The North Carolina Tar Heels were facing a must-win situation on Saturday when they hosted No. 6 Virginia in the Dean Dome. UNC needed a Quad 1 win for its resume just two weeks away from Selection Sunday.
And the Tar Heels delivered.
Backed behind a big performance from Pete Nance, UNC earned that Quad 1 win and looks to build momentum with the final two games of the regular season.
Aside from getting a big win and a Quad 1 result, the Tar Heels were named a big winner from the week by USA TODAY Sports. Lindsay Schnell wrote on her winners and losers from the weekend so far, and the Tar Heels join Florida State as a winner for the ACC:
North Carolina and Florida State pulled off upsets over ranked conference foes Virginia and Miami, respectively, reminding us that the madness of March is just around the corner.
The Tar Heels never trailed against Virginia, hitting 10 3s on their way to a 71-63 win over the No. 6 Cavaliers. The victory couldn’t have come at a better time for UNC, a bubble team trying to solidify its resume for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
Farther south, in Miami, Florida State stunned No. 11 Miami 85-84 despite trailing by 25 early in the second half (seriously). A buzzer-beating 3 from Matthew Cleveland gave FSU the surprise win, dealing the Hurricanes their first home loss of the season. Miami had been 15-0 at the Watsco Center before Saturday.
Coincidentally, the two teams will square off in Tallahassee on Monday night in another big game for the Tar Heels. UNC can’t afford to lose this one ahead of Saturday’s rematch with Duke.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01fvdcv0v20j1dne5g player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.