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

2) Pete freaking Nance

Let’s give credit where credit is due. Pete Nance has been blamed for a lot of the failures for this season, but on Saturday night he stepped up in a big way. Finally looking healthy in the wake of a lingering back injury, Nance set the tone early by finally finding his outside shot. He went a perfect 4-4 from three in the first half as the Tar Heels jumped out to a 17-point lead, including a clutch shot on a broken play to end the half to help regain momentum for Carolina after Virginia had cut it to 13.

Nance displayed all the tools that had Carolina fans salivating over him this offseason as the heir apparent to Brady Manek’s “Super Transfer” title. In addition to his outside shooting, he went 4-4 from the free throw line and added four blocks and a steal, acting as Carolina’s rim protector in the second half while Armando Bacot was limited with foul trouble. Nance also forced several other misses at the rim, as he was consistently there to challenge the Cavaliers any time they drove to the basket.

Nance was undoubtedly Carolina’s MVP in a game they absolutely had to have, and his play gives the Tar Heels hope that this is just the beginning of another late-season push. To paraphrase Rick Pitino, Brady Manek isn’t walking through that door, but if this version of Pete Nance is, maybe that will be enough.