This time, U of L rallies after slow start

North Carolina did on Saturday what several other big-name opponents have done at the KFC Yum! Center this season.

The Tar Heels shot well, defended well and built up a big lead on the home-standing University of Louisville basketball team.

But unlike the losses to Duke and Kentucky earlier this season, U of L recovered, roaring back from an 18-point deficit and beating UNC in overtime. Louisville outscored UNC 53-25 over the final 22 minutes and 51 seconds of the game.

"Their will was stronger than our will," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "I never felt comfortable because of the way they can score, the way they defend. And even when we were ahead, I didn't like the way we were playing."

Just how drastic was the Louisville rally? Consider these numbers:

As UNC built a 43-25 lead, U of L shot 7 of 30 and gave up 11 UNC offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points. UNC only had six turnovers to that point.

Over the final 22 minutes and 51 seconds, U of L made 15 of its 35 shots and forced 13 UNC turnovers. UNC made just one of its last seven 3-pointers and didn't score another second-chance point.

"You know what? Every time I've been on here, we never think about losing," Blackshear said. "We always say we're going to come back."

Louisville big man Montrezl Harrell, who compiled 22 points and 15 rebounds, explained that he and his fellow post players had a halftime powwow to talk about UNC's rebounding.

The Tar Heels, they decided, were getting too many offensive rebounds and putback opportunities.

"(UNC) is known for offensive rebounds," Harrell said. "Us bigs, we don't want people to look at us as soft because we're not as big as everybody or not as long as everybody. That's not what we have in this locker room. Everybody in this locker room plays with heart. So I came in here and I huddled the bigs and I told them that, if we're going to lose this game, (UNC is) going to have to knock down shots."

As UNC sputtered, Louisville flourished. The fullcourt press amped up, the shots started falling, and U of L kept giving the ball to Harrell. Blackshear said Harrell faced up his defenders in the post to see if double teams were coming and then made his moves.

Then Rozier closed things out, scoring eight overtime points as Louisville outscored UNC 18-8 in the extra period.

There was a noticeable sense of relief in the U of L locker room after the game. They had been in this spot before, and the outcome wasn't so kind. Duke won by 11; UK won by eight. Both games led to lots and lots of questions about Louisville's offense.

Those questions started to surface again in those first 22-plus minutes on Saturday. Then Louisville stormed back and answered a lot of them.

They'll take Sunday off and head to Miami for Tuesday's game, thrilled they avoided another home letdown against a big-name opponent.

"We never lost focus," Rozier said. "We got the job done."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).