UNC men's basketball team looks for more consistency

A decades-long winning streak against Clemson. A rivalry battle against N.C. State. A snow-panicked flight to Georgia Tech. An ACC goodbye against Maryland.

The conference season has offered its annual twists and turns, yet the North Carolina men’s basketball team has been at its steadiest.

The Tar Heels (15-7, 5-4 ACC) will head to Notre Dame on Saturday with four straight wins under their belts, seemingly solving the inconsistency that coach Roy Williams had spent most of the season bemoaning.

It’s not just in the win column.

For the first time this season, UNC has found constancy in its starting lineup as well, trotting out the same starting five in those four wins.

Starting with a 80-61 win against Clemson on Jan. 26, sophomore Marcus Paige moved from shooting guard to the point, redshirt senior Leslie McDonald came off the bench to play the two, and freshman Kennedy Meeks locked down starting center.

It’s hard to argue with the results.

“I mean, we’re just rolling,” said McDonald after UNC’s 75-63 against Maryland on Tuesday.

“Coach put in a new offensive lineup, and we’re just running. He knows, he knows what’s best for the team, and you see it out on the floor, we have a whole bunch of weapons as far as (James Michael) McAdoo, myself, Marcus, J.P. on the glass and Kennedy in the low post.”

And the Tar Heels have put those weapons to use.

In UNC’s 1-4 start to conference play, the Tar Heels averaged 62.4 points per game. Since the switch to the more offensive-minded lineup, UNC is scoring 79.3 points a game with new additions McDonald and Meeks averaging 14 points and 8.75 points, respectively.

The Tar Heels showed just how potent they can be in their new configuration Tuesday night, beginning the matchup against the Terrapins with 12 unanswered points.

The score swelled to 19-6 just five minutes in, and though Maryland would eventually make a game of it, the start exemplified North Carolina’s increased offensive bravado.

“We’re very confident,” said sophomore forward Brice Johnosn.

“We know that we can be really good when we play with a sense of urgency like we did in the first five minutes of the game … we play that every night, we can keep this streak going.”

The next stretch of games could very well put that streak to the test. It’ll start in South Bend, Ind., against new ACC foe Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish are 12-11 on the season but have been tough at Purcell Pavilion, winning all but one of their games there.

But the Tar Heels will arrive with a fair amount of swagger.

“I think they are more confident,” Williams said.

“I think they’ve bought in to the sense of urgency that we’ve been preaching all year long.”

They just might have found some consistency, too.

sports@dailytarheel.com