Men's basketball scores just 17 field goals in win against Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Nothing came easily for No. 7 North Carolina in its 54-51 win against Virginia.

Even Roy Williams struggled at one point when trying to put the game into words, calling it everything from a “hard fart” game to a “hard fault” game before he said what he really thought.

“It was a tough-ass game.”

The Tar Heels (25-4, 12-2 ACC) don’t usually win games in which they only score 54 points.

Saturday’s game set a new low. Virginia (21-7, 8-6) held UNC to 17 field goals in the game. No UNC team under Williams has made fewer field goals in a win.

Yet in the midst of UNC’s truncated offensive output, the Tar Heels felt pretty high.

“I’m very happy we’re able to win a game like this,” UNC point guard Kendall Marshall said. “To come on the road and shoot a low 30s (field goal percentage), I think it’s pretty impressive to win a game like that.”

But it could have gone drastically differently for UNC. North Carolina rolled out to an early 17-8 lead, but the Cavaliers closed the half with a 30-26 lead after UVa. guard Sammy Zeglinski hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.

After a brawler’s second half of basketball, North Carolina played itself into a one-point lead with a minute remaining. The Tar Heels had possession with 48 seconds remaining. Marshall made a move, drove left and tossed the ball to his right to find forward Tyler Zeller.

Zeller pump faked then drove to his left and stretched out for the one-handed dunk and the three-point lead with 13 seconds to go.

Williams called Zeller’s play huge and the win lucky. That’s because, among other reasons, UNC allowed Zeglinski an open look from 3-point range with six seconds remaining.

“Though we had some breakdowns, we had a chance to win it or push it into extra minutes in the last three possessions,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “Sammy’s (shot) was a good look.”

Zeglinski — a 35 percent shooter from behind the arc — was wide open in the corner when he took his 3-pointer. He was 3-for-10 behind the arc in the game, but more than capable of knocking that shot down.

“Everyone was stacked that way, so you’re thinking, ‘OK, well everyone knows the ball is going there so it’s not going to get there,’” Harrison Barnes said. “For him to get a clean look like that, it was a little nerve-racking.”

Zeglinski made more 3s than UNC’s entire team, and the Tar Heels poor 2-for-14 clip allowed the Cavaliers to pack inside defensively.

Zeller shot 7-of-11 and scored 20 points, but no other player in the game made more than half his shots save Darion Atkins, who made his only attempt.

The other members of UNC’s starting frontcourt, Barnes and John Henson, made a combined 7-of-25 shots for 22 points. On the other hand, UNC held Virginia star forward Mike Scott to just six points.

The Tar Heels turned the ball over 11 times to Virginia’s four. Prior to the game, UNC averaged almost two fewer turnovers a game than its opponent.

That’s the second straight game UNC has forced just four turnovers, setting the lowest total in consecutive games in the Williams era.

Lucky or assuring, UNC no doubt felt the win was good preparation for tournament play beginning next weekend.

“It helps a lot,” Zeller said. “This is not really something you can simulate in practice.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.