North Carolina’s recent defensive surge isn’t about a wholesale overhaul - it’s about sharpening the edges. The Tar Heels haven’t reinvented their identity; they’ve simply made the kind of smart, timely adjustments that can turn a good team into a great one. And right now, that shift is showing up where it matters most: in the win column and on the defensive stat sheet.
Winners of four straight, No. 14 UNC (18-4, 6-3 ACC) has quietly transformed how it defends the pick-and-roll - a staple of modern college basketball offenses.
The change has been more about discipline than drama. They’re playing smarter, trusting each other more, and leaning into a drop coverage scheme that’s limiting the kind of perimeter looks that had been burning them earlier in the season.
Assistant coach Marcus Paige, filling in for Hubert Davis on the “Hubert Davis Live” radio show, pointed to that shift as one of the biggest storylines since the team’s bumpy California trip. And he didn’t mince words: defense has been the focus.
“We’ve made some scheme adjustments, trying to keep the pick-and-rolls more two-on-two,” Paige said. “We see less helping, less allowing threes, and more making guards play in the paint against our length.”
That’s the heart of what Carolina is doing now. In drop coverage, the big man - in this case, Henri Veesaar - sinks back toward the rim rather than blitzing the ball-handler or switching onto guards.
That allows the perimeter defenders to stay home on shooters instead of scrambling to help. The trade-off?
You might give up a few more midrange looks or the occasional layup. But in exchange, you’re not surrendering open threes - and for a team that had been getting torched from deep, that’s a trade they’ll take all day.
“We were willing to concede a layup or two,” Paige admitted. “Given how many threes we’ve been giving up, it’s a trade-off we’re comfortable with.”
The numbers back it up. In the 12 games before this four-game win streak, opponents were letting it fly from deep - averaging over 20 three-point attempts per game and hitting double-digit threes in five straight contests.
But during the current streak? That number’s dropped significantly.
Georgia Tech only got off 13 threes. Syracuse managed just 18.
And in Monday’s 87-77 win over the Orange, they hit only six - the fewest UNC has allowed in ACC play so far.
That’s not just a statistical blip. It’s a defensive trend - and it’s being driven by trust.
Trust in the scheme. Trust in the rotations.
And most importantly, trust in Veesaar to protect the rim when guards fight over screens instead of collapsing inside.
“Yeah, I think so, for sure,” Veesaar said after the Syracuse game. “We have to be less pulled in. And I feel like the guards are starting to trust me to protect the rim on the drives.”
That trust is the glue holding Carolina’s revamped pick-and-roll defense together. When guards know they’ve got a shot-blocker behind them, they can stay aggressive on the perimeter without overhelping. That keeps shooters from getting clean looks - and that’s exactly what UNC’s been missing in some of their tougher outings earlier this season.
Of course, drop coverage isn’t a magic solution. Veesaar knows that.
There will still be breakdowns. There will still be layups.
But if the Heels can limit the high-value threes and force teams into tougher twos, that’s a win.
“If you give a couple layups or so, it happens every game,” Veesaar said. “But overall, if you can take away the 3-point attempts, it really helps us in the long run.”
There’s also the mental side of this shift - the focus and consistency that comes with playing 40 full minutes of connected basketball. Paige said that’s been a major point of emphasis from Coach Davis.
“Coach Davis talks a lot about chasing a full 40 minutes,” Paige said. “Sometimes when you flip the switch off, it’s hard to turn it back on.”
That’s still a work in progress. Even in the win over Syracuse, the Orange made a late push with a flurry of threes in the final 10 minutes. But the bigger picture is clear: Carolina’s defense is trending in the right direction.
The rotations are sharper. The communication is better.
And with Veesaar anchoring the paint, the perimeter defenders are playing with more confidence. It’s a defense that’s starting to match the firepower of UNC’s offense - and with a massive rivalry showdown against No.
4 Duke (21-1, 10-0) looming on Saturday, the timing couldn’t be better.
If Carolina can carry this defensive identity into that game - staying disciplined in ball-screen coverage, closing out hard on shooters, and trusting their big man to clean up the mess - they’ll give themselves a real shot to make noise in the ACC race. Because when the Heels lock in on both ends, they’re not just a tough out. They’re a team that can beat anyone.