This was a game to remember.
The UNC Tar Heels kept their ACC Tournament double-bye hopes alive with a gritty win over No. 24 Louisville at the Dean Dome. With Henri Veesaar making his second consecutive start, the Tar Heels edged past the Cardinals, largely thanks to Seth Trimble's career-best 30 points.
UNC's defense showed a scrappy resilience throughout, hinting at the potential threat they could pose to a top-seeded team once Caleb Wilson returns to the lineup. Let’s break down the key takeaways from this impressive victory over the Cardinals.
Handling the Three-Point Barrage
Louisville ranks as one of the NCAA's most formidable three-point shooting teams, sitting fourth nationally with an average of 11.8 threes per game. In contrast, UNC is further down the list at 128th, averaging 8.4. As the game tipped off, the threat was real-Louisville nailed five of their first nine three-point attempts, quickly building a 10-point lead.
But UNC adapted. Much like a strategic maneuver, the Tar Heels' defense ramped up its intensity.
Communication was key, and they forced Louisville to operate inside the arc. Remarkably, the Cardinals went over ten minutes without a field goal at one stretch.
Though Louisville ended up shooting 14/39 from beyond the arc (35.9%), UNC's defensive effort was pivotal, influencing many of those attempts. In a contest decided by just three points, every defensive stop counted.
And speaking of that narrow margin...