Louisville vs. UNC: Score and Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

The No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels are in full control of the ACC following Wednesday's 74-63 victory over the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals at the Dean E. Smith Center.

North Carolina is now 24-5 overall and 12-3 in the conference, while Louisville dropped to 22-6 overall and 10-5 in the ACC. The Cardinals—along with Duke, Florida State and Notre Dame—are two games behind North Carolina in the conference.

The Tar Heels can largely thank Justin Jackson's performance for their ACC cushion. He made a case for ACC Player of the Year in North Carolina's only 2016-17 matchup with Louisville and spearheaded a four-man offensive attack with 21 points:

Player	Points	Rebounds	Field Goals	Three-Pointers
Justin Jackson	21	5	7-of-16	4-of-9
Kennedy Meeks	14	10	4-of-7	0-of-0
Joel Berry II	15	4	5-of-13	1-of-5
Theo Pinson	13	6	4-of-10	2-of-4

North Carolina also controlled the boards to the tune of 46-33, which was no surprise considering it entered play Wednesday first in the nation in rebounds per game (44).

It is difficult enough to counter that rebounding and beat North Carolina on the road under normal circumstances, but Louisville couldn't find the basket for long stretches of Wednesday's contest. It shot an abysmal 25 percent from deep and 30.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Donovan Mitchell was the only Cardinal to score in double figures and finished with 21 points.

Head coach Rick Pitino couldn't have been pleased with his team's play, and he directed some of his frustration toward a North Carolina fan at halftime, as Jonathan Jones of Sports Illustrated captured:

It was North Carolina's defense that proved critical, but the game was billed as a battle of Louisville's stout defense against the Tar Heels' electrifying offense. North Carolina was fourth in Ken Pomeroy's pace-adjusted offensive efficiency rankings entering play, while Louisville was fifth in the defensive rankings.

It appeared as if the Cardinals defense would set the tone when North Carolina started 3-of-18 from the field with five turnovers. While the home team shot just 34.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, it used four three-pointers to build a 33-30 halftime lead.

Louisville couldn't answer from deep and missed all six of its threes in the first half but was still within striking distance because it outscored North Carolina, 26-12, in the paint.

None of those points were more spectacular than Deng Adel's dunk, as ESPN College BBall shared:

"

Look out below!  pic.twitter.com/lweuBVctUX

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 23, 2017"

Isaiah Hicks didn't help the Tar Heels' issues down low when he picked up his third foul within the first 30 seconds out of the locker room. Hicks' foul was one of the few whistles that truly worked against the Tar Heels early in the second half as the two sides exchanged mini-spurts.

North Carolina shot 11-of-16 from the line heading into the under-12-minute timeout, while Louisville missed all four of its attempts. The disparity helped the Tar Heels extend their advantage to 51-43, and Howie Lindsey of 790 KRD in Louisville commented on the troubling trend for the visitors:

The free throws were far from Louisville's only concern, as its offense grew stagnant and settled for contested outside jumpers instead of attacking the lane with Hicks on the bench. North Carolina countered with a stronger post presence and pushed the lead to double digits.

Nick Coffey of 790 KRD noted it was just a matter of time before the Tar Heels returned to form:

The Cardinals finally hit a free throw, but Jackson's deep three with less than five minutes left gave North Carolina a commanding 15-point lead.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN was impressed:

The Tar Heels let up after extending their lead to 67-51, and Quentin Snider's three made it an eight-point game in the final minute-and-a-half. Still, Louisville never truly made North Carolina sweat down the stretch, as the Tar Heels earned one of the most important ACC wins of the season.

Postgame Reaction

Pitino praised Jackson following the game, per Andrew Carter of the News & Observer: "Justin Jackson to me should be one of the key guys for the Wooden Award."

Pitino also addressed the incident with the fan at halftime, per Carter: "He got in my face and said something I didn't like...and then to turn his back on me, like a coward."

Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams discussed the incident as well, per Eric Crawford of WDRB in Louisville: "I mean we're North Carolina, we don't have to be like everyone else. You can raise cain and boo, but you don't have to stay stuff."

What's Next?

Louisville returns home Sunday to face a Syracuse team that just beat Duke at the buzzer Wednesday and is looking to bolster its resume with marquee victories.

North Carolina hits the road Saturday to face Pittsburgh. The Tar Heels narrowly beat the Panthers at home on Jan. 31, 80-78.