Tyler Zeller scored 20 points for the eighth time this season to lead No. 7 North Carolina to a 54-51 win against Virginia.
The Cavaliers battled UNC to a 30-26 halftime lead, but the Tar Heels slowly chipped away at it.
UNC got a key bucket from Zeller with 13 seconds remaining to go up by three points. Zeller caught the ball at the elbow and pump faked to get his defender in the air. Then he drove and dunked the ball with one hand.
“I thought (Zeller) was huge for us today,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “We passed him the ball and his play was big.”
Virginia got a chance to tie it when Sammy Zeglinski shot an open 3-pointer from the corner, but the guard missed it.
The game was a battle, and UNC point guard Kendall Marshall said he’s glad the Tar Heels could win that kind of game.
“I’m very happy we’re able to win a game like this,” he said. “To come on the road and shoot a low 30 (percentage). I think it’s pretty impressive to win a game like that.”
Virginia slowed the game’s tempo down so much that the Tar Heels’ 17 field goals were the lowest number for any UNC team coached by Williams.
