Following North Carolina’s ugly loss at Clemson last Tuesday night, the question was posed in this spot if the Tar Heels' performance was a step back or not. The conclusion was that it was more a bad game but not necessarily a clear sign of regression.

A step back would have meant there was something wrong with the Tar Heels, they weren’t as good as everyone thought they were becoming, and it would take time to reconstitute where they were after an impressive win at Pittsburgh a week earlier.

Saturday night’s 91-87 victory at Duke clearly suggests the premise was correct, Tuesday was not a step back, it was just a bad game, which happens during the course of a season. But now the question has already surfaced even before the sweat on the players had time to dry: Have the Tar Heels turned the corner?