By R.L. Bynum

After Carolina made 47.1% of its 3-point attempts in the last two victories, there was a misconception among some fans that the Tar Heels have to shoot that well to keep winning.

The reality is that average shooting from outside the arc has created enough spacing to help UNC win all season.

Carolina has won all 10 games this season when it has shot at least 34%. If UNC was shooting at that percentage all season, that would only be good enough for seventh in the ACC. That’s certainly better than the Tar Heels’ 31.2% for the season, which is last in the ACC, but it’s not overwhelmingly good.

UNC is 1–4 when it makes less than 20% of its 3-point shots.

Whatever the percentage, the Tar Heels are better off if they can make enough so that defenses respect their perimeter game and don’t sag back on center Armando Bacot as much. Carolina is 11–1 in games when it scores at least eight 3-pointers and 1–4 when it doesn’t. The Tar Heels scored 10 3-pointers in the 71–63 Saturday win over Virginia and 14 in Monday’s 77–66 victory at Florida State.

The difference during the last two games of Carolina’s three-game winning streak has been the shooting of Leaky Black and Pete Nance.

Black (a 29.8% 3-point shooter for his career) is making 33.8% of his 3-point attempts on the season. He’s shooting 66.7% (4 of 6) in the last two games and 47.5% (10 of 21) in the last eight games.

Nance (who has made 34.9% of his 3-point attempts in his career) is shooting 32.6% from outside the arc this season. In the last two games, though, he has shot 70% (7 of 10).

Caleb Love has shot at least 42% from 3 in two of the last four games (50% at N.C. State and 42.9% at Florida State). RJ Davis, finally playing without tape on a finger on his shooting hand, has shot 45.5% (5 of 11) from 3-point range in the last two games.

It also helps to have plenty of players who are perimeter threats. Against Florida State four players — Black, Nance, Davis and Love — scored three 3-pointers for the first time in program history.

Carolina must also be careful not to depend too heavily on perimeter shooting and consistently give Bacot touches inside. Against the Seminoles, UNC had more 3-point field goals (15) than two-point field goals (11) for the first time in five seasons.

The bottom line: Average perimeter shooting could help the Tar Heels make a run in March.

ACC standings

Team	League	Overall
No. 4 North Carolina	17–3	25–6
No. 11 Duke	15–5	24–7
Virginia	13–7	22–9
Pittsburgh	12–8	21–10
Clemson	11–9	21–10
Syracuse	11–9	20–11
Wake Forest	11–9	19–12
Virginia Tech	10–10	18–13
Florida State	10–10	16–15
N.C. State	9–11	17–13
Boston College	8–12	17–14
Georgia Tech	7–12	14–17
Notre Dame	7–13	12–19
Miami	6–14	15–16
Louisville	3–17	8–22

Saturday’s games
No. 4 North Carolina 84, No. 11 Duke 79
Virginia Tech 82, Notre Dame 76
Florida State 83, Miami 75
Boston College 67, Louisville 61
Wake Forest 81, Clemson 76
Pittsburgh 81, N.C. State 73
Virginia 72, Georgia Tech 57
ACC tournament
March 12–16, Capitol One Arena, Washington

Date	Month/day	Time/score	Opponent/event (current ranking)	Location	Record
	October
28	Friday	W, 101–40	Johnson C. Smith	Home	Exhibition
	November
7	Monday	W, 69–56	UNCW	Home	1–0
11	Friday	W, 102–86	College of Charleston	Home	2–0
15	Tuesday	W, 72–66	Gardner-Webb	Home	3–0
20	Sunday	W, 80–64	James Madison	Home	4–0
			Phil Knight Invitational
24	Thursday	W, 89–81	First round: Portland	Portland	5–0
25	Friday	L, 70–65	Semifinals: Iowa State	Portland	5–1
27	Sunday	L, 103–101, 4 OTs	Consolation: No. 1 Alabama	Portland	5–2
			ACC/Big Ten Challenge
30	Wednesday	L, 77–65	No. 21 Indiana	Bloomington, Ind.	5–3
	December
4	Sunday	L, 80–72	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Va.	5–4, 0–1 ACC
10	Saturday	W, 75–59	Georgia Tech	Home	6–4, 1–1 ACC
13	Tuesday	W, 100–67	The Citadel	Home	7–4
			*CBS Sports Classic*
17	Saturday	W, 89–84, OT	Ohio State	New York	8–4
			*Jumpman Invitational*
21	Wednesday	W, 80–76	Michigan	Charlotte	9–4
30	Friday	L, 76–74	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	9–5, 1–2 ACC
	January
4	Wednesday	W, 88–79	Wake Forest	Home	10–5, 2–2 ACC
7	Saturday	W, 81–64	Notre Dame	Home	11–5, 3–2 ACC
10	Tuesday	L, 65–58	No. 14 Virginia	Charlottesville	11–6, 3–3 ACC
14	Saturday	W, 80–59	Louisville	Louisville, Ky.	12–6, 4–3 ACC
17	Tuesday	W, 72–64	Boston College	Home	13–6, 5–3 ACC
21	Saturday	W, 80–69	N.C. State	Home	14–6, 6–3 ACC
24	Tuesday	W, 72–68	Syracuse	Syracuse, N.Y.	15–6, 7–3 ACC
	February
1	Wednesday	L, 65–64	Pittsburgh	Home	15–7, 7–4 ACC
4	Saturday	L, 63–57	No. 12 Duke	Durham	15–8, 7–5 ACC
7	Tuesday	L, 92–85	Wake Forest	Winston-Salem	15–9, 7–6 ACC
11	Saturday	W, 91–71	Clemson	Home	16–9, 8–6 ACC
13	Monday	L, 80–72	No. 16 Miami	Home	16–10, 8–7 ACC
19	Sunday	L, 77–69	N.C. State	Raleigh	16–11, 8–8 ACC
22	Wednesday	W, 63–59	Notre Dame	South Bend, Ind.	17–11, 9–8 ACC
25	Saturday	W, 71–63	No. 14 Virginia	Home	18–11, 10–8 ACC
27	Monday	W, 77–66	Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	19–11, 11–8 ACC
	March
4	Saturday	L, 62–57	No. 12 Duke	Home	19–12, 11–9 ACC
			*ACC tournament*
8	Wednesday	W, 85–61	Boston College	Greensboro	20–12
9	Thursday	L, 68–59	No. 14 Virginia	Greensboro	20–13