Who's team is this? Carolina Defeats Syracuse, 92-79

Did we all watch the same team? Raining threes, only ten turnovers, and Cole Anthony's best performance since his debut game... is this the same team that was struggling to hit 80 points?

No one could've predicted this showcase of talent so late in the season; it begs the question, where was this all season? Shouldn't UNC have a better record? Where has Christian Keeling been all season? Those are all valid questions. And I'm with you. When this team was coming together this summer, the anticipation was there, the idea of leadership, but somehow, the team fell apart—riddled with injuries, lack of direction, and a coach who was frustrated beyond what fans have ever seen.

But through his frustration, Coach Williams, remind his team and Heel faithfuls to just get better, one game at a time. And that's' exactly what they did. In one stretch in the second half, six of UNC's eight field goals were threes (three by Cole Anthony, two by Brandon Robinson and one by Christian Keeling). The lead went from five to sixteen in that stretch alone; moreover, Carolina made 15 of 17 free throws. It was the second-highest percentage of the season (.882) and highest since the Oregon game in November. But when you focus on Cole Anthony and his improvement on time management and game awareness, the Heels seems to be more fluid and dare we say, connected.

"You know, he's seven assists and two turnovers. That's pretty impressive. And I love that part of it. That was probably the biggest thing for his game today was how well he did there. He got a couple of weird calls that almost got him in foul trouble. I had to take him out the last part of the first half after he got his second. But his game management I thought was really, really good."

But the fear factor for the team has been grad transfer, Christian Keeling. Keeling, who has a running joke with his long twos, has stepped up and become a much-needed force off the bench. He's scored a season-high 18 points, his sixth double-figure game in the last eight competitions. The Augusta, Ga, native, has become a different animal in the Heels quest for the NCAA tournament, and its something Coach Williams is finally seeing in person,

"No, I had no idea. I mean, you watch a guy on tape, and that's all I'd ever seen of him was on tape. But we thought we were going to get one other guy that we didn't get and we needed a couple more players. We'd lost our five leading scorers.his name was already out there, but I called Barclay wanting to get his endorsement and make sure that I wasn't doing something that he was against. He said great things about him. But you look at his numbers and, yeah, you expect that but you don't know if a guy can do it this way what he did at Charleston Southern, but I never saw him in person. I saw him on tape, and I can't get a great look on tape."

Keeling left in the late second half with a leg injury, but during post-game interviews, Keeling stated it was just an ankle bruise and should be fine going forward. With only two regular-season games left of his collegiate playing career, one cant imagine Keeling missing the opportunity to play with his teammates and push for the end goal, ACC tourney victory.

Other player notes include another impressive game by Garrison Brooks, who had a career-high 14 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. This will also be Brooks' ninth game with 20 points or more. Brooks' progression has been incredible throughout his junior season with his game reminiscing a Brice Johnson trajectory; fans should be excited about his upcoming senior year.

Everyone is hoping for a miracle for the most dangerous team in 15th place.

This win advances the Heels to 12-17 overall and 5-13 in the ACC. They face an equally dangerous team in Wake Forest Tuesday Night. The Demon Deacons has defeated no. 7 ranked Duke and Notre Dame, both at home. It should be a great game between two teams looking to shock the ACC.

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