the country -- in Friday's semifinal clash.
But Virginia (29-3) suffered only its third defeat, and North Carolina (29-10) landed its biggest victory of the season -- by far -- topping the Cavaliers in a 71-67 thriller.
THREE-POINT TAKE
1. This version of North Carolina -- dialed in on both ends for a full 40 minutes -- can be quite dangerous
North Carolina has often had really good stretches against good teams this year. Quite often, in fact.
But it hadn't been able to finish the job, more often than not. A variety of factors have played into the Heels' struggles, including their own mental toughness (or lack thereof) -- not to mention the health of some of their better players, like guard Marcus Paige.
And now, suddenly, two games in a row, they've done just that -- finished games against good teams and made plays down the stretch when they had to have them.
"I like the focus and toughness too. Teams talk about us being soft and all that kind of stuff, but I liked our toughness down the stretch yesterday and today both," North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said after the game.
Soft has been a word used to describe North Carolina. But the Tar Heels forced Virginia to play their pace in the first half, using aggressive defense -- their best defensive effort of the season, arguably -- to rush the Cavaliers into mistakes.
The Tar Heels' offense is going to be there, but when their defense is playing like that, it gives them the best possible chance to win.
"I think it was one of the best games we've played defensively, and yet we made some huge mistakes too, but I thought we were much more active," Williams said. "We were more aggressive. We were pressuring. In a halfcourt situation, that could be the most aggressive, most active defense we've had all year long, and I think that helped us."
They didn't exactly out-Virginia Virginia. But when North Carolina couldn't get it going in transition, the Tar Heels were patient, working for the good shot. That deference helped them get good looks, and shoot over 54 percent -- unheard of against that defense.
Their 18 turnovers were a lot -- too many -- but that was really all they did wrong.
"Just taking those extra five seconds to get a better shot. We weren't really trying to shoot the first shot we see," UNC's Brice Johnson said. "I didn't want to rush anything and Kennedy didn't rush anything. We just wanted to be able to take time off the clock and take an extra five seconds to get the better shot instead of just trying to throw it up there, because they can capitalize on your mistakes."
The best thing about it for North Carolina is that it wasn't like Virginia handed them the game. The Cavaliers didn't have a great first half, but they fought and scratched and clawed their way back into the game and cut it to 61-60. North Carolina had to keep making plays, and that's what they did.
"(North Carolina) had some careless turnovers, and I thought we got back because of our hustle. We got aggressive, real aggressive and just kind of forced the issue. We've kind of been in that spot the other way when teams just put their head down," Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said.
Consistency has seemed like a bad word for North Carolina at times this season. Btu this is now two back-to-back fantastic performances against really good teams.
Still, Paige was reluctant to call the Tar Heels hot.
"We're getting warmer. You're not going to get that out of me until tomorrow if we win the game, then I'll be like, 'All right, we're hot. We're rolling. Tournament time.' But we're getting warmer," Paige said with a grin.
"We're starting to figure it out. Justin's playing way more confident. He's being the guy that we knew he was capable of being. I'm healthy. I'm feeling better. I'm more aggressive and attacking. Kennedy's feeling better off the sickness. Brice had a fantastic game yesterday and was productive today. So everyone's kind of hitting their stride and we're getting warm."
2. Justin Jackson's emergence was something to behold
After a game at Duke back on February 18, freshman guard Justin Jackson had a career-low two points on 1-of-8 shooting. He and Paige had been non-factors against Duke's backcourt, and it was one of the reasons the Tar Heels couldn't get over the hump in an overtime loss.
It wasn't Jackson's only bad game of the season, or the only one where he looked tentative and unsure. But having a game like that on that kind of a stage, Paige said, can change a player.
"That game will change your perspective on a lot of things. Cameron Indoor, I remember my freshman year -- I had four points, six turnovers. I was terrible there. It kind of makes you grow up," Paige said.
"Playing in the Duke-Carolina game is the biggest stage in college basketball. That'll teach you something about yourself. I think he understands his role on this team and how we need him to do well. Since then, he's been more confident and he's been more aggressive."
In the eight games since, he's been in double figures in every single one. Even a game back on Feb. 24 when NC State essentially dared Jackson to beat them, letting him take almost every shot. He was 7 of 17 in that game (16 points).
The degree of difficulty set on extremely high against Virginia, Jackson decided he'd do what he'd done so often in high school -- take over.
The 6-8 guard scored in all kinds of ways. He drained open three-pointers. He cut to the basket and moved without the ball beautifully.
The three-point shooting is big, though -- North Carolina doesn't really have a threat besides Paige. And Jackson is now 8 of 12 in the last four games. Even just the threat of another outside shooter helps tremendously.
"I always knew I was a shooter. Obviously, like you said, the numbers didn't show it. But for me, I knew it would come around sooner or later," Jackson said. "I think after the Duke game, me and coach sat down and I told him it would be all right, it will start coming. I guess, right after that, it started clicking a little bit."
Williams has insisted all year that Jackson is a player. He did the same thing Paige's freshman year when he struggled, too. As it turns out, maybe he was right about both.
"Marcus' freshman year I said he's going to be a big time player, and I get to see it when recruiting him, yes, but I get to see it every day. It's a matter of time, sometimes it takes some guys longer than others," Williams said.
"But I think that we need Justin to be a big-time scorer. I think he's getting better and better at moving without the ball as well. In the off season he'll be able to work on his body and the whole bit.
"I did know that he was going to be a big-time shooter before he left. I just hoped it was in my lifetime."
It just might be.
3. Virginia has now lost two of its last three games, and has shown itself to be surprisingly mortal entering the postseason
The Cavaliers seemed like a lock for a No. 1 seed. And suddenly, as they closed the season losing two of three, they are no longer a lock.
"Oh, 1 seed, 2 seed, that's not for me to decide. We've just got to get ready to play better than we did in the first half for sure and work at that. But that's not for me at all to worry about. There are so many good teams that you have to play. The parity in college basketball is there so whatever will be will be with that, as they say," Bennett said.
Justin Anderson's return from injury hasn't gone as smoothly as the team would have liked, but it was big to give him some games to get the rust off. And when he was asked if his team deserved a No. 1 seed, he had bigger things to worry about.
"Do I think so? Yes. Is that relevant to us? Not at all. There are people who make decisions that are above us. We're going to show up to play regardless," Anderson said.
"We're excited for the opportunity, whether we get 1, 2 seed, whatever it is. But that's not what our focus is. Our focus is making surer that we understand that we're beatable, as we saw tonight. We want to make sure that we correct whatever that was and try to make another run."
Still, the losses in two of the final three -- all close defeats -- are concern enough for Anderson and company to know they have to correct some things.
And fast.
Malcolm Brogdon nearly won the game himself for the Cavaliers, bouncing back from a slow start to take over late and scoring 16 of his 25 points in the final eight minutes. Shot after shot, play after play, he made it -- and he put the team in position to win.
On Virginia's second-to-last chance, Brogdon didn't get the ball. Instead, Anderson did, and he missed a three-pointer. But Brogdon got one more shot at the end and missed. Still, he was spectacular, driving to the hoop and making plays for others. If he can keep that aggressiveness up, it's a great sign for Virginia.
"He's first team All-ACC for a reason. He's been doing this all year, just putting the team on his back and willing us for the second half of the season he's just been -- he's stepped up and stepped his game up," Anderson said.
"I told him, 'Man, you take care of the offense and I promise they won't score defensively.' I try to be our anchor defensively, and I tell him to just lead us and will us to this win offensively, and I think he did a great job."
One person wasn't trying to hear any panic when it comes to the Cavaliers -- Roy Williams.
"I hope they get everybody healthy, because they have a very sincere run in them if they're healthy to win the whole blessed thing. They need Justin (Anderson) to get healthy, and (Darion) Atkins hurt his ankle in yesterday's game, and we understand that.
"This league is pretty doggone good. We're not chopped liver, so losing to Louisville at Louisville, and losing in the ACC Tournament in the semifinals doesn't mean you've been bad. I'll give you this one, I want these guys to change it, but my teams have taken me to seven Final Fours. One time we won the conference tournament, and we were pretty doggone good, and we won two national championships when we did not win the conference tournament.
"So Tony has done a fantastic job. They get those guys healthy, they can win a National Championship. I'd like to play them again in a National Championship Game. That would be ecstatic for me."
STATS THAT MATTER
54.8 -- North Carolina's field goal percentage against Virginia -- the highest opponents' tally against the Cavaliers since November 2010 (163 games).
0-6 -- Virginia is now 3-12 vs. UNC in the ACC Tournament and 0-6 in Greensboro.
STRAIGHT TALK
"We set up the elevator door play for me to go through with the two big guys to catch the ball at the top. In six seconds you don't have a lot of time, but that's plenty of time to make a play and not hoist up a jumpshot. A couple times early in the year I had settled for jump shots in that situation, but I knew we were in the bonus and I wanted to try to use my quickness to get in the lane and either make something happen for myself or my teammates.
Gave (Brogdon) a fake, and when he left his feet I knew I had a chance to get a decent shot off. That's what happened. I was able to knock it down." -- Marcus Paige on his end-of-shot-clock floater with 42 seconds left to put the Tar Heels up three.
"I guess we didn't want to get comfortable. Justin Anderson actually came up to me and told me when they were down 11, 'We're going to come back.' I was like, 'Hey, you guys are the second best team in the country. It's going to be a battle.' Me and him are friends. We go back a ways.
We knew it was going to be a battle. We couldn't give in to that. We couldn't let them want it more than us. They play so hard and compete so hard on the backboards, and they're so disciplined. You can't let a team like that outwork you." -- Paige
