Marcus Paige had a certain, hyper-focused look in his eye on Friday night in the Tar Heels’ Sweet 16 game against Indiana—the look of a senior determined to keep his college career alive.

He went on to then score 21 points–with a season-high six three-pointers–while dishing out six assists as top-seeded UNC demolished the fourth-seeded Hoosiers 101-86 in Philadelphia–advancing to face Notre Dame in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

The story heading into the night was that Indiana (27-8), which won the Big Ten regular season title while shooting over 40 percent from three-point range as a team, was one of the few squads that could keep up with the Tar Heels (31-6) offensively.

The Tar Heels were nearly unstoppable offensively against Indiana. (Todd Melet)

The Tar Heels were nearly unstoppable offensively against Indiana. (Todd Melet)

Right away though, Paige sank four threes in the first five minutes and that narrative was flipped on its head.

After battling injuries last season and a shooting slump for most of this season, the senior played on Friday like the guy who was named second-team All-American as a sophomore.

Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, that also meant ending up on the wrong end of arguably UNC’s most dominant performance of the year.

“As a shooter when you get the first one to go down, it’s always a good thing for your confidence,” Paige said after the game. “And then I was able to get free a couple times right after that and get pretty good looks at the rim, which are hard to come by as a 6-foot guard.

“That really helped me get going and I think other guys fed off that,” he continued. “We shot the ball a lot better than we have been shooting the ball. That always helps against a team that can really score.”

UNC never trailed, made 10 of its first 12 attempts from downtown, shot 51 percent, and at one point held a 20-point lead late in the second half.

The Tar Heels seemingly could not miss, even after entering the day ranked 307th in the nation in three-point percentage.

Indiana point guard Yogi Ferrell had 25 points for the Hoosiers, but it was not enough. (Todd Melet)

Indiana point guard Yogi Ferrell had 25 points for the Hoosiers, but it was not enough. (Todd Melet)

Following Paige’s lead, all five of UNC’s starters scored at least 14 points, including 15 from Kennedy Meeks in a bounce-back performance. Despite a slow first half, Brice Johnson still finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds and provided his usual array of highlight dunks and blocks.

After the game, head coach Roy Williams sounded like a proud papa when discussing how good it was to see Paige lead the way.

“He had high expectations this year for himself as an individual and he had high expectations for our team,” Williams said of Paige, who passed Michael Jordan for 12th on the school’s all-time scoring list during the game. “The ball didn’t go in the basket for a long stretch in there and it really bothered him.

“Yet, I loved him because he didn’t let that affect the rest of his play—so I’m thankful the ball’s going in for him now and giving him a little bit of relief.”

Indiana received 25 points from its own senior star, point guard Yogi Ferrell, and would have defeated most teams with the way it played on Friday.

The Tar Heels were simply locked in, much like the other three ACC schools left standing in the tournament. With wins by Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Virginia on Friday the conference now makes up half of the remaining field.

Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige--the odd couple as Roy Williams calls them--will now play for a chance at the Final Four. (Todd Melet)

Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige–the odd couple as Roy Williams calls them–will now play for a chance at the Final Four. (Todd Melet)

“I’ve felt all year long that our league was outstanding,” Williams said. “I think there’s different ways to evaluate [conference strength], but the play at the end of the season is the way most people evaluate it.

“And I feel like our league is showing that kind of depth and strength of teams with the way they’re playing now,” he continued. “To have Syracuse, Notre Dame, Virginia, and North Carolina is something we’re very proud of.”

All four ACC teams are on the same side of the bracket, meaning two will represent the league in Houston at the Final Four—with the Fighting Irish the lone obstacle remaining in UNC’s path.

Now that Paige has found his vintage form, he, Johnson and the rest of this group of previously title-starved Tar Heels, have a great shot to finish the deal—especially if they play like they did against Indiana.

“We’re in a good place mentally right now,” Paige said. “We’ll use this short turnaround to recover physically and then it’s for all the marbles.

“Notre Dame’s gonna be ready to play,” he continued. “But I know for the next however many hours it is that’s all that’s gonna be on my mind is how close we are to reaching one of the big-time goals we set for this team.”

Up Next:

UNC and Notre Dame are set to tip-off Sunday night at 8:49 p.m. This guarantees that the Tar Heels will be one of the final five teams remaining in the tournament.

Game Notes:

  • Paige’s 21 points were his most since the Feb. 6 loss at Notre Dame when he also had 21.
  • The six three-pointers by Paige were enough to tie Shammond Williams’ school record for most in an NCAA Tournament game.
  • Brice Johnson recorded his 22nd double-double of the year, one off LSU freshman Ben Simmons’ national lead. It also ties Billy Cunningham for most in UNC history in a single season.
  • It was the 16th time UNC has had five or more players reach double figures in scoring–more than any other team in the nation this year.

 

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