North Carolina broke a five-game losing streak and gave Roy Williams his 880th coaching victory as the Tar Heels routed Miami at home 94-71 in a game that wasn't even that close. (1/25)

It took the return of Brandon Robinson and some unselfish team play to pick up the long-awaited win. Robinson, back after missing two games due to a sore neck as the result of a car accident, poured in 29 points on six three-pointers to lead the way.

Coach Williams and the staff didn't make the decision to play Robinson, who had been limited in practice, until Saturday morning. His neck was massaged at every timeout and at halftime.

Like a prize fighter, Robinson came out on fire. He scored 15 in the first half as the Heels raced out to a 24-point lead, up 51-27 at the half. He scored the first five six points of the second half to leave little doubt about the game's outcome.

"We need his shooting ability. We need his leadership," Coach Williams said. "He's our best shooter so it hurts to not have him in there."

Carolina, now 9-10 and 2-6 in the conference, could have used a few Robinson baskets during the last two losses. It would have only taken one basket to have won the last time out as the Heels lost in overtime to Virginia Tech.

Robinson's presence makes a big difference said Armando Bacot, who had his best game as a Tar Heel with 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. "His shooting gives him the ability to stretch the defense and that helps the bigs inside," Bacot said. But he added that his leadership is even more important. "When he's in there it's like having a coach out there on the court."

Like many players on Carolina's team, Robinson has missed several games this season with injuries including the first four and the previous two. So, UNC's team probably didn't feel a lot of sympathy for Miami, who was playing without two of its top players including leading scorer and ball handler Chris Lykes.

The Tar Heels, during this losing streak, has simply been working on getting better. "All week at practice, we were locked in - working on moving without the ball," Bacot said.

That motion and ball movement led to a slew of assists. In fact, Carolina had 32 assists on 40 made field goals - that's tied for the most assists in a game during the Roy Williams era. The Tar Heels shot a season-high 58 percent from the floor.

"We shared the ball better today," Coach Williams said. "When you do that you usually get better shots."

He said the Tar Heels played with a lot of confidence as opposed to some other games when they've been timid.

"Seeing everybody eat is fun," Bacot said. "The players were into it. The fans were into it. The coaches were into it.

"We're getting some guys coming back so we're going to try to go on a little win streak."

The Tar Heels trek over to Raleigh Monday for a big matchup with N.C. State on Monday.

Box Score

UNC's Brandon Robinson returned to the lineup and pouring in 29 points. (UNC Athletic Communications)