North Carolina got what it needed Saturday at Madison Square Garden. In a season where Tier One wins are already like gold even before Christmas, the Tar Heels came back from the brink to defeat the Bruins in a contest none of us will soon forget.
UCLA led 59-43 with 12:50 remaining. From there North Carolina would close on a 33-15 run, but even with that the game was clearly in doubt until the final horn sounded.
The Tar Heels have been snake bitten in tight games this season. They were coming off a gut wrenching loss to Florida in which they seemingly found ways to lose. The perceived lack of will to play defense and rebound for much of that game have been huge talking points ever since.
It looks safe to say that crucial lessons were learned. Each North Carolina player fought down the stretch like proverbial lives were on the line, and once again the eye test is the greatest proof of that.
That also means today's Film Review should be a more pleasant watch and read.
- PRO
- WDE
- WR
- RB
- DT
- OT
- S
- WDE
- OG
- DT