GREENSBORO — All the headlines may belong to Kendall Marshall and his wrist injury, but there was a game on Sunday, and top-seeded North Carolina looked pretty good playing in it.
The Tar Heels (31-5) were expected to beat Creighton (29-6), and they did, 87-73. They’re expected to beat almost everyone in the tournament field, but playing up to those expectations can be difficult.
UNC forward Tyler Zeller said the win should mean something, even if it’s just a little something.
“You can’t ever settle in and say you won by two or three and be happy with it,” Zeller said. “You have to play your best ball this time of year. You have to make sure you prepare for every game.”
The Tar Heels and Creighton were tied 11-11 with 13:44 remaining in the first half. That was before everything changed — before John Henson’s technical foul.
Henson moved around a screen set by Harrison Barnes to get open in the low post. Henson went up for a shot and was fouled but turned and got in the face of Creighton’s Grant Gibbs.
“I thought the whistle blew and, boy, one of their players slapped down on my wrist three or four times,” said Henson, who played in his first game since injuring his wrist in the ACC tournament. “I don’t know if it was purposeful or not, but I thought it was unnecessary, and it got me a little fired up.”
It got everyone fired up. The pace of the game hastened and the Tar Heels propelled forward. UNC went on a 28-13 run following the foul to gain a lead it never lost.
UNC made 8-of-16 3-pointers and shot 51 percent from the floor. At one point in the first half, UNC was shooting 74 percent.
