 played all season that was decided by a single-digit margin. Even its lone loss of the season was a 63-45 blowout against No. 2 Michigan State.''This will be good for us,'' Williams said. ''Every game in the ACC is like that. To have this experience and know we can pull it out, I think it will come in handy down the road.''North Carolina capitalized on a 9-0 run in the final minute to win for the fifth straight time and ended Thompson-Boling Arena's hex on defending national champions. Tennessee (7-2) had won each of the last five times it had hosted a defending national champion, a string that included victories over Connecticut (in January 2012), Florida (February 2007 and February 2008) and Kentucky (February 1999 and February 2013).''We always say we need a game like this to help us later on down the road,'' said North Carolina's Joel Berry II, who scored 21 points. ''We hadn't had a game like this. For us to be able to thrive in this situation and be able to get the momentum back on our side was a great thing. It was all about the defensive end. We got stops.''Luke Maye and Williams added 15 points each for North Carolina. Grant Williams scored 15 points to lead five Tennessee players in double figures. Tennessee led by as many as nine points in the second half and was ahead 70-67 before North Carolina took control down the stretch. North Carolina began its rally when Berry hit two free throws with a minute left to make it 70-69. Maye then stole an errant pass from Lamonte Turner to set up the shot by Williams, whose 3-pointer off Theo Pinson's assist put North Carolina ahead 72-70. After Tennessee's Admiral Schofield missed with 18 seconds left, Pinson hit two free throws, made a steal and added two more foul shots to make it 76-70. Tennessee cut the margin to 76-73 on Jordan Bowden's 3-pointer with seven seconds left, but Berry sank two free throws to seal the victory. The Vols said afterward they could learn from this kind of loss.''We get many opportunities during the year,'' Grant Williams said. ''This one won't define us.''North Carolina is hoping this rally helps define the way it plays the rest of the year. Berry said Pinson reminded the Tar Heels these are the types of games they'll have much more often once conference play begins.''(We're) getting our guys to realize that the game might not be pretty, you might not hit shots but the one thing you can do is defend, get offensive rebounds, get defensive rebounds,'' Berry said. ''Sometimes you've got to squeak out a game like that. Some of our guys that are young grew up today and understand that every game is going to be like this from now on.''BIG PICTURENorth Carolina: The Tar Heels rallied because they turned up their defensive intensity and took better care of the ball in the second half. After committing 12 turnovers in the first half, North Carolina had just four more the rest of the way. Tennessee: The Vols showed they can compete with anyone, but their offense wouldn't allow them to win this game. After making four of its first five shots in the second half, Tennessee went 7 of 31 the rest of the way. Tennessee made three baskets in the final 10 minutes, 25 seconds. FAMILIAR FINISHThis marked the second straight year North Carolina rallied to beat Tennessee. The Vols squandered a 15-point lead in a 73-71 loss at North Carolina last season. Berry didn't play in that game due to a sprained left ankle. RANKED VS. RANKEDThis game represented the first time two ranked teams met at Thompson-Boling Arena since Feb. 27, 2010, when No. 19 Tennessee won 74-65 over a second-ranked Kentucky team that featured John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe. NEXT UPNorth Carolina hosts Wofford on Wednesday. Tennessee hosts Furman on Wednesday.---More college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/-Top25---Follow Steve Megargee at https://twitter.com/stevemegargee)
Time: 3:00 PM EST Tennessee has a chance to further emerge on the national stage when the No. 20 Volunteers play host to No. 7 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon. But for Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, there's more emphasis on making improvements that will bode well for the remainder of the season." Your goal has to stay the same," Barnes said. "I'm not worried about showing well. I'm worried about getting better." The teams meet for the second year in a row, this time at sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. It's a chance for North Carolina (9-1) to build on its recent success as players continue to blend into bigger roles. The Tar Heels suit up for the first time in 11 days following a break for exams. The Volunteers (7-1) often do well in such settings. Since 1999, Tennessee has won five consecutive home games against teams that are reigning national champions." We knew we had a schedule at the beginning of the year that would give us opportunities," Barnes said. "We want to be a program that's big on everybody's schedule. We're not there yet. We're working to get there." This marks the first time since Feb. 27, 2010, that two nationally ranked men's teams meet at Thompson-Boling Arena. Until this month, the Volunteers hadn't been ranked since December 2010. The Tar Heels are 4-7 under coach Roy Williams in nonconference road games against top 20 teams. Barnes, who holds a 6-11 record against North Carolina (counting his time as coach at Clemson and Texas), said the Tar Heels will arrive with a familiar mindset." If you don't get back, they make you pay," he said. "Even though they're a little younger than they were a year ago, to me they still look like a Roy Williams-coached basketball team." One intriguing matchup could involve a pair of players from the Charlotte, N. C., area. North Carolina has junior forward Luke Maye, who has emerged as one of the top players in the country this season by averaging 19.9 points per game. Tennessee has 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Grant Williams, who is scoring a team-leading 16.1 points per game. North Carolina has averaged 93 points per game during its four-game winning streak. More players have started to make significant contributions, including backup freshman guard Jalek Felton." I think I am starting to pick up on things a little bit faster now," Felton said. "Starting to see a little progression and getting my confidence back to where I like it." North Carolina made a school-record 72.7 percent of its 3-point attempts (16 of 22) in its last outing, a romp past Western Carolina." I think having that 3-ball will be something good for us when we get the ball inside (and can push it back out)," North Carolina guard Joel Berry II said. North Carolina leads the series 9-1, though the Tar Heels had to pull out a 73-71 home victory last December, overcoming a 15-point deficit. Berry, the eventual Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four, didn't play against Tennessee last year because of an ankle injury." What I hope they remember is that we didn't win," Barnes said of his players. North Carolina is the third of four Atlantic Coast Conference teams that the Volunteers will face during a 30-day span. They have already defeated North Carolina State and Georgia Tech, while they visit Wake Forest next weekend.
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