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LOUISVILLE, KY – Even well before Louisville’s fans littered the KFC Yum! Center court with debris, the heat on the floor between North Carolina and the Cardinals was clearly discernible.
The ACC foes went at it as if they didn’t care much for each other, and perhaps as the game went on, the degree of dislike moved from lukewarm to boiling.
It was physical, it was contentious, it had ebbs and flows, both good and bad for both teams, it was chippy, it included plenty if barking by both sides, and it was competitive.
UNC (16-6, 8-3 ACC) emerged victorious with a 90-83 triumph in overtime, but the lasting memory of this night likely will be the nature of the game, as well as the nearly 14,000 fans in attendance.
“This is definitely one of the craziest ones I’ve been in for sure,” said UNC forward Brady Manek, the most experienced Tar Heel, as he played 122 games at Oklahoma before ending up in Chapel Hill. “With the crowd, the emotions in the game, the back-and-forth scoring the ball, it was an intense game but it was a fun game.
“We came out with the win, but you can’t describe the atmosphere that was here. It was unbelievable.”
The only thing missing was blood flowing from one of the players, at least enough to stop the game and require stitches. It was certainly a stitches kind of game.
Only 36 fouls were called, but what drew the ire of the Louisville faithful, along with interim Coach Mike Pegues and the players donning the home whites, were the times the whistle wasn’t blown. UNC big man Armando Bacot picked up his fourth personal foul with 5:27 remaining in regulation and the Cardinals leading 62-60.
As much as they tried, the Cards (11-11, 5-7) couldn’t draw Bacot’s fifth foul. The problem, however, is they and their fans thought they did multiple times. Manek even acknowledged Carolina got a few calls late, with each seemingly raising the level of discontent in the building another notch.
The culmination occurred when Louisville’s Jae’Lyn Withers was charged with a technical foul after pushing Bacot to the floor with 17 seconds remaining. Bacot and Cardinals’ wing Matt Cross were tied up after a missed shot, but Cross fell to the round when Bacot ripped away the ball.
It appeared Bacot may have pushed Cross, so Withers stepped in and pushed Bacot, resulting in the technical foul.
“He gave me a little push, but I ain’t mad at him,” Bacot said about Withers, noting they played AAU together and are buddies. “We talked after the game, it’s all good. It was a physical game. I’m cerebral trying to get boards, so I know a lot of the time I may nick somebody up on accident.
“But that’s just how they responded and we got the technical, and it was a huge change in the game, and I’ll take it.”
Caleb Love sank both technical free throws and Bacot hit one of two for the game’s final points, sealing Louisville’s fate.
Carolina handled that sequence well enough to win, perhaps because it handled the rising tension throughout the night as well as could be expected given its recent history playing under duress and that it really hasn’t been in tight, emotional games this season.
For that, the action was as much at times in the stands as it was on the court. Full focus was the key.
“There was stuff that was going on in the stands, and one of the things that I actually yelled at the guys is, ‘The action is here. I don’t care what’s going on in the stands, the action is us, it’s on the floor,’” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said he told the team.
It paid off because his team notched a needed victory because it remained focused and in its lane more than the Cardinals.
