UNC Basketball: Takeaways from best win of season over Virginia Cavaliers

Remember what that feels like, Tar Heel fans? It’s been a while, but of course you do. That feeling after picking up a huge victory is why we live and die with this sport. UNC Basketball fans haven’t had that feeling this entire year. The last big win for the Heels was, dare I say it, over Duke in the Final Four. And though nothing can possibly compare to the magnitude of consigning the Blue Devils to a lifetime of second-best, it still feels great walking up the hill on Skipper Bowles Drive after a big win.

That’s what I and 21,749 of my closest friends did on Saturday night after Carolina built upon Wednesday’s road win over Notre Dame by jumping on Virginia early and never looking back. The Dean Dome was electric all night in a game the Heels really had to have, and with just a week left in the regular season, the team finally showed a peek at the potential we all know they’ve possessed all along. The Heels never trailed while lighting up the normally stout Cavaliers defense on their way to a 71-63 win that was never really in question.

Saturday night’s game was a statement game for a team that badly needed one. With games still remaining at Florida State and home against Duke, plus a trip to Greensboro for the ACC Tournament, Hubert Davis and co. are hoping that it’s not too late to sneak their way into the field of 68 and once again make some March noise. Luckily for all of us, this is an article and not a video, so you don’t have to hear my ravaged voice recount the reasons Carolina was able to avenge their earlier loss in Charlottesville. With apologies to John Feinstein, in a season on the brink for the Tar Heels, they finally came up big when it mattered. Here are three reasons why.