The first CBS Sports Classic wasn’t exactly a classic, but there were strange juxtapositions through the two days in Chicago.

Roy Williams said his players were kind of gaga during Friday’s practice in the United Center, where Michael Jordan won the last three of his six NBA Championships with the Bulls (the first three were in the old Chicago Stadium). “It’s almost like we were out in left field,” Williams said. “I said, ‘C’mon guys, we’ve got to have more enthusiasm.’ But they were sort of looking around.”

The next day, they played about six minutes like Lady Gaga, but the rest of the game they were damn good and gave Tar Heel Nation much reason to have a Merry Christmas. No. 12 Ohio State is no slouch, with its outside shooting and aggressive zone defense, but Carolina built 16- and 17-point leads in each half before losing its composure at the end of both periods.

Their zone offense was as good as it’s been in years, moving the ball crisply and patiently, sometimes deep into the shot clock, before getting the looks they wanted. Brice Johnson made all four of his shots in the first half and finished 8 for 10 for 18 points, adding nine rebounds. Those who believe that for the Tar Heels to be really good Johnson has to be really good had a happy afternoon.

Marcus Paige, still not himself, canned a couple of threes in the first half, one while getting fouled that he turned into a four-point play. He continues to log the most minutes on the team, much of the time just trying to figure things out.

Execution at the end of both halves was careless and concerning, especially the stretch where Justin Jackson missed four free throws and Paige three (Paige also missed a wide-open snowbird when he heard footsteps). The Heels shot 38 percent in the second half and missed all five three-pointers, but their defense was good all game, holding the Buckeyes to 38 percent from the floor and cooling off their three-point shooters in the second half. They finished with four more offensive rebounds and 13 overall.

The 82-74 victory ended on kind of a sour note, but not nearly the way the second game began between Kentucky and UCLA. The top-ranked Wildcats scored the first 24 points and it was game over, driving everyone but Kentucky fans (and the few who showed up from UCLA) out into the chilly afternoon. But clearly, Carolina had the crowd in the first game. (The same four teams will rotate opponents the next two years in Brooklyn and Las Vegas.)

Chancellor Carol Folt sat next to Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham and alongside UNC alum and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, whose innovative and highly profitable Big Ten Network is a site to behold. It telecasts hundreds and hundreds of live conference sports events, has programming that honors the heritage of the 125-year-old league and grooms people on both sides of the camera for jobs with ESPN and other networks.

Rams Club executive director John Montgomery hosted a group of lucky ducks sitting in the floor seats across from the Carolina bench. There were pockets of former players, scads of alumni and their kids who found Chicago a great meeting place, and the retro 1980 uniforms the Tar Heels wore was a subtle reminder that that guy who built this house started his ascension in Carolina Blue.

“He is the greatest player to ever play the game,” Williams said of Jordan, who was not there. “I feel very flattered and very honored that I helped recruit him, helped coach him and consider him a great friend. Every time I come up here, I think of the two times I was in the locker room after they won world championships. The House That Michael Built will always stand, I can tell you that.”

So now the Tar Heels go home for Christmas with more confidence that the eight or nine guys Williams has seemed to settle on can keep improving and make some noise in the ACC race that begins January 3 at Clemson. Kennedy Meeks had 13 rebounds and was one of four players who scored eight points. Another was back-up center Joel James, who had his 8 in 10 minutes and made three of his four shots. The 280-pound junior looks to be part of the big-man rotation that can wear down coming opponents like Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and other big men around the league.

And then there is Paige, who is playing as much at shooting guard as he is after starting at the point. He insisted he’s not worried that his shooting percentage is down and his turnovers are up. And neither apparently is his coach.

“I’ve never seen Marcus miss as many open shots as he had in the second half,” Williams said. “But I still think that says a lot about how good we can be, because eventually he’s going to start really playing.”

Hopefully, their weekend in Chicago showed that the rest of the Tar Heels have already started.