CHAPEL HILL - Make no mistakes about it, North Carolina had fun in its 99-54 victory over Louisville on Saturday night in the Smith Center.

Carolina dominated the Cardinals from start to finish, jumping out to a 48-29 halftime lead before using a 41-9 run in the second half to eventually secure the 45-point win. The margin of victory is the team’s largest this season and the program’s fourth largest ever against an ACC opponent.

“That game probably was the most fun game we’ve had,” freshman forward Day’Ron Sharpe said. “When we play like that, I just feel like that’s how hard we should play every game. It’s something we should bring to the table every day when we play a game. “

Including Sharpe, who posted his fifth double-double of the season and led the Tar Heels with 21 points and 11 boards, UNC’s freshmen combined for a school-record 73 points in the rout, surpassing the 58 points they scored in the win over NC State on Jan. 23.

For UNC coach Roy Williams, not only did his freshmen play the best their basketball of the season, the entire team did, too. The Tar Heels shot 60.9 percent from the field and assisted on 29 of 42 field goals with just 11 turnovers.

“Yeah, we were good,” Williams said. “We shared the ball. Again, I can remember almost every single turnover. You like that. If you have 30 of them, it's hard to remember everyone.”

Seven Tar Heels handed out at least three assists, including five freshmen. The freshmen also scored the final 33 points of the first half, and in Carolina’s 41-9 run, eight different players converted shots from the field.

Despite being led by the freshmen, senior forward Garrison Brooks and sophomore big Armando Bacot set the tone early and pitched in solid performances. Brooks and Bacot combined for nine of the Tar Heels’ first 15 points and both finished in double figures on the night.

The pair were also a part of last year’s team that got blown out at Louisville nearly 365 days ago, losing 72-55, which was UNC’s seventh straight loss at the time. The Tar Heels were injury plagued that day as they were for most of the season, with Brooks not even playing due to illness while Bacot played 33 minutes.

The Richmond, VA, native hasn’t forgotten about that loss, either, even dedicating Saturday night’s victory to a handful of his former teammates.

“I remember we played at Louisville and they just beat the crap out of us,” Bacot said. “It was definitely just fun having a chance to go out there and just win convincingly versus them because we went through a lot and that was probably one of the toughest games last year for us.

“So, shout out to all the old guys. This is for y’all.”

From rookies to veterans to coaches, everyone inside the Carolina basketball program enjoyed Saturday night’s blowout victory over Louisville for more reasons than one. The Heels played like a team looking to secure an NCAA Tournament spot sooner rather than later, and that is a huge plus for this team as they enter the final few games of the regular season.

"I’ve always said, ‘It takes a special person to enjoy other people's successes...’” Williams said. “They're great kids that enjoy playing basketball and enjoy the team doing well.”