Why No. 8 UNC has played its best basketball after a 21-point loss to Louisville

The North Carolina men’s basketball team is on a roll. After defeating N.C. State, 113-96, on Tuesday night, No. 8 UNC has now won six straight games and currently sits tied for first place in the ACC standings.

Since a 21-point loss to Louisville on Jan. 12 at the Smith Center, the Tar Heels have played their best basketball of the season. A renewed focus on spreading the ball around has helped key that stretch. In their first 16 games, the Tar Heels had just one performance with more than 24 assists as a team; in the last six games, they have recorded 25 assists three times. 

That uptick in distribution has led to five games where at least four players have scored in double figures. North Carolina has also dominated the glass during its recent run of success, outrebounding its opponents by an average of 10.8 per game and showing an increased defensive intensity. 

But the biggest reason for this recent success has been the team’s adjustments in practice. 

Following the loss to Louisville, Kenny Williams said the team was playing “fat and happy.” Roy Williams also said that UNC had mediocre practices in the days leading up to the game. Just minutes after tipoff, he said, he knew his team was not going to play well. Roughly two hours later, North Carolina was handed its worst home loss since 2002. 

Fast forward to Tuesday night, when the Tar Heels put the finishing touches on one of their best performances of the season. Afterward, Roy Williams reflected on the January defeat.

“I think it did one very positive thing,” Williams said. “That’s the last time we had a crappy practice since the day before or two days before a game, and since then, the preparation and focus in practice immediately before games has been really good.”

First-year guard Coby White complimented Williams, Cameron Johnson and Luke Maye in pushing the younger players.

"We really get after it in practice now,” White said. “We practice hard every day. Just trying to get better every day. But, definitely practice has changed since the Louisville loss, and I feel like that’s because of our seniors. The coaching staff wants us to practice hard either way, but our seniors took it upon themselves to make us take practice to another level.”

That effort in practice has translated into game situations as well. Not only has UNC won six consecutive games, but the team has gotten better as the streak has continued. The Tar Heels defeated Notre Dame and Miami by six and nine points, respectively. They blew past No. 11 Virginia Tech, 103-82, thrashed Georgia Tech and got revenge on No. 16 Louisville on the road.

The icing on the cake was the win over the Wolfpack, a game that was not as close as the 17-point margin of victory suggested. UNC spent most of the second half up by 20 or more, at one point extending the lead to 28.

“We’ve been playing with a lot of energy and emotion ever since the Louisville loss,” White said. “I feel like that’s a big part of basketball and against Louisville, we were just missing it, it just wasn’t there.”

Since that day, the energy has been there. UNC looks more polished than at any other time this season. White is averaging 16.9 points in conference play, Johnson continues to lead the team in scoring and Maye is averaging 25.5 points in his last two games.

Although some coaches point to losses as positives for their team, Williams says he does not think that way. After the N.C. State game, he contended that there is no such thing as a good loss. But he cannot deny that something changed for UNC after that game. 

North Carolina is focused, prepared and gearing up for a stretch run that they hope will take them into the late weeks of March, and potentially, the first week of April.

@christrenkle2

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com