CHAPEL HILL
North Carolina’s 99-49 exhibition victory against Guilford on Friday night didn’t teach the Tar Heels much about handling stress or the difficult situations they’ll undoubtedly face on cold winter nights in warm ACC arenas. Nor was it expected to do any of those things.
The Tar Heels did learn, though, something about playing short-handed. By Wednesday morning they knew, at least, that they’d be playing on Friday night without Marcus Paige, the senior guard who broke a bone in his hand during practice on Tuesday.
But then came another surprise: Justin Jackson, the sophomore wing forward who will enter the regular season with All-ACC aspirations, “was not feeling well after practice on Thursday,” the school announced, and so he sat out on Friday night as a precaution.