CHAPEL HILL – It’s remarkable what playing basketball the right way can do for a talented team.

And it’s amazing when a talented team seemingly goes out of its way to do otherwise.

Not that North Carolina’s intent for the five games that preceded Saturday’s home date with LaSalle was to ignore the game’s basic principles. But it certainly appeared that way and resulted in two-point and three-point wins over Dayton and Georgia Tech, respectively, and losses to Auburn, Michigan State, and Alabama, with the Tigers and Crimson Tide dominating the Tar Heels.