UNC Handles No. 7 Louisville in Top 10 Showdown at the Dean Dome, Now Two Games Clear Atop ACC Standings

In a physical battle between the top two teams in the ACC–both in the standings and the AP Top 25–the eighth-ranked Tar Heels defeated the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals 74-63 at the Smith Center on Wednesday night.

Junior forward Justin Jackson led the scoring charge with 21 points for UNC (24-5, 12-3 ACC)–including a huge three-pointer that stretched the lead to 15 points with just under five minutes remaining–as the bulk of the team’s scoring came from just four players.

Joel Berry and Kennedy Meeks added 15 and 14 points to the winning effort, respectively while Theo Pinson contributed a season-high 13 in one of his best performances of the year.

No other Tar Heel scored more than four points.

UNC was once again forced to grind out a win that was less than pretty–much like it did against then-No. 14 Virginia last weekend–but it only appeared to be a problem in the opening minutes.

“I feel fantastic,” head coach Roy Williams said after the game. “We shot 37 percent and won. It was an ugly game. And we got off to a bad start.

“Their defense dominated us early, the coach continued. And we were taking quick shots.”

Louisville received 17 points from star guard Donovan Mitchell, but Hall-of-Fame head coach Rick Pitino struggled to find consistent offense from other places.

With the referees content to swallow their whistles for most of the game, the Cardinals created only 13 opportunities at the free throw line–of which they made just four.

The three-point shot was another obstacle for Louisville against the Tar Heels, as it converted on just five of its 20 attempts from beyond the arc.

As a result, the Tar Heels didn’t need to go above and beyond offensively in order to manufacture enough points to win–taking the lead midway through the first half and holding on to it the rest of the night.

“We played good enough to stay in the game, we didn’t play good enough to win,” Pitino told reporters afterward. “[We] shoot 4-for-13 [at the foul line] and get dominated on the glass.

“If you get the other team to shoot 37 percent in the game, but you give up 16 second [chance] shots, you’re not gonna win many games,” Pitino continued. “You gotta give them credit. They’re a great offensive rebounding team.”

Louisville’s aggressive matchup zone presented a tough challenge, but UNC was constantly able to rebound its own misses on the offensive end–while also continuing to show improvement on the defensive side of things.

Now the Tar Heels find themselves two games clear of the rest of the ACC, with only three games remaining in the season.

Had Louisville come out on top Wednesday, both teams would have been tied atop the standings with 11-4 conference records.

Instead, the future appears very bright for the Tar Heels–who are closing in on a second straight ACC regular season title.

“It is a competitive league,” Williams said. “It says we have a two-game lead right now, but there’s still some left to play.

“And we’re getting ready to go on one of those trips that I don’t think any team in our league should have to do,” the coach continued. “We’re on the road Saturday and on the road on Monday.”

Up Next:

UNC travels to face Pittsburgh (15-12, 4-10 ACC) on Saturday in a rematch of a close game won by UNC in Chapel Hill earlier this season, before heading to Charlottesville on Monday for the return game against Virginia.

Game Notes

• UNC improved to 11-2 all-time under Roy Williams at the Smith Center in top 10 matchups.
• The Tar Heels finished the game with a 46-33 edge in the rebounding department.

 

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