CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Roy Williams sounded like a coach whose team had just been blown out.
“I think they were the actors and we were the reactors all night,” the North Carolina coach said after the No. 7 Tar Heels lost 79-74 at No. 3 Virginia on Saturday night, the Cavaliers’ 19th straight victory at home.
“Down the stretch, Virginia had a great purpose,” he said.
And still, the Tar Heels erased most of an 11-point second-half deficit and pulled within 77-74 with 14 seconds left, a point made moot when they fouled Devon Hall and he hit a pair of free throws to produce the final.