The UNC basketball program held a 15-point lead with 9:36 to go in the second half.
While it seemed like the Tar Heels would coast to victory, it was quite the opposite, as North Carolina went cold offensively allowing the Demon Deacons to crawl back into the game.
Fortunately, Wake Forest's comeback effort came up just short, as the Tar Heels secured win No. 500 at the Dean Smith Center.
Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar dominated the first half of action. Wilson had 17 points and 9 rebounds heading into the locker room while Veesaar contributed 11 points and 5 rebounds of his own. If it wasn't for Jaydon Young's clutch eight first-half points, it would've been a two-man show through the first 20 minutes of action.
While most teams run through their best player when he's dominating, Wilson was a bystander in the second half.
After making all seven of his attempts from the floor in the first half, the five-star freshman took just two shots in the second half. While he finished with yet another double-double, his lack of touches is extremely concerning, given how important he is for this team's ceiling moving forward.
The Tar Heels went on an offensive drought that went over eight minutes, as Wake Forest, led by Juke Harris and Nate Calamese (who combined for 56 points and 12 three-pointers made) did everything they could to keep their team in the game. North Carolina missed a handful of free throws down the stretch, leading to a Calmese last second heave to potentially tie the game and force overtime.
Luckily, the ball bounced in the Tar Heels favor.
Disappointing
There's nothing to like about how that second half played out. The Tar Heels came out with a fire under their behinds, showing energy and enthusiasm throughout the early portion of the game. As time went on, that energy drained, and Wake Forest built all the momentum even though they didn't lead at all throughout the night.
North Carolina took its foot off the gas and almost paid the price.
What's next?
The UNC basketball program heads to the West Coast for a two-game road trip that begins on Wednesday night at Stanford. Tip-off for that game is a late one, a 9:00 PM EST start, as North Carolina hopes to figure things out and put a full 40 minute effort together.