CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –– “I think we took their souls really quick,” said UNC guard Seth Trimble after the Tar Heels 97-73 beatdown of the Wolfpack last night at the Smith Center.
North Carolina put the Pack away early, mounting a double-digit lead that they never relinquished just seven minutes into the contest.
At the beginning of the second half, North Carolina led by 30 points and the Pack symbol was being put down all over the Smith Center.
“We felt that they wanted no part of our pressure, we found success early in our full court press, half court pressure, everything on the defensive end they wanted no part of, so we just kept going,” said Trimble.
Trimble, who finished with 15 points, remembers when the Wolfpack beat the Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament Final last season.
That win was part of the five wins in five days performance that NC State pulled off last year en route to a Final Four appearance where they eventually lost to Purdue.
This season it was time for the Tar Heels to get their get back and a 2-0 season sweep of the Pack was the only way to do it.
“We wanna whoop State, they beat us in the tournament last year and they still talk about it,” Trimble said. “We wanna beat em and beat em and beat em until they don’t talk about it anymore.”
After last night, the Tar Heels are 40-7 against NC State since the 2003-04 season which was Roy Williams’ first season as head coach. Carolina is 168-81 all-time versus the Wolfpack and 32-7 in the Smith Center, having won seven in a row at home in the series.
It was North Carolina’s most complete game of the season and with the help of a large student crowd, the team’s confidence soared. They had 43 bench points and were incredibly efficient in the paint with 52 points.
The team’s high-flying energy was felt from the onset as Jae’Lyn Withers sinked a deep corner three to open up the scoring, setting the Tar Heels up for a night of pure basketball.
At several points this season, North Carolina has struggled to find its identity and separate itself from the notion that they can’t finish games or lack the leadership to put up a good fight. Last night, however, they played with joy.
“Earlier on in the year we didn’t really know what team we were and I think now we’re putting our hat on, being a gritty team, living in the trenches, and just being dogs, we’ve shown that sometimes but not consistently,” said senior guard RJ Davis.
With five games left in the regular season, the Tar Heels’ postseason aspirations hinge on their ability to set the tone early and play complete games. Their tendency to surrender second-half leads has been costly all season and while their up-tempo offense proved effective against Wolfpack, sustaining that intensity is key.
Maintaining that same energy and effort coupled with team chemistry will determine whether Carolina can make a late-season surge or crumble under the pressure.
North Carolina will host Virginia at the Smith Center on Saturday Feb. 22 at 4 p.m.
