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(04/23/10 1:38am)
North Carolina head lacrosse coach Joe Breschi approaches coaching with a family-first mentality. He's turned the program around and is now heading into the ACC Tournament after a near-undefeated season. But his emphasis on family extends past the 43 men on his team -- he brings it home to a house full of girls.
(04/12/10 12:15am)
No. 20 North Carolina took the series against No. 28 N.C. State this weekend at Boshamer Stadium, with wins on Friday and Sunday and a loss on Saturday. The Tar Heels moved to 22-12 overall and 6-9 in the ACC.
(04/09/10 3:27am)
On March 23, President Barack Obama signed a massive health care reform bill into law. The bill changes the way health care will be available to Americans -- including students. The Daily Tar Heel interviewed three health care specialists about those changes.
(03/30/10 4:02am)
North Carolina coach Roy Williams has said repeatedly that the NIT is important to give seniors Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson a proper send-off.But in another way, this postseason is even more important for its role in the coming-of-age process of two key future assets.The Tar Heels’ starting frontcourt at the beginning of the year featured Thompson and sophomore standout Ed Davis. But with one graduating and the other mulling over the NBA Draft Lottery, that lineup may look substantially different next year.This NIT has been a preview of what’s to come, with freshman John Henson and sophomore Tyler Zeller logging some big minutes for UNC’s frontcourt.“Those guys are definitely, they’re the future of Carolina basketball,” said Thompson, who will pass the torch to the two younger post players at the end of this season.“John’s been playing really well as of late, ever since he switched to the four-spot, his natural position. And Z, he’s always been good, he’s just had to deal with injuries and stuff like that. So now that they’re both out there and playing their game naturally, it’s good to see.”The postseason experience is crucial for the two forwards. Henson has never played in these types of games on the college level. And even though Zeller is a sophomore, he missed most of the big games from a season ago.A broken wrist kept Zeller out of 23 games last year, which included much of the ACC season. Upon returning, the sophomore averaged just 5.5 minutes per game. And in the NCAA Tournament, the only time he played more than six minutes was against 16-seed Radford in a first-round 101-58 blowout.The injury bug struck again this year, as a foot injury kept him absent from 10 crucial ACC games.Keeping those absences in mind, the three postseason nail-biters were great learning experiences for Henson and Zeller.“We’ve had three close games at the end that I’ve never had the chance to play in,” Henson said. “So getting that experience at the end of games — learning what to do, what plays not to make and what to make — it’s good for us as a team for the future and also me as a player just getting better.”And as their minutes have grown, so has their production. Henson has averaged nearly 12 points and seven boards per game during the NIT, while Zeller has chipped in with seven points and six boards per contest.Aside from their individual development, the tandem has been on the court together more often. If they’re to do so in 2011, this has been a head start to their chemistry.“Just being able to play with him and get used to playing with him will help a lot as far as next year going in,” Zeller said. “We won’t be trying to figure each other out all of the time; we’ll kind of have a good idea of what the other one wants to do.”After playing in a couple close ACC games, an ACC Tournament contest and most importantly three NIT games, it’s no longer safe to say this pair (and especially the freshman) is lacking experience altogether.Their play has shown it, but so has their attitude.“The only time I feel like a freshman out there is when they call my name and say, ‘freshman from Tampa, Fla.,’” Henson said. “Certain plays and certain things I do, I feel like a freshman. But overall, I feel like I’ve grown into a sophomore like coach said we should.”Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(03/30/10 3:59am)
As North Carolina ran out of the locker room to begin a tournament that no Tar Heel aspired to reach, Marcus Ginyard laughed.They were in a gym that hadn’t been used for men’s basketball in 24 years, coming off two straight losses and one loss from the second-most in program history.And yes, it was only that “other” postseason tournament.
(03/17/10 5:20am)
When Deon Thompson made a mental error on the first play of the second half, the senior knew exactly where to go. He ran straight up to UNC coach Roy Williams and pleaded, “Don’t kill me.”Williams only said he’d think about it at the time, but after Thompson led UNC to an 80-72 win in the opening game of the NIT, he had nothing but compliments for his big man.“Understand that I’ve been fairly tough on this youngster,” Williams said. “And he played his tail off tonight.”Matching up against a particularly small team, North Carolina needed a big game from its bigs. And when the Tar Heels needed a bucket in their first round NIT game against William & Mary, more often than not they found it inside.Thompson led UNC with 20 crucial points and eight rebounds, and John Henson added a near-double double with nine points and 10 boards.But no play was bigger than seven-footer Tyler Zeller’s steal and slam to secure UNC’s narrow victory in the game’s final minute. Zeller finished with 13 points.“We got some steals by our big guys,” Williams said. “I mean, how many times this year have you seen our big guys knock the ball away at the top of the key and go down the court and lay it up? The answer is zero, and tonight we got three like that.”It could have been because Tuesday could have been his last game in a North Carolina uniform. Or maybe it was because Thompson, a student of the game and of UNC basketball, had the rare opportunity to play in Carmichael Arena.But whatever the cause, Thompson seemed to have a spark the entire night.Early in the game, he beckoned to the crowd and laughed with teammates. Later on, he was the first to the floor for loose balls. Thompson was playing hard and enjoying it.“I’ve played in a lot of games wearing this North Carolina jersey,” Thompson said. “I’ve played in a couple Final Fours. But being out there on that floor tonight with those fans and all the history that’s happened in this auditorium is something I’ll always remember.”UNC needed a lot of field goals to keep pace with the hot-shooting Tribe, which converted on 16 of its 43 shots from beyond the arc.Since most of William & Mary’s field goals counted for three points and most of UNC’s were worth just two, the Tar Heels needed some high percentage shots.And the closer you are to the basket, the easier the shot. Thompson finished the game 9-for-13 from the field, Zeller was 5-for-6 and Henson made half of his six shots. The trio even scored 14 points in a row during a quick spurt that helped UNC build a 10-point halftime lead. Then after the break, they poured in seven more before a Larry Drew II 3-pointer got the guards back in the scoring column.With that effort, the Tar Heels live to play another day in the postseason. And Thompson earned the right to at least one more game in that North Carolina jersey.Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(03/07/10 5:19am)
DURHAM – In Duke vs. North Carolina, there is seldom a sure thing. But Saturday’s regular season finale was never in doubt.
(03/05/10 11:28pm)
Coming off of two consecutive wins, North Carolina will enter Cameron Indoor Stadium with as much momentum as it has had in months. What it’s short on is a healthy roster.
(02/19/10 6:06am)
WINSTON-SALEM — Cierra Robertson-Warren was the first one down the court.The UNC freshman stood on the free-throw line with her hands on her knees and waited for the other nine players to take their places. And then she iced the game.Her defensive rebound and ensuing free throw gave the Tar Heels a four-point lead with nine seconds to go in overtime.It was enough to earn a hug from fellow freshman Waltiea Rolle at midcourt and the first UNC win in three weeks, a 65-59 nail-biter at Wake Forest.In that moment at the free-throw line, with the weight of the team’s five-game losing streak on her shoulders, Warren kept her thoughts focused.“I better make it,” Warren said. “I kept thinking, ‘God, put it in.’”Warren contributed five of the Tar Heels’ nine points in overtime and 11 points total. She played a career-high 23 minutes and was only one rebound shy of a double-double. “I was yelling at everybody else for not finishing,” she said. “So I was thinking if I’m going to be a leader, then I had better show by example.” Warren seemed to get better as the game went on. Her halftime stats were unimpressive. Two minutes, zero points, one rebound.North Carolina adjusted for the last 25 minutes, though. UNC eventually outscored Wake Forest by a 34-22 margin in the paint. “We were able to get the post player to the backside, and that’s how we got the ball in there,” UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. Warren took advantage of this new offensive look to come alive after the break. And then again after the second break. On UNC’s first possession of overtime, Warren collected the ball. She calmly backed in, dipped her shoulder one way, spun the other, and sank a jumper. Two possessions later, she was at it again. This time she banked home a runner moving to her right. She finished 4-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line. Defensively, Warren stepped up late as well. Nearing the end of regulation, the Tar Heels were in desperate need of a stop, and it was the 6-foot-4 freshman who came up with two blocks in one possession. “Cierra went in there and did a really nice job for us,” Hatchell said.Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/14/10 12:05am)
In front of what seemed like the entire history of the North Carolina basketball program, this year's Tar Heels did their part to complete a memorable weekend.
(02/10/10 6:05am)
Marcus Ginyard sat hunched forward, waiting for a trainer to wrap his sore ankle. His eyes were cast downward, and his chin rested in his hands.Members of the media had already questioned the fifth-year senior about his team’s sixth loss in eight games, as well as his removal from the starting lineup.His answers were quiet and brief.“It’s frustrating.”“Coach is doing his job.”Ginyard looked weary, and not just because of 31 minutes on the court at Virginia Tech.This season has weighed heavily on every Tar Heel, but perhaps on none more than Ginyard.He has turned the ball over, struggled from the field and might have lost a step defensively while nursing foot and ankle injuries.And the same guy who was once upbeat and thoughtful in post-game interviews has been short and dismissive.Asked in a recent news conference what was bothering his veteran leader, UNC coach Roy Williams proposed another, perhaps more telling, question.“Physically or mentally?”One play during that same Virginia Tech game epitomized Ginyard’s struggles.In one sequence, he had a dunk blocked but then made a great hustle play to steal the ball back — only to throw it away again.“Sometimes when things are tough, you don’t get many fortunate things to happen,” Williams said. “And that’s what it’s been for him.”Ginyard is shooting 43 percent from the field this season, and he’s averaging eight points per game.But ACC play has been a disaster.Before Sunday’s game at Maryland, Ginyard had shot just 8-for-35 (23 percent) from the field and 2-16 (12.5 percent) from beyond the arc in conference play. He was averaging 3.3 points.In the two games before his brief subtraction from the starting lineup, he missed all eight of his shots, including five 3-pointers. “It’s been pretty rough on him right now,” senior Deon Thompson said. “Just outside expectations, his own expectations, trying to reach those.”There is no question that part of Ginyard’s trouble has been physical.But when his coach is wishing he’d majored in psychology instead of health and physical education, there might be a little more to it.Granted, the old Ginyard is still there. Behind the scenes, away from the court and the reporters, people still gravitate toward the fun-loving small forward.“He’s a marvelous kid,” Williams said. “When he walks in the room, you know what I do? I smile.”So what’s changed?Surely it’s the losing. At no other point in his career has his team underachieved this much.Maybe it’s a fifth year in Chapel Hill without longtime friends and roommates Tyler Hansbrough and Bobby Frasor.But Williams is no psychologist, and most fans and pundits aren’t, either. For them, all that matters is what happens between the baselines.“I get tired of worrying about somebody’s psyche,” Williams said. “I mean, my God, play the dadgum game. That’s what it boils down to.”If removing Ginyard from the starting lineup was supposed to send him a message, it might have gotten through.At Maryland, Ginyard tied a season high with 17 points on an aggressive 5-of-13 shooting.“You pick your head up and see that, hey, you’ve got eight more games, four more times in this gym,” Ginyard said. “Why go through the rest of that with your head down?”It’s clear that at times this season, basketball just ceased to be fun for Ginyard. But he says with a little perspective, he can escape from his funk and lift his spirits.Maybe his play will follow suit.Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/05/10 6:27am)
BLACKSBURG, Va. — With the clock winding down and North Carolina desperately needing a stop, Virginia Tech put the ball in the hands of its best guard and the ACC’s leading scorer, Malcolm Delaney.And once again, the Tar Heels failed to stop an opposing guard. Delaney’s two free throws in the final minute iced the VT win.Since the start of this calendar year (and the start of UNC’s streak of six losses in eight games), opposing starting backcourts have outscored UNC’s starting backcourt by an average of 21.4 points.Thursday night was more of the same. Virginia Tech’s one-two punch of Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson scored 21 and 17 points, respectively.On the other end, Larry Drew II and Dexter Strickland combined for just 10. And even with Will Graves (4) and Marcus Ginyard (6) included, the Hokies combo still ruled the scoreboard.“Malcolm was a load in the second half,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “He made those big threes from deep, and those hurt us.”The Tar Heels’ struggles to defend guards have been well documented. Delaney and Hudson became the sixth and seventh perimeter starters to exploit UNC this season.Georgia Tech’s Iman Shumpert (30), Delaney again (26), Clemson’s Demontez Stitt (20), Wake Forest’s Ishmael Smith (20) and N.C. State’s Javi Gonzalez (19) have done the same.“It gets old,” Drew said of UNC’s struggles on perimeter defense. “But it’s our task to stop that from happening.”The Hokie guards took turns getting hot Thursday. Hudson scored 10 of VT’s first 14 points to spark an early lead.Then, Delaney got hot in the second half, dropping nine of his team’s 13 at one point despite some foul trouble. He weaved around what seemed like a thousand screens per possession to find openings.“He’s crafty, he knows how to get fouled, he knows how to get to the basket, and he can shoot at the same time,” Graves said. “So he just played like himself.”While Drew’s presence wasn’t felt so much on the scoreboard, he did get into an offensive rhythm in the first half with dribble penetration. On four consecutive UNC field goals, Drew sliced into the lane and found an open teammate for a bucket.With Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez up next and Duke’s Jon Scheyer on deck, the Tar Heels will have their hands full trying to stop this trend.And as Graves said, it’s not just a collective thing. The guards need to make it personal.“It’s not just as a backcourt, just as a defender,” he said. “We want to stop them and put our effort into it. It’s just a matter of getting the job done.”Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/05/10 3:07am)
With a strong close to the first half, North Carolina leads Virginia Tech, 35-33 at the half.
(02/04/10 6:03am)
He can add new plays to the offense and defend the inbound pass with a zone.And he can make them run all day.But how does Roy Williams teach effort?As the losses have started to pile up for North Carolina, its head coach has been faced with that troubling question.“I’ve never had to coach concentration and effort as much as I feel like I’m trying to coach that now,” Williams said. “And they should be able to supply that.”Williams was sure to accept equal responsibility for the team’s struggles, both on the court and of the mind. But he wasn’t alone in his assessment.“I don’t think anybody’s effort right now is where it needs to be for us to be the team that we’re striving to be,” point guard Larry Drew II said.“And it’s definitely showing out there on the court.”The Tar Heels would be hard pressed to find a worse time to have motivational difficulties. They have three games in the next week, the first two on the road and the third against ACC-leading Duke.The tough stretch begins today at 9 p.m. at Virginia Tech. UNC beaten the Hokies at home this year before the Tar Heels dropped four out of five.In a conversation between Drew and his father, former NBA player Larry Drew Sr., the elder pointed out that going on the road might actually be a refreshing escape for the team.“My dad said especially with the situation we’re in, one of the best places to get better is on the road,” Drew said.Last time against the Hokies, forwards Ed Davis and Deon Thompson combined for 33 points in the 78-64 win. But since then, they’ve averaged a combined 19.2.The Tar Heels also failed to contain a VT perimeter player, a trend that has continued. Malcolm Delaney dropped 26 points, including sinking 12 out of 14 free throws.Williams has been implementing some new on-court strategies that break from his mold.UNC is now defending the inbound pass with a zone, switching up assignments in free throw situations and throwing five freshmen on the court at the same time.And that’s not to mention the zone offense that Williams has gone away from this season.“You say sometimes in recruiting that the shoe doesn’t fit,” he said. “Well that didn’t fit this team, and we’ve gone away from it.”With a buzz around Chapel Hill that includes the letters N, I and T, Williams and the team know there is only one real solution.“If you don’t want to have this feeling, you’ve just got to win,” Drew said. “It’s as simple as that.”Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(01/27/10 2:03pm)
When North Carolina enters the RBC Center tonight, it will be about as momentum-free as the team has been in a long time.Losers of each of their last three games, the Tar Heels dropped out of the top 25 for the first time since Jan. 2006.And now they might have to hit the road sans Ed Davis once again.Roy Williams said in a news conference Monday afternoon that unless the sophomore’s injured ankle makes “significant improvement” before the 9 p.m. tip-off against N.C. State, UNC’s best forward will be kept out of a second straight game.“If the game had been scheduled yesterday, I would not have played him,” Williams said.“He doesn’t feel good about planting the foot, pushing off and going sideways.”A depleted frontcourt could mean trouble, as the Tar Heel bigs will have to match up against junior Tracy Smith, who ranks sixth in the league in both scoring and rebounding and is second only to Davis in field goal percentage.“We know he’s a beast inside,” said freshman Travis Wear, who made his first career start in lieu of Davis Wednesday against Wake Forest.“We’re just going to have to move our feet and keep him in front of us, and try to keep him out of the paint.”UNC has had six days of rest after the 13-point loss to the Demon Deacons. They’ve used that time to get in what Wear called the two most intense practices this year.“At some dadgum time you’ve got to put your foot down and say, ‘I’m going to play better,’” Williams said. “And this ‘Woe is me,’ stuff, you’ve got to put a stop to that.“I can’t imagine any time I’ve been more involved, more into it, more enthusiastic, critical, vocal, whatever you can say, than I’ve been in practice since last Wednesday.”Over the weekend, practices have included a 30-minute scrimmage. And when mistakes were made, the players hit the baseline to run.“Just our competitiveness in practice the last two days,” Wear said. “We’ve just been going at each other’s throats and playing really hard.”They’ll need to bring the same intensity Tuesday night against a team that Williams said might not be quite as gifted, but is playing more together than in recent years.And he knows UNC needs to be at its best to climb out of this hole.“Last year if we played very well, we were going to win,” Williams said. “And if we just played fairly well, we were going to win most of the time.“Well, we don’t have that luxury right now. But I know we don’t have a chance if we don’t play very well.”Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(01/21/10 7:49am)
Correction (3:15 p.m. Jan. 21): An earlier version of this story quoted Roy Williams as saying he planned to have the UNC team watch movies and hang out together Friday night as a way of getting out of the team's three-game slump. Williams was actually referring to the tactics he used in a similar situation while he was head coach at Kansas. The story has been changed to reflect the correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
(12/07/09 5:15am)
Roy Williams’ North Carolina teams have always preferred turning basketball games into a 40-minute dash. Most opponents simply aren’t fast enough to keep up. But in Saturday’s 68-66 loss at No. 5 Kentucky, the Tar Heels got beat at their own game. Freshman phenom John Wall and the Wildcats ran all over No. 10 North Carolina during the first half. “We didn’t do a very good job of sprinting back and getting picked up,” Williams. “And they just ran us out of the gym.” The 15-point halftime lead for Kentucky (8-0) was telling. But even more indicative were the 12 Wildcat fast-break points, compared to zero for the Tar Heels (7-2).“It was pretty embarrassing that we didn’t have any fast-break points in the first half,” Larry Drew II said. “Me being the point guard, it’s all eyes on me. So we had no fast break points, (Coach) looked at me like, ‘What is he doing?’” The catalyst for Kentucky’s instant offense was Drew’s counterpart, Wall. With a Rupp Arena record 24,468 fans shouting every time he touched the ball, Wall didn’t disappoint. He took it right at Drew and whomever else Williams threw at him. Thirteen of his 16 points and five of his seven assists came in the first period to spark an early 28-2 run and build UK’s lead. “John dominated the game in the first half,” Williams said. “He really attacks you. He attacks you with 6-4 size and long arms and quickness.” But as Williams predicted at halftime, his team had a run left. And with Wall in the locker room receiving treatment for cramps, North Carolina made that run. The Tar Heels chipped away at Kentucky’s lead until the deficit was at three points with just less than 4:30 to play. “We just stopped hanging our heads,” Marcus Ginyard said. “We started to believe that we had a chance, started playing our style of basketball, and it was tough for them to handle at times.” But at that point, UNC’s offense stagnated. Drew missed a 3-pointer and committed a turnover, and then Ginyard missed a trey of his own before UK made it a two-possession game. From there, the Wildcats made their free throws and kept North Carolina at arm’s length until the final buzzer. A 3-pointer from Will Graves as time expired made the final score look closer than it truly was. “We got it close but we never did really get over the hump,” Williams said. “We had three different opportunities that we could have tied.” Graves, Deon Thompson and Tyler Zeller each reached double-digits for North Carolina, but the team shot just 38.8 percent from the floor in its lowest-scoring game of the season. The Tar Heels dished out just 11 assists and turned the ball over 16 times, 11 of which came in the first period. And Kentucky capitalized, converting those 11 mistakes into 20 points. “We looked like a really inexperienced team in the first half,” Williams said. “We reacted like an inexperienced team. And that’s an excuse. There’s no reason to do that.” North Carolina has a week off before its next game, and it’s now halfway through a four-game stretch that includes three top-10 teams. But in the matchup between the two winningest programs in men’s college basketball history, the Tar Heels dug themselves too deep a hole to climb out of. “We were always just one step behind,” Ginyard said. “We’d be doing so well, and then we always just let them get their nose back into it a little more than us.”Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(12/07/09 5:15am)
For the second straight year, North Carolina qualified for a bowl game.And for the second straight year, they won’t have far to travel to get there.The Tar Heels accepted an invitation to play in the 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 26 in Charlotte.UNC will face Pittsburgh from the Big East in the postseason contest.The 4:30 p.m. game will be played in Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, and it will be televised nationally on ESPN.Tickets can be requested for $40 on tarheelblue.com.“Our program is excited for the opportunity to play in back-to-back bowl games and make a return trip to Charlotte,” UNC head coach Butch Davis said in a statement.This will be North Carolina’s 27th bowl game and the third time in Charlotte.In last year’s Meineke Car Care Bowl, West Virginia used a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Tar Heels, 31-30. Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, now of the NFL’s New York Giants, scored three times for UNC.This year’s team finished the regular season 8-4. The Tar Heels beat five bowl teams — Connecticut, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College.Pittsburgh finished its regular season 9-3 and ranked 17th in the Associated Press poll. The Panthers’ 5-2 record in the Big East was good for a second-place tie in the conference standings.Freshman running back Dion Lewis ranks third in the nation in rushing.To counter, North Carolina has the ACC’s best defensive unit, and it ranks sixth in the country in yards per game.Four defensive players were named to this year’s All-ACC first team.North Carolina’s ninth-ranked run defense will have to validate that ranking by trying to contain Lewis.“The Tar Heels have proven to be a very tough and determined team this season, and we feel that the matchup of North Carolina against Pittsburgh will be a very exciting and competitive game,” said Will Webb, the Meineke Car Care Bowl’s executive director, in a statement.The Meineke Car Care Bowl has averaged more than 62,000 fans during its first seven years, and it has sold out three times.Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(12/05/09 4:58pm)
UNC vs. Kentucky Liveblog
(12/02/09 6:16am)
The faces were different, and the venue had changed, but one thing remained constant in Tuesday’s national championship game rematch: North Carolina still had Michigan State’s number.Just like last year, the Tar Heels got off to a fast start, scoring on each of their first five possessions.Just like last year, UNC had at least 50 points and a double-digit lead at halftime.And once again, No. 10 North Carolina (7-1) came away with an 89-82 victory in a very loud Smith Center, making it five in a row against the No. 9 Spartans (5-2).This time, though, it wasn’t supposed to go down like that. The Spartans were the ones with the higher ranking and the three returning starters from the national title game.“All the talk was about Michigan State and them coming back and trying to beat us the third time,” Marcus Ginyard said.“But they’re coming on our home court, and we’re trying to protect our home court. And we were just as excited about this game as they were. A chance to put them away for the third time.”That’s just what they did.Once again, the charge was led in the post, where Ed Davis was nearly unstoppable. He shot 8-10 from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line to total a career-high 22 points. Deon Thompson added 14.“Ed and Deon did a great job of working to get the ball tonight,” Ginyard said. “It’s something that we’ve been trying to get on them to work on. We’re looking for them inside, and we have faith in them that they can score inside.”Unlike in April, MSU made this one a game in the last few minutes. After shooting nearly 64 percent from the field in the first half, UNC’s shooters cooled a bit.The Tar Heels went almost 10 minutes with just two field goals in a stretch, and the Spartans pulled within six points five times with less than two minutes to play.But each time, UNC had the answer. A two-handed slam by Davis, followed by seven free throws, kept the Spartans at bay. And even after two Tar Heels missed a pair, UNC came away with the rebound.Larry Drew II made five of those free throws as part of his career high 18-point, 6-assist evening.Not every Tar Heel had the experience of playing MSU twice last year — in fact, most didn’t. Even the youngest players got up to speed quickly, though.At one point, tied at 21 in the first half, Williams went to a lineup with four freshmen. They rewarded him by going on a 9-0 run, including five points from Strickland.“To me the key to the first half was that everybody who came in gave us something positive,” UNC coach Roy Williams said.Strickland contributed nine points, eight in the first half, in the best game of his young career. He also had three assists and no turnovers in 14 minutes.“I felt real confident,” Strickland said. “It was all focus. I felt real confident about driving the ball, shooting the ball. The confidence is going to keep getting better each game. I’ve just got to keep that mental focus.”North Carolina will walk away from Tuesday night with a resume-building win. The Spartans, though, missed their chance at revenge, succumbing once again to UNC.Thompson, who has made a habit out of defeating MSU since his freshman year, said his team was fired up to keep the streak alive. “I think when they see that Carolina blue they get a little shaky,” he said.Contact the Sports Editor at sports@.unc.edu