CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina certainly heads into the postseason armed with plenty of internal intel.

The Tar Heels have ample experience seeing how games go when they aren’t totally dialed in as opposed to when they are. The cavern between the two has been massive.

So, now that the ACC Tournament begins Tuesday and the NCAA Tournament follows a week later, the Tar Heels say they know the dos and don’ts of how to approach games and that should make them quite formidable in the upcoming one-and-done formats.

“When we’re all locked in, we’re a great team,” sophomore forward Armando Bacot said, following Saturday’s rout of Duke at the Smith Center. “When we all come to play and just go out there and play Carolina basketball, we're gonna be a great team. It's just, when is it gonna happen and can we keep it going?”

The thing is, sometimes stat sheets don’t quite reflect the Heels’ level of intensity, it simply notes the efficiency of their performance.

For example, the turnover problem that has hurt them dearly in losses to Marquette and Syracuse, most recently, has not hindered their ability to beat quality teams during the same stretch. The Heels turned it over 39 times leading to 47 points versus Marquette and Syracuse, yet in the games following both losses, the Heels combined to turn it over 41 times leading to 48 points for Florida State and Duke yet won those contests.

In 10 of Carolina’s 25 games, it has turned over the ball at least 18 times. Even worse, Heels’ opponents have scored 18 or more points off turnovers in 12 contests.

On the season, UNC is averaging 15.2 turnovers leading to 17.2 opponents’ points per outing, and in its nine losses, the Heels are turning over the ball 16.2 times leading to 18.6 points for their foes. So they have at times found ways to win despite this obvious weakness.

Carolina Coach Roy Williams says the rash of turnovers are about doing the right thing, being more unselfish with all movement and awareness. Kerwin Walton said playing to the UNC standard, which is exactly what Williams is referencing when harping about the turnover issue, is about personal want and understanding what it means representing the program. Having the proper sense of urgency can take care of some problems, he says.

“I think it comes to a sense of pride and just what's important to you,” Walton said following Saturday’s win, hinting the Heels should carry the energy of senior night into every game moving forward. “I think we came into this game really strong because we figured this is like one of the most important games for a lot of guys, especially for the seniors…

“You’re playing for coach, you’re playing for the fans, you’re playing for your family and it kind of gives you a lot of energy. It kind of makes you just super excited to play and I think, as long as we just keep carrying out that same energy every single game, we're gonna be fine.”

But will it help the Heels hit threes? Or stop opponents from bombing away from the perimeter?

The latter, perhaps, but the former, not so sure.

Dating back to a 10-point win at Pittsburgh, which was 10 games ago and when the Tar Heels began displaying a more well-rounded and elevated level of play, they have a 6-4 record with perimeter shooting a common thread in both the wins and losses.

In four defeats to Clemson, Virginia, Marquette, and Syracuse, the Tar Heels converted just 16 of 73 three-point attempts, which is 21.9 percent. In the wins during that span over Pitt, Duke twice, Northeastern, Louisville, and Florida State, the Heels were 43-for-105 from beyond the arc, which is 41 percent.

Not entirely inside that stretch, but still noteworthy is the strange outlier of the season, which comes from the two games versus FSU. Carolina was 10-for-24 from the perimeter in a narrow loss in Tallahassee in January, but it was only 5-for-23 in the win over the Seminoles last week at the Smith Center.

On the flipside, Carolina’s opponents have shot 41 percent from three-point range in the Heels' nine losses, but just 29.6 in UNC’s 16 victories.

“I've always felt that the best teams were teams that were balanced,” Williams said. “That you didn't say, ‘We’ve got to guard the three-point line, we've got to shut them out inside.’ Our better teams have always had good balance.”

The interior isn’t an issue. Turnovers leading to opponents’ points and perimeter shooting for and against are, though.

But it’s a new season now. The stats and won-loss record stay with every team, but a new mindset and sometimes an exhale pushing aside a straggling problem or two can be achieved. Caleb Love says the Heels are not only ready to wipe the slate clean, but other teams shouldn’t want to see Carolina in their brackets.

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Love said, agreeing with that sentiment. “When we’re locked in and we (go) into games knowing what we’ve got to do and what’s at stake and not going into games starting out slow… and just us coming out and making winning plays and doing what we have to do and get each other going I think we’re hard to beat.”

Hit some perimeter shots, limit a barrage, and hold down the giveaways, and he's probably right.