GoHeels Exclusive: Winning Ugly

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

In the four weeks after North Carolina shot 54.7 percent and upended then-No. 4 Gonzaga on Dec. 15, Roy Williams often said he needed to see his team win when shots aren't falling. He needed to see it win ugly.

But as many times as he reiterated that message, both to reporters and his players, Williams was never more adamant about it than he was after the Tar Heels fell 83-62 against Louisville on Saturday. UNC shot a season-low 34.5 percent in that game. And when asked if this team has to shoot well to win, he said it's not very tough if it thinks that.

"That really ticks me off," said Williams following the 21-point home loss, his worst as Carolina's head coach. "You've got to be able to win basketball games ugly."

Three days later, the Tar Heels finally showed they can.

Despite shooting 39.7 percent, UNC rebounded from the Louisville loss with a 75-69 win over Notre Dame on Tuesday at the Smith Center. The victory marked Carolina's first this season when shooting under 40 percent. The Tar Heels were previously 0-2 in such games.

"I got my wish – I wanted to win one ugly," said Williams moments after the win. "We did that."

Early on, it didn't seem like UNC would have to win ugly. It made 10 of its first 18 shots, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc. The last of those was a 3-pointer by Brandon Robinson that pushed the lead to eight points with 10:37 left in the first half. But that shot also prompted the Fighting Irish to switch from a 2-3 zone to a man-to-man defense.

Subsequently, Carolina shot 3-for-17 the rest of the half. It also turned the ball over seven times in that span, helping Notre Dame enter halftime up 36-33.

The Tar Heels entered Tuesday with a 1-4 record when trailing at halftime this season. Their only win had come against UCLA on Nov. 23, when they shot 53.3 percent in the second half en route to scoring 53 points. Tuesday's second half wouldn't unfold the same way. Instead, UNC predominantly relied on its defense.

After allowing the Fighting Irish to shoot 44.8 percent in the first half, Carolina held Notre Dame to 37.5 percent shooting in the second. The Tar Heels also limited the Fighting Irish to four made 3-pointers after surrendering six in the first half.

No specific defensive play was more important, though, than the one that came with 11:59 left. Nate Laszewski stole a pass and appeared to have an easy breakaway dunk. But Seventh Woods, 6-foot-2, chased down the 6-foot-10 freshman blocked him at the rim.

The play embodied the sort of grittiness needed to win ugly, as Williams described Saturday. Woods understands that.

"It's plays like that that are going to define our season," Woods said. "If we continue to make plays like that on the defensive and offensive ends, I feel like we can reach our peak, or get as close to our peak as we can. Today, the first half wasn't good at all. We came out in the second half more mentally locked in."

Woods made a pair of free throws after his block to hand UNC a 51-50 lead. Moments later, with Notre Dame leading 58-57, Nassir Little and Coby White engineered a 12-1 run that ultimately helped Carolina seize the lead for good and improve to 3-1 in ACC play.

Surely the Tar Heels will play more games this season when shots aren't falling. How they respond in such situations will likely dictate how good they'll be. Tuesday, they showed they can navigate such adversity. And in doing so, they also put the Louisville game behind them.

"We had to bounce back," Robinson said. "Coach always says his great teams respond after losing, so that is what we had to do tonight. I think we did a great job of doing that, even if it was an ugly win."

Players Mentioned

Nassir Little

Brandon Robinson

Coby White

Seventh Woods

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