The Tar Heels out rebounded the Hokies by 27 boards and put in 15 second-chance points to make the difference in the game.

Carolina also held Tech to less than 36 percent from the floor. Still UNC coach Roy Williams wasn’t satisfied as the game never really got into a fast-paced flow that he likes plus the Tar Heels turned the ball over 17 times.

He said it was an ugly win and as a result the Tar Heels, who were not scheduled to practice Monday, will practice at 9 p.m.

Carolina players did make some sloppy entry passes, let VT’s defense bother them and perhaps took ill-advised long shots considering the height advantage inside.

However, the game never really seemed in doubt. Carolina got out to a quick 7-0 lead and never trailed.

The Tar Heels led by as many as 15 points in the first half at 34-19 before settling for a 34-21 halftime lead.

The lead varied from 11 points to 17 points through much of the second half.

Carolina got it’s biggest lead at 54-36 with 6:41 left after a pair of free throws from Justin Jackson, who led the Tar Heels in scoring with 16 points.

Over a two-minute period late, Carolina turned the ball over three out of four possessions and Virginia Tech went on a 10-2 run to cut it to eight points at 61-53 with two minutes left.

But the Tar Heels scored the last seven points of the game to win by 15.

UNC’s J.P. Tokoto, who had 10 points and four assists, had a pair of steals that ended in highlight reel dunks. The Tar Heels as a team slammed down eight dunks.

Brice Johnson, who had two alley-oop dunks, finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Virginia Tech, led by Adam Smith’s 11 points off the bench, fall to 8-9 and 0-4 in the ACC.

The flow of the game was marred by a number of stoppages of play to clean up blood from VT’s Will Johnston, who had a bloody nose, a bloody mouth and a bloody elbow.

Against Notre Dame, North Carolina came from 11 down to take a lead and appeared to have that old comeback magic the Tar Heels have been known for since the Dean Smith days. But the Tar Heels gave up that lead and fell at home to the Irish.

Against 5th ranked Louisville Saturday the Tar Heels were down by 13 to the Cardinals with less than nine minutes to go. From that point on Carolina outscored Louisville 22-9.

Marcus Paige, who hadn’t played well most of the game, drove in for a tough, high-off-the-backboard layup with 8.5 seconds left to put the Heels up 72-71.

Louisville’s Wayne Blackshear missed an open 3 from in front of the Cardinals bench and Chris Jones, who shot lights out during the game, missed an off-balance follow shot at the buzzer.

“We can’t play any better than that,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said.

UNC’s Brice Johnson, who had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, said the win was a “confidence builder” coming off the failed comeback against Notre Dame Monday night. “It was an all-around team effort tonight,” Johnson said.

The Tar Heels trailed by as many as six points in the first half but came back to lead by five before settling for a 34-all tie at the half.

Carolina shot only 37 percent in the first half and continued that futility early in the second half as Louisville got out to a 49-40 lead after the first five minutes.

But despite trailing 63-50, the Tar Heels managed to shoot 52 percent in the second half.

Freshman Joel Berry drained a three and Paige, who had to go to the training room midway through the second half with an ankle injury, swished in a three to give the Tar Heels some hope.

A 10-2 run, which featured JP Tokoto prominently – he scored on a layup after getting a loose ball, passed to Johnson for a bucket and tipped in his own miss, cut the Louisville lead to one at 69-68.

The Tar Heels took a 70-69 lead on a Paige to Johnson bucket with 38 seconds left but Terry Rozier, who had a game-high 25 points, hit a pull-up 12-foot jumper with 25 seconds left to put Louisville back up by one.

That set up the dramatic, magical Carolina final seconds.

Paige, who hit the game winner, said he had missed some layups around the rim against Notre Dame and this was his opportunity to come through for the team.

“We needed this one,” Paige said. “We had an opportunity to get a quality win the last game (against Notre Dame) and let it slip through. To come through, fight back and get a win like this sets us up well for the future.”

Kennedy Meeks led four Tar Heels in double figures with 13 points while Johnson scored 11 and Paige and Tokoto added 10 each.

Louisville falls to 14-2 and 2-1 in the ACC while Carolina improves to 12-4 and 2-1 in the ACC.

North Carolina played about as well as it has played this season, leading by 18 over No. 12 Ohio State, but wound up hanging on for an 82-74 win in Chicago Saturday.

The Tar Heels controlled the tempo early and withstood six three-pointers by the Buckeyes to lead by 12 at the half, 43-31.

“We did some very good things,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “We were controlling the game.” Then, Williams said the Heels stunk it up at the end of the first half and at the end of the game.

Highlights in the first half from Carolina, which shot 51 percent in the half, included a spinning follow shot by JP Tokoto, who was fouled and sank the free throw to work the lead to double figures at 27-17.

Later, Marcus Paige swished a three with 51 seconds left in the half to give UNC its largest lead of the half at 43-27. But the Heels gave up two easy baskets in the last 35 seconds to cut the margin to 12 at the half.

Carolina extended the lead to 18 at 64-46 midway through the second half when the Heels went on a 13-5 run, highlighted by a battling Kennedy Meeks bucket resulting in an old-fashioned three-point play.

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