The Tar Heels have found their juice

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The North Carolina men’s basketball team couldn’t have started this season on a worse note.

Entering the year as the No. 1 ranked team in the Associated Press poll, the Tar Heels won their first five games of the season in less-than-convincing fashion. Then, the wheels fell off.

Starting with a 70-65 loss to Iowa State in Portland on Nov. 25, UNC dropped four straight games, including a defeat at Virginia Tech in its first ACC game of the season. The Tar Heels fell all the way from No. 1 to completely outside the top 25. But now, as we prepare to enter 2023, head coach Hubert Davis and his team seems to have found its juice.

North Carolina has won four straight games since the loss to the Hokies, including back-to-back wins over Ohio State and Michigan. In the victory over the Wolverines in Charlotte last week, the Tar Heels played with an intensity that was noticeably lacking from their early-season bouts.

UNC might have to thank Michigan for giving them the shot in the arm they so desperately needed.

Well, maybe you could call it an elbow to the chin.

In the first half of the win over the Wolverines, North Carolina forward Armando Bacot caught an elbow to the face from center Hunter Dickinson. A short time later, Dickinson picked up a hard foul while trying to stop UNC guard Caleb Love from scoring an open layup. Love took exception to the contact, quickly getting in Dickinson’s face. A few moments later, players from both sides were involved in the scuffle, and four players were assessed technical fouls for their involvement in the skirmish.

The shot of adrenaline did wonders for the Tar Heels, who were down by four points, 26-22, when tempers started to flare. From there, UNC controlled the flow of the game and went on to claim an 80-76 victory.

Playing with this level of passion and fire will be key for the Tar Heels as they progress through conference play and, eventually, into the postseason. UNC hopes this energy and level of intensity will take them on a similar path to last season, when it entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 8 seed in the East region before rallying to make the national championship game.

If the Tar Heels have plans of playing in the Final Four in Houston, they’ll need to channel a similar level of juice. They’ll also have to rely on their big four of Bacot, Love, R.J. Davis and Leaky Black to step up in big situations.

Bacot has been UNC’s top player this season, averaging 18.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game while shooting 56.6% from the field. Love is averaging 18.3 points and 3.7 assists per game, while Davis is averaging 15.9 points and 5.5 rebounds.

North Carolina still has plenty of things to clean up before tournament time, especially on the offensive end. As things stand, UNC is tied for 216th nationally with 13.0 assists per game. Last year, UNC averaged 14.8 assists per game.

The Tar Heels are also struggling to shoot the ball. Through 13 games, UNC is shooting 30.7% as a team from beyond 3-point range and 45.9% from the field. Those numbers rank 302nd and 129th in the country, respectively.

North Carolina will have its hand full the next few weeks as it continues ACC play. The Tar Heels play two of their next three games at home before hitting the road to take on No. 13 Virginia on Dec. 10.

One thing working in North Carolina’s favor is the strength of the rest of the ACC. Normally seen as the top conference in all of college basketball, this year’s Atlantic Coast Conference seemingly features no powerhouses. Duke is currently ranked No. 17 and is coming off a shocking loss to Wake Forest. Outside of the Blue Devils and Cavaliers, the only other ranked teams in the league is Miami (No. 14).

Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.