Despite the wins in the two previous games, Tuesday’s trip to Pittsburgh was a tricky one for North Carolina. The Panthers are a potential NCAA Tournament team and were undefeated at home. Their lowest margin of victory in the Petersen Events Center was six over Duke, and just over a week ago they beat Syracuse by 20 at home. The Panthers aren’t world beaters, but if UNC looked past them, it had the potential to be a really annoying game.
As it played out, the Tar Heels won pretty handily. The first half was back and forth, and there was a brief run by Pitt in the second, but for the most part Carolina kept the Panthers at arm’s length.