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North Carolina surging before a tough week ahead

marcus paige

North Carolina is quietly surging and playing very good basketball as they’re now 16-7 and 6-4 in the ACC after its 73-62 win at Notre Dame on Saturday.

The Tar Heels started out slowly in the ACC at 0-3 but have now won six of seven games entering a week at home against Duke and Pitt.

Against the Fighting Irish on Saturday, North Carolina also overcame a slow start. After falling behind 10-2 and 19-10, the Tar Heels rallied and clearly outplayed Notre Dame in nearly every facet of the game on Saturday as they pounded the ball inside, made just enough threes and performed far better at the free throw line.

With four wins over top-50 opponents, North Carolina has played a very difficult schedule and won a lot of tough games, but because of the poor start to ACC play, some automatically dismissed Roy Williams’ bunch.

But this team can really play.

Marcus Paige has continued to mature and develop, James Michael McAdoo is playing more consistently and other players are beginning to step up and emerge as well as Brice Johnson and J.P. Tokoto are capable of good games. Having Leslie McDonald back in the lineup helps a team that was also starving for perimeter shooting before the NCAA ruling.

North Carolina has five straight wins by double-digit points in the ACC and has a crack at Duke on Wednesday. The Tar Heels are playing with a lot of confidence and, all of the sudden, they’re a dangerous team as we get into the stretch run of ACC play.

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