We all knew that a road trip to third-ranked Iowa was going to a tough one for North Carolina. The veteran Hawkeyes entered the game with the reputation as one of the top offensive teams in the country with Luka Garza inside and a host of 3-point flame throwers on the perimeter.

Things didn't start well. The Tar Heels fell behind 11-2 right off the bat, and deficit grew to 34-19 at the 5:03 mark of the first half. However, the scrappy road team didn't give up. Roy Williams extended the defensive pressure coming out of the locker room and stopped double-teaming Garza on the block. The plan was to speed the game up and run the perimeter players off the line after Iowa nailed eleven 3-pointers in the first half. Offensively, they pushed the ball at every opportunity, with Carolina's bigs looking to wear down Garza with constant 94-foot rim running.

The plan was effective. Carolina fought all the way back to take the lead at 66-65 at the 9:52 mark. Garza went to the bench for a rare rest, and with the Hawkeyes reeling it appeared the Heels might be able to put some room between them and the home team. Instead the direct opposite happened.

We will pick up the action with UNC leading 68-67. From there Iowa went on a 14-0 run spurred by several point swings in which North Carolina offensive miscues turned into points for the Hawkeyes just seconds later.