Roy Williams wiped the Smith Center floor with a towel on Wednesday night in a moment of frustration, and then North Carolina did the same with Texas.
UNC's 82-63 victory ended a four-game losing streak in the series. Playing tough defense, attacking the basket behind Harrison Barnes and rebounding with determination, UNC led and led big for the last 37:40.
Barnes emerged from a two-game slump to score 26 points and spark fifth-ranked UNC to a 39-21 lead in the first half. UNC settled for a 16-point lead at the break, and Texas never got closer than 14 points after halftime.
Williams, the UNC coach, saw plenty of room for improvement in all areas, but was pleased with his team's intensity and passion after a performance against Nicholls State that he considered lacking. With 2:32 left, Reggie Bullock hit a 3-point shot and the lead was 80-56.
Tyler Zeller, a senior center, experienced two of the losses in the series and enjoyed gaining some revenge with UNC handing Texas its most lopsided loss in 12 games this season.
"My sophomore year, they kicked our butts," Zeller said. "And that's kind of always been in my mind. We really wanted to beat them. We had a great focus and a great attention to detail."
UNC improved to 11-2 and built its winning streak at home to 24 games. Williams coached his 300th game at UNC and built his record to 236-64.
Texas fell to 9-3. Texas could never find an offensive rhythm against UNC's pressure and shot 34.8 percent from the field. Behind Barnes and Zeller, who combined for 21 rebounds, UNC forged a 49-34 advantage on the boards.
Barnes' points were his season high. He scored only nine points in each of the last two games. He created shots on the perimeter and the wings, and grabbed 10 rebounds to help generate follow shots and draw fouls.
"I wanted to be relaxed and play my game," Barnes said. "It was a little frustrating. I felt I was missing point-blank layups and missing some free throws. It's frustrating, but it never hurt my confidence."
Williams took no chances. He told Barnes in front of the team in the locker room before the game that he thought Barnes would play great.
"I thought he was much more active tonight," Williams said. "We need him to be a better rebounder. If he's attacking the basket, I like that. But I also like him shooting 3-point shots as well."
Zeller added 11 rebounds. John Henson scored 14 points and Bullock added 12. Kendall Marshall had nine assists.
Jonathan Holmes, J'Covan Brown and Sheldon McClellan all scored 16 points for Texas.
UNC built its lead behind missed Texas shots and three rim-rattling dunks in the first half. Dexter Strickland had the first dunk when he soared through the lane on a break and leaped past a Texas defender 70 seconds into play.
P.J. Hairston had the next dunk, also on a break when he soared at the basket and dunked over Julien Lewis. Henson got the last, maneuvering in the lane to slam in Zeller's missed shot.
A turnover led to UNC's next possession. Marshall saw Henson down the floor and threw him a pass from the backcourt. Henson saw Bullock running down the left side of the floor and used his left hand to bat the ball to Bullock, who stuck in a layup for a 30-16 lead.
"We feed off that type of stuff, the energy," Henson said. "It kept our energy level high."
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