Louisville win was ‘a big one’ for the Tar Heels

That one moment came much earlier last season.

It’s that one confidence-boosting instance which seemingly restores wavering hope. One that erases doubt and tells players and coaches that they haven’t strayed too far off the beaten path.

In 2013, the then No. 24 North Carolina men’s basketball team defeated then No. 3 Louisville, 93-84, on Nov. 24 to win the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament.

Just like that, it happened and UNC seized upon the moment that is a marquee win. Ten days later, the Tar Heels knocked off No. 1 Michigan State. Another 10 days after that and they found themselves with a win over Kentucky — another team ranked in the top five of the 2013 preseason polls.

This season, they had been patiently waiting. That is until Saturday, when No. 18 UNC (12-4, 2-1) defeated No. 5 Louisville (14-2, 2-1 ACC), 72-71.

Yes, UNC already had three wins against ranked teams on the year — No. 22 UCLA, No. 18 Florida and No. 12 Ohio State — before conference play began.

But those teams weren’t Louisville, and Roy Williams knew it.

“Last year, you’re right, (the Louisville win) really did give us some confidence,” the coach said on Friday during his pregame press conference. “And then the Michigan State (win) really gave us some confidence as well. Then Kentucky really gave us some confidence.

“I think this year winning Ohio State gave us some confidence, but I don’t think we’ve had that one big one like Louisville was last year.”

Louisville came to town Saturday, and that moment finally came for No. 18 UNC.

It came in the form of a strong drive to the basket and high-arching layup that just kissed the top of the glass and dropped into the net with 8.5 seconds left. Junior point guard Marcus Paige scored the dramatic game-winner in UNC’s 72-71 upset of Louisville, five days after missing a potential, late go-ahead layup and game-winning final heave in UNC’s 71-70 loss to No. 13 Notre Dame. He closed the door on the Cardinals on a plantar fasciitis-ridden right ankle that sent him to the locker room in the second half.

“We had a great chance on Monday night (against Notre Dame), despite not playing very well to beat a team ranked ahead of us,” Paige said. “We let that slip away. If you wanna be a good seed in the tournament and wanna have a chance to be successful in March, you can’t let a lot of those slip away, and we were able to grab this one. And this one was a big one.”

Williams talked about how much the 2013 Louisville win meant to his team on Friday, but how did it feel after Saturday’s game when that moment finally set in?

“It means I feel a heckuva lot better on Saturday night,” he said. ”‘Until midnight I’m gonna feel great. Then we’ll start thinking about who’s coming next. In our league, you just sit back and think and it’s ridiculous. It’s just off the charts. Every game is gonna be a battle.”

Sophomore point guard Nate Britt spoke with a sense of deja vu after Saturday’s win, thinking back to the effect the 2013 Louisville game had on him and his teammates down the stretch of the season.

With games against top-five teams in Duke and Virginia and another matchup with Louisville still on UNC’s schedule, Britt foresees the lasting impact Saturday’s game could have.

“I don’t know if it was a must-win,” he said. “I feel like every game was a must-win. But the fact that we won a grimy game and it came down to the last few shots helps us a whole lot. Because we haven’t won a game like that this year and last year we won a game or two like that going into conference play ... I feel like it gives a lot of confidence if we ever get in this situation again. We know that we can grind games out and win.”

Players like junior forward Brice Johnson just wanted to soak in the moment itself.

“This is already great,” he said. “(It’s) really big for us just because we’ve had our ups and downs all season, but we were able to pull this one out.”

But maybe Williams said it best.

“It’s one game, but our guys feel awfully good right now.”

Or maybe there’s just something about Louisville.

Regardless, North Carolina’s moment — maybe a little late — has finally come.

sports@dailytarheel.com