Tar Heels eye improvement after surviving Long Beach State

Published Dec. 11, 2010 9:56 p.m. ET

foxsports

By Andrew Jones
FOXSportsSouth.com
Dec. 11, 2010

Chapel Hill, NC -- North Carolina did enough things well Saturday night that it continued showing signs of improvement. But it also lapsed in some areas that must come together if the Tar Heels are going to be a factor in the ACC and nationally.

Make no mistake, UNC is make strides, and it has the talent to develop into a dangerous team by February. The newness of how its pieces are being used bought the Tar Heels some time in getting out to a 3-3 start.

But now, 10 games into the season after holding off athletic Long Beach State, 96-91, on Saturday night at the Smith Center, the Tar Heels need to smooth their rough edges and minimize the mental lapses, which were in abundance enough on this night that it became the headline despite other positive developments.