Fresh off an emotional win over Duke, North Carolina now turns its focus to Miami.
The 11th-ranked Tar Heels stunned No. 4 Duke 71-68 in a thriller at the Dean E. Smith Center, a game that had just about everything. Senior guard Seth Trimble buried a corner 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining for the winner, capping a furious North Carolina rally and triggering a wild celebration.
The Tar Heels trailed for 37:39 and did not take their first lead until Trimble’s shot. Moments later, fans poured onto the court and, in a familiar scene when UNC beats Duke, flooded Franklin Street.
The celebration was still going Sunday morning, but the turnaround will be quick.
North Carolina returns to the road for a Tuesday night matchup at Miami at 7 p.m., with sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference at stake. The Tar Heels (19-4, 7-3 ACC) and Hurricanes (18-5, 7-3) are expected to play in front of a packed house at Watsco Center.
Miami, led by first-year coach Jai Lucas, is enjoying an immediate resurgence and could play spoiler for UNC, which is coming off a win over its archrival.
North Carolina has won three straight in the series, including a 92-73 rout in Chapel Hill on March 1 last season. The Tar Heels also won their last trip to Coral Gables, edging the Hurricanes 75-72 exactly two years ago Tuesday.
Here are three keys for UNC to avoid the upset in South Beach.
Control the Paint
Miami is good at controlling the paint whether its defending, rebounding or scoring. The Hurricanes score 56.3% of its points on two-pointers, which leads the ACC. Of its 929 two-point shot attempts, over 85% of them have come in the paint.
The Hurricanes are also fourth in offensive rebound percentage (32.8%) and sixth in total rebounds per game (32.7).
Its leading scorer is power forward Malik Rineau as he is averaging 20 points per game (fifth in the ACC). He’s also averaging 6.5 rebounds per game.
Center Ernest Udeh is averaging 6.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He ranks second in the ACC in rebounding, with Duke’s Cameron Boozer the only player averaging more.
It would be a good idea if UNC can force Miami to score outside of the pain, especially considering the fact that the Hurricanes are shooting 30.8% from thre-point range, which is 16th in the ACC.
Continue to Effectively Make Threes
The Tar Heels have been a much better 3-point shooting team in ACC play, and it has shown in their last five games, all wins. North Carolina is shooting 36 percent from 3-point range over that stretch, and in three of its last four games the Tar Heels have hit at least 42 percent from beyond the arc.
Given that Miami’s struggles shooting the ball effectively beyond the arc and the fact that only 21.7% of Miami’s points come from three-point shots (last in the ACC), let it rain. However, the Tar Heels have to make them.
Make Free Throws
It may sound like a cliché, but it’s true.
In Carolina’s first five ACC games, the Tar Heels made just 65.1 percent of their free throws, second-to-last in the league. The result was a 2-3 start in conference play, including two losses by six points or fewer.
In their last five games, the Tar Heels have raised that number, shooting 73.5 percent from the line. Over the last three, they are at 77 percent on free throws. North Carolina is 5-0 in that span. The better the Tar Heels shoot at the line, the better their chances of winning.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Three keys to victory for UNC at Miami