North Carolina picked up a crucial 77-74 win over Louisville in a Top 25 matchup that will look great on its résumé as March approaches.
The Tar Heels, who entered the game ranked No. 18 nationally, outshot the No. 24 Cardinals 56% to 39%. Those numbers were enough to give North Carolina (21-6, 10-5 ACC) a victory over a dangerous Louisville (20-8, 9-6 ACC) squad that has plenty of depth, especially in its backcourt.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game.
Career night for the captain
Seth Trimble had a career night, scoring a career-high 30 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field, 1-for-3 from deep and 7-for-11 from the free-throw line, including 6-for-8 in the second half. He also posted four rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Defense
UNC’s defense held one of the best offenses in the country under 40% shooting from the field. Louisville shot just 38.8% from the floor and made only 34% of its shots in the second half after shooting 43% in the first. The Tar Heels made Mikel Brown and Ryan Conwell scrape and claw for every one of their baskets. Despite both scoring more than 20 points, the backcourt duo combined to shoot 16-for-44 (36%) from the field.
Carolina also held the Cardinals to just 24 points in the paint.
Late collapse
For 27 minutes, UNC played its best basketball of the season, with or without Caleb Wilson. The Tar Heels built a 56-40 lead with a 43-17 run spanning nearly 20 minutes, shooting 60% from the floor while holding Louisville to 20.7%. UNC opened the second half with a 17-2 run as Louisville went ice cold, missing 15 consecutive field-goal attempts, including nine from beyond the arc. It looked like the best game the Tar Heels had played all season since their double-digit win over Kansas. Then they nearly collapsed, faltering in the final minutes and giving the Cardinals a chance to tie the game in the final 20 seconds.
With a 72-61 lead and 2:49 remaining, UNC was outscored 13-5 and failed to make a single field goal, with all five points coming at the free-throw line. However, the Tar Heels had done enough early on to win the game.
Free Throws
North Carolina shot 9-for-19 (47.3%) from the free-throw line, its worst performance there all season. Taking Trimble out of the equation, the Tar Heels shot 2-for-8 (25%) at the line.
In their last two games, the Tar Heels are 24-for-47 (51%) on free throws. While free-throw shooting has been a concern all season, they were starting to show improvement before their game against Syracuse last Saturday, shooting 77% from the line over a two-week stretch from Jan. 31 to Feb. 17.
UNC is now shooting 68% from the free-throw line, which ranks 319th nationally.
Interior play was so-so
There was some good and some bad for the Tar Heels in the paint.
Louisville, which ranks third nationally in 3-point attempts, often settled for 3s instead of attacking the paint, with Veesaar’s length discouraging drives until the Cardinals’ late rally. UNC countered by using ball screens against Louisville’s man-to-man defense to generate interior looks, converting 17 of 23 attempts at the rim and outscoring Louisville 40-24 in the paint.
Those positives were enough for a much-needed win, but Carolina was still outrebounded 41-32 and allowed 16 offensive rebounds. Henri Veesaar scored 12 points but managed to grab only two boards, another sign he is not yet 100% healthy.
The good news for UNC was that Jarin Stevenson (nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks) and Zayden High (four points, six rebounds, two blocks) picked up the slack.
