NEW YORK – Forget about wondering if the Tar Heels paid much attention to their NCAA Tournament resume as early as December because they do.

In a surprising twist following the 76-74 win over UCLA this past Saturday, a happy bunch of North Carolina players spoke about the need for such a win and expressed optimism moving forward.

Juxtaposing that to Tuesday night in Charlotte when they allowed Florida a 13-3 run to close the game dropping their record in Quad 1 games to 1-5, one would think the Heels launched themselves right back into the NCAA picture, perhaps even opening a path to the Big Dance that was a bit murkier before the trip the New York City.

“We knew we needed Florida; we let Florida slip away from us in the last three or four minutes. But this one was really do or die,” always-frank junior guard Seth Trimble said outside the Heels’ locker room at MSG. “When we went down in the second half, when we went down (16 points), whatever it was.

“Their big went on a run by himself… We knew we just had to sit down and lock in and just stay as a team, like ‘Hey, can’t let it happen again.’”

A loss would have saddled the Heels with a 6-6 record for the first time since the 1918-19 season. It also would have placed the Heels in a precarious position within the struggling ACC possibly needing to win 15 or 16 games in league play just to sit on the NCAA fence in 11-plus weeks when Selection Sunday arrives.

The ACC is as down as ever, and Carolina’s schedule doesn’t afford it many opportunities to build its resume and very little room for error. Getting a win over one of the better teams in the Big Ten, to go with a victory over Atlantic-10 power Dayton, gives UNC two impressive Quad 1 wins to stick in its back pocket as January arrives.

Although just a freshman, Drake Powell said they “did talk about it” and their current status is somewhat do to the kind of daunting schedule they’ve played, which KenPom ranks the third toughest nonconference slate in the nation.

“We wanted to play against good competition just to compete at a high level every game,” Powell said.

There’s a twofold reality to the landscape the Heels have navigated, however. One, they are battle tested, and given the ACC’s general weakness, most remaining games should be manageable. The other is Carolina’s back was against the wall a few days before Christmas.

That’s rare, but it was what was real and in the moment for the Heels. So, the players placed tremendous importance on beating the Bruins. And they did.

“Absolutely, we talk all the time about it,” Trimble said. “Me and Elliot (Cadeau) have talked about it. Us and the rest of the team have talked about it. We’ve all talked about it. Coaches have talked about it. So, we knew what we needed to do today.”

At 7-5 with Campbell visiting before a two-game road trip to Louisville and Notre Dame to get into ACC play the rest of the way, the Heels see a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s not as dim as it once may have seemed, and the players’ chatter and faces told that story.