'We’re not scared of anybody': With win over Wake Forest, UNC is building momentum

Less than a month ago, the North Carolina men’s basketball team looked dead in the water. 

After a 74-57 walloping at the hands of Wake Forest on Feb. 11, no one seemed to have an answer for how to fix a UNC team that was falling well under .500 for the first time in Roy Williams' head coaching career. 

But after suffering even more heartbreak, in buzzer-beating losses to Virginia and Notre Dame, and in a blow-out demolition at Louisville, UNC has finally started to click. Starting last week with a six-point victory over N.C. State, UNC has pulled off three straight wins against ACC foes in the Wolfpack, Syracuse and, now, Wake Forest. 

“Obviously it's a confidence booster, but we’re capable of this,” first-year Cole Anthony said. “We all just really love playing with each other.” 

Against the Demon Deacons on Tuesday, North Carolina played like a team on a mission. Led by a standout performance from Anthony, UNC played with a level of efficiency it had not seen all season. The Tar Heels buried a season-high 58.8 percent of shots from beyond the arc and played with cohesion on both ends of the floor on the way to a 93-83 victory. 

“I think we’re more free,” guard Christian Keeling said. “What Coach has already preached all year is that you’ve got to have the balls to make the shot. Right now, we’re making it, and I’m glad we’re making it.”

North Carolina went into the half with a one-point lead, a familiar sight for a team that has seen six games decided by five points or less since the start of the new year. Of those six games, North Carolina has lost all of them. Against Wake Forest, though, the Tar Heels wouldn’t let it get that close. 

UNC went on an offensive tear in the second half, shooting a season-high 64.3 percent from the floor and notching its highest-scoring frame of the season, overwhelming the Demon Deacons with a 58-point tally. 

“If you guys have been keeping up with us, we have been playing really well the past few games,” Anthony said. “We’re getting everybody back healthy, things have been clicking, and practice is going well. We’re just really starting to play well together.” 

Anthony was a dominant force in establishing North Carolina’s success on the offensive end. After finishing the Tar Heels' first matchup against Wake Forest shooting just 5-19 from the field, the point guard’s second time facing the Demon Deacons was a stark contrast. 

The first-year finished with a team-high 28-points, hitting on 8-for-14 shots from the field, and helping lead the team’s performance season-high from beyond the arc with four three point buckets of his own. 

“I grabbed (Anthony) at shoot-around today and said ‘Remember, more efficient tonight,'” Williams said. “I think he’s that kind of player, and he hasn’t had a lot of guys making shots around him.” 

With the Tar Heels now riding a three-game winning streak into its final game of the regular season, there seems to be a growing sense that they can make a title run in the ACC Tournament and grab an automatic bid to the big dance. 

For a team that looked entirely deflated just weeks ago, something has changed in Chapel Hill. 

“We’re not scared of anybody. Honestly, it’s way more pressure on other teams than us,” senior Brandon Robinson said. “We want to go to the ACC Tournament and win it and piss people off.” 

@zachycrain

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com