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Kennedy Meeks snaps slump against Indiana

Kennedy Meeks (3) celebrates a call made in UNC's favor during the second half.

Kennedy Meeks (3) celebrates a call made in UNC's favor during the second half.

PHILADELPHIA — For the past two months, Kennedy Meeks had been searching for something different — a different confidence level, a different mindset and, above all, different results.

Before Friday’s Sweet 16 game against fifth-seeded Indiana, the North Carolina forward tried something different in an attempt to find everything he had been searching for.

Sporting a different pair of shoes and no customary white tights on his legs, Meeks took the floor on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center hoping to change his luck.

And in top-seeded UNC’s 101-86 victory over the Hoosiers, he did just that, scoring 15 points — his most since notching 23 against N.C. State on Jan. 16.

“It was going to happen sooner or later,” said Meeks of his outburst. “I didn’t know when, but the main focus for me is to keep playing as aggressive as I can and continue to think things will fall in my favor.”

But everything hadn’t been going Meeks’ way ahead of Friday’s contest.

After scoring in double figures in six of the Tar Heels’ first seven games, the junior’s production dipped after returning from a knee injury on Jan. 9 at Syracuse. He scored 10 or more points four times in ACC play and totaled 21 points in the first five postseason games.

Meeks appeared to return to form in UNC’s regular-season finale at Duke, when he scored 12 points and hauled in 14 rebounds. But his postseason slump ensued.

“It’s been a rough couple of weeks, and everybody knows that,” he said. “But you’ve got to block out everyone who isn’t with us and focus on who is.”

On Friday, Meeks was there for his teammates.

The junior finished 5-for-9 from the field and 5-for-7 from the free throw line, marking the most free throws he had attempted since he went 5-for-7 from the charity stripe in North Carolina’s season opener against Temple.

Meeks’ success came from focusing on being more aggressive and more explosive when going to the rim, something Roy Williams and Brice Johnson requested of him after UNC’s first-round win over Florida Gulf Coast.

“He has to know that he’s capable of doing that and that to be the player he wants to be he has to explode,” said sophomore guard Joel Berry. “In college basketball, there are a lot of athletic guys. They’re not just going to let you get anything easy.

“He exploded (Friday), and they fouled him.”

But it was junior forward Isaiah Hicks doing the fouling for the Tar Heels.

The ACC Sixth Man of the Year fouled out in just seven minutes of playing time, having scored only four points.

With Hicks sidelined for the most of the game, Meeks’ play became even more pivotal. His 29 minutes matched his second-highest total of the season.

“It felt like Isaiah didn’t even play, honestly,” said sophomore wing Justin Jackson. “For him to come out there, obviously he starts, but for him to come out there and pull the slack, I think it really helped his confidence and really helped us a whole lot.”

After the game, the pair of Air Jordan XX9’s Meeks wore against the Hoosiers sat by his feet, while his old pair of shoes was tucked away in his bag.

And when he was asked if he would wear the new pair against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight on Sunday, Meeks smiled.

“I’ll wear them until, Lord forbid, I play bad again.”

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@patjames24

sports@dailytarheel.com