The North Carolina men's basketball season is nearly over, with just two games left in the regular season plus an appearance in the ACC Tournament.
Following the team's 92-79 win over Syracuse on Saturday evening, here are three takeaways about where the Tar Heels are at after finding a groove the last few games.
Christian Keeling is for real
The graduate transfer guard who was expected to provide spark-plug offense when he first arrived at UNC is finally making good on what was asked of him.
Over the past eight games, Keeling has reached double figures in scoring six times, including a UNC career-high 18 points against the Orange. In that span, he's shot 50 percent or better from the floor six times as well, and has shown a consistent ability to start hitting threes.
It might be too late in the game to change things heavily for UNC, but for the next two games and the ACC Tournament, the Tar Heels now have a proven threat to score off the dribble when Cole Anthony sits.
Keeling isn't much of a playmaker (he's never recorded more than two assists in a game for UNC), but his scoring threat can bail out an offense that has struggled most of the year. Him staying comfortable in his role will be big if UNC wants a shot at taking down Duke in the last game of the regular season.
Balance between Anthony and Brooks
UNC has struggled all year finding the right balance between its two stars, Anthony and Garrison Brooks. The last time the Tar Heels won two in a row, it was when Anthony was out with injury, and Brooks was clearly the No. 1 option for the team.