Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The North Carolina Tar Heels came into this past week with their backs against the wall, but managed to finish with a great deal of momentum. Despite beginning the week with an embarrassing loss to Virginia, they ended the week by embarrassing a tough Clemson team. They are now 2-4 in the ACC and 12-7 on the season, but their current momentum can take them to new heights.
The Tar Heels had short-term memory loss after their loss to Virginia, which may have been one of their worst performances of the entire season. After the Virginia game, just about everybody counted them out of the NCAA tournament. Honestly, how could you blame them? They played like a team that had given up on their season completely, and they showed no sign of bouncing back and being competitive in the conference.
Well, somehow, they played like a completely different team against Clemson. They had a sense of urgency that was close to invisible throughout ACC play and they completely dominated a Clemson team that, on paper, was projected to end the 56-game home win streak that the Tar Heels had over them. They played like one of the best teams in the country and if they keep this up, they may end up as just that.
This week, they take on Georgia Tech and bitter in-state rival North Carolina State, two teams that should not give the Tar Heels any problems. If the Tar Heels can pull off a clean sweep, then they are right back in the ACC. James Michael McAdoo is finally playing like we all expected him to play back when he was a top recruit in the country, and if he can continue this dominant play, then the Tar Heels will make this whole winning thing a trend.
Marcus Paige is continuing to play like a top guard in the country, and now that freshman Kennedy Meeks is becoming comfortable in his own skin, the Tar Heels are becoming a force to reckon with. Leslie McDonald is starting to find his shot from beyond the arc, and to basically sum all of this up, the Tar Heels are back to playing Tar Heels basketball.
Where do they stand now? Well, they are standing in a wave of momentum and from here on out, they control their own destiny in the ACC. How could they once again become relevant in the conference and in March? Well, that one is easy. They just simply need to win games. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out, but it takes real Tar Heels basketball to make that statement a reality.
Fans saw real Tar Heels basketball in the game against Clemson, and we hopefully will continue to see it moving forward.
