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BLACKSBURG, VA – Hubert Davis may not think about his team’s NCAA Tournament resume and the specifics to what makes a game fit into the Quad 1 or any Quad column, but his players know all about that.
The holdovers from North Carolina’s team last year experienced sitting on the NCAA fence as the regular turned into conference tournament time, and the nervousness the Tar Heels went through a year ago is something they want nothing to do with over the next few weeks.
“Oh man, last year was terrible,” junior forward Armando Bacot said, following Carolina’s 65-57 win at Virginia Tech on Saturday at Cassell Coliseum.
“Hopefully, it won't be like that this year. Hopefully, we get to experience a lot of North Carolina fans and make a deep run and have some fun.”
Playing well into the big dance is actually the least of anyone’s concerns right now within the walls of the UNC basketball program. Winning games, however, and enhancing its ho-hum resume is squarely on the radar. That is why the players knew venturing into this loud building with the fans right on top of the court and a whole lot at stake was a supremely big deal.
It was a must win for the Tar Heels.
“It's kind of a bad thing, but I feel like when we get in those situations when we are coming off a tough embarrassing loss, we just all come ready to play,” Bacot said. “We just gotta have that mentality every game.”
But this game was different. Not just because the Tar Heels were embarrassed Wednesday night on their own floor by a Pittsburgh team that had a Quad 4 rating when that contest tipped off. But because the Heels were 0-7 in Quad 1 games, and with the Hokies ranked No. 37 in the NET at the start of the day, this now qualifies as a Q1 victory. That column no longer has a goose egg in it for the Heels, and won’t through Selection Sunday.
Adding to the importance of this matchup, in which tickets at the top of the arena were going for more than $300 on various ticket sites, was that the Hokies were even more desperate for a resume-enhancing win.
They also don’t have a Q1 win, but having taken six consecutive games, Mike Young’s team had played their way into the NCAA conversation. And with the Hokies now 16-11 overall and 8-8 in ACC play, they had precious little room for error. Less so than Carolina, and perhaps that’s why the Tar Heels’ vital 22-6 run in the first half that gave them the lead for good wound the Hokies tight like a snare drum.
So not only was UNC (19-8, 11-5 ACC) coming off a horrendous loss, but it was on the road in one of the loudest buildings in the ACC, and facing a quality-but-desperate club.
There were a lot of musts being placed before the Heels heading into this affair, most important was getting a win.
“I feel like we all felt it,” senior Leaky Black said about the pressure of this matchup and what was on the line. “How could you not after the egg we laid the other night?
“We all see everything that’s been written about us and we know these kinds of games we can't them let slip. We know Virginia Tech is a great team. But unfortunately, we needed this one more than they did and that’s just what it was.”
Carolina started the afternoon ranked No. 45 in the NET, but woke up Sunday rated No. 43. The Tar Heels also now have a Q1 win that will remain one, plus Michigan went from No. 31 to No. 29 without even playing. The Wolverines are at Wisconsin on Sunday. In addition, with Pittsburgh losing at home to Georgia Tech on Saturday, UNC’s loss to the Panthers is now a Q4 loss, as Pitt dropped below No. 163, which is the cut-off point for Q4 games.
Of course, none of that means anything if the Heels don’t take care of business moving forward, which begins with a visit from Louisville on Monday night and a trip to NC State next Saturday. Syracuse at home and concluding the regular season at Duke in Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game at Cameron Indoor stadium are all that’s on tap before the ACC Tournament tips off in Brooklyn.
And when the Heels head up to the Big Apple, if they aren’t stressed about making the NCAA field, their victory over the Hokies in their frenzied hall could be a signature moment why there won’t be any teeth gnashing.
