Off the cuff: It was good to see UNC coach Hubert Davis get mad, really mad. There were a few other times this season that official calls or non-calls warranted rebuke.
His anger probably helped fire his team up but the players were already fired up because they saw what happened to Armando Bacot, who was bloodied by the Hunter Dickinson blow.
Carolina was hot from beyond the arc in the first half, hitting six of 12 while Michigan was only two of eight. R.J. Davis drain a pair of long ones in the last three minutes of the half to keep Michigan at back.
But those three-point numbers reversed in the second half.
The Wolverines stayed in the game by getting hot from three in the second half, hitting seven of 18. The Tar Heels fell in love with the three, as they say, but the love wasn't reciprocated as Carolina was just one of eight in the second half.
After having gone just five of 12 from the free throw line, the Tar Heels went into the half up 41-34. Had they been just average from the line, they'd have been up by double figures.
Otherwise, Carolina shot the ball well from the field throughout. The Tar Heels hit half their field goals, including shooting a respectable 47 percent in the first half and an excellent 54 percent in the second half.
In addition to the bloody nose play in the first half, other big plays included a high floating three by Caleb Love, who was fouled on the play, and a drive-by scoop shot by Love.
In the second half, other big plays including a high arching soft jumper by Bacot over Dickinson and a Leaky Black dunk follow.
Black also had an outstanding defensive play where to blocked a shot, recovered the ball in one motion and, falling out of bound, slammed the ball off a Michigan player to give the ball back to the Tar Heels.
If Carolina can get back to normal free throw shooting and continue the "energy, effort and passion" that Coach Davis likes, this could be a special season.
Seems a long way from the four-game losing streak.
Carolina 80, Michigan 76 Fired-up Tar Heels get by Wolverines
UNC coach Hubert Davis got mad, hopping mad, in the first half when Armando Bacot was bloodied by a Michigan elbow. It carried over to his players on the court as the Tar Heels went from two down to eight ahead and Carolina never trailed again, beating Michigan 80-76 in Charlotte. (12/21)
"After Armando got hit in the mouth, I felt like we said, 'let's start swingin,'" Coach Davis said. "We had a competitive fight on the defensive end that made us more effective on the offensive end."
The elbow - more like a forearm shiver - was delivered by Hunter Dickinson, Michigan's second team All-America big man. Bacot, feeling as if he had been fouled, threw up a wild, high arching shot. The ball went in but the foul wasn't called.
Replays, showed that the physical contact was purposeful. And the Tar Heels didn't like it.
After the ensuing 16-6 run, Carolina led 38-30. During the run, tempers flared after a Dickinson foul and four players - two on each team - picked up technical fouls, which counted as personal fouls.
The lead hovered between six and nine points most of the rest of the game.
Back-to-back Wolverine threes, though, pulled Michigan within a basket at 71-69 with 2:15 to go.
The Tar Heels, who struggled from the free throw line, hit five in a row in the last minute to stave off the Michigan attack. Carolina had opportunities to open the game up but the Heels were just 10 of 21 from the foul line before hitting five of their last six.
Bacot won the battle of the big men as he scored 26 points on an 11 of 15 effort, compared to nine points for Dickinson. "We have the best big man in the country," UNC's Leaky Black said, adding that the Tar Heels don't get credit for being tough.
"We made players when we had to make plays," Black said. "Every timeout, we said, 'dig deeper, dig deeper."
R.J. Davis scored 19 points, going four of eight from three-point land. Meanwhile, Caleb Love, who had a big steal and one-handed slam dunk in the second half, was the only other Tar Heel in double figures with 18 points.
Kobe Bufkin scored 22 while Jett Howard had 17 for Michigan, which falls to 7-5.
The game was part of the new Jumpman Invitational at the Spectrum Center.
Carolina, now 9-4 overall, plays conference foe Pittsburgh Friday, Dec. 30 in an away game.
