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Off the cuff: Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said the game with the Tar Heels was as hard fought a game as he's ever been involved in as a coach. Carolina coach Roy Williams didn't say that but he showed it by yanking off his coat in the second half and often yelling and stomping out slightly onto the court.

"I looked like an idiot on TV I guess," he said. But he wants his team to play with more emotion and urgency. He has said that his team is sometimes too cool. The coolest of the cool is Harrison Barnes but it's just his nature and as long as he can put down 20, a third of Carolina's points, he can stay cool.

Two of the biggest differences in this game and the loss to UNLV were the superior free throw shooting by the Heels and the ability to deny open three pointers. Carolina shot just 60 percent from the free throw line against UNLV but shot 80 percent against the Badgers. UNLV hit 13 threes (40 percent) while Wisconsin hit eight threes (28.6 percent).

Tar Heels 60, Wisconsin 57
Tar Heels, Barnes rebound for victory

North Carolina, coming off a disappointing loss in Las Vegas to UNLV, outrebounded Wisconsin by 13 boards and Harrison Barnes came back from an ankle injury to score 20 as the Tar Heels beat Wisconsin 60-57 in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. (11/30)

Carolina, playing at home, trailed 38-34 midway through the second half before going on an 20-6 run to take a 54-44 lead with a minute to go.

A couple of bonehead plays by UNC's Dexter Strickland - a foul with no time off the clock and an unnecessary unforced turnover on a pass inside when the Heels should have been eating clock - along with three late triples by the Badgers made the final tally close.

Strickland did play good defense throughout however as he helped hold Wisconsin star Jordan Taylor to only six of 20 from the field.

Also, the Heels, coming off a poor game from the foul line, were able to get and keep the lead by hitting 19 of 24 free throws. Wisconsin only took six free throws on the night, hitting three of them.

The Tar Heels took a 40-38 lead on two free throws by Reggie Bullock and they never trailed again. During that 20-6 run, the Heels went 10 for 10 from the free throw line. Barnes and Bullock also knocked down threes during the stretch.

During the first half, Carolina worked the lead up to nine at 19-10 but Wisconsin came back to trail by just one at the break at 25-24 as their half-court offense ruled the tempo.

Despite falling behind for a few minutes at the start of the second half, the Tar Heels played defense with more urgency in the second half. Wisconsin threw up a bunch of three pointers (28) but only hit eight of them including a three for 15 effort in the first half.

Barnes and Tyler Zeller (12) were the only Tar Heels who scored in double figures but John Henson racked up 17 rebounds, one short of a personal best.

North Carolina, now 6-1, plays at Kentucky Saturday.

Boxscore

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