For the first time in eight years UNC has won the ACC Tournament. Let's take a look at how they did it.
Answering the all the questions and doubts
Roy Williams said earlier this week that no regular season champion he had coached was as scrutinized as much as this team had been. The list of complaints about these Tar Heels was extensive. Some of it was merited while part of it stemmed from lazy narrative or incorrect perception.
UNC lacked toughness.
UNC didn't have what it took to finish
UNC couldn't defend well enough to beat elite teams
UNC can't win slow tempo games.
Roy Williams can't coach.
On and on it went to the point it was clockwork to see these come out even though UNC's six losses were by a total of 22 points and five of them came on the road. When UNC lost to Duke in Chapel Hill, these narratives went full throttle. Despite the Tar Heels righting the Duke wrong with a tough win in Durham, the above concerns remained front and center.
The Tar Heels have used the last four games to show they are indeed for real. The win at Duke was a prime example of grabbing a win even when the shots weren't falling. In ACC Tournament, the Tar Heels dropped the hammer not once, not twice but three times to get a win. While it was one thing to do it against the likes of Pitt or a tired Notre Dame team, it was quite another against a team like Virginia. UNC's 13-2 run and game long defensive effort was the epitome of toughness and making the big plays when necessary.
The belief that UNC wasn't capable of this type of performance had merit based on history. Not anymore. UNC came to Washington, D.C. to answer the critics and the ACC Championship trophy would seem to indicate there aren't many questions left to ask.
