No. 18 North Carolina shows it still has life with win over No. 24 Louisville

Monday's victory is another quality win for North Carolina, which had already secured key ones over the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks (20-7, 10-4 in Big 12), Kentucky Wildcats (17-10, 8-6 in SEC), No. 11 Virginia Cavaliers (24-3, 12-2 in ACC) and No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (25-2, 13-1 in ACC). It was also a promising sign after the Tar Heels were humbled on the road less than a week ago by the NC State Wolfpack (19-8, 10-4 in ACC) in an 82-58 loss, their largest margin of defeat in the rivalry in 64 years. (h/t Stathead)

Louisville entered having won six of its last seven. And while lower in the AP ranking, it was 14 spots higher in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), placing at No. 13 while North Carolina sat at No. 27 entering Monday.

Senior guard Seth Trimble led the way for the Tar Heels, finishing with 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting. He consistently attacked the rim, making eight of his nine layups and also turning a steal into a breakaway slam dunk to cap a 17-2 run opening the second half. 

North Carolina will need Trimble, forward Henri Veesaar, who had 12 points against Louisville and is averaging 16.3 points per game this season, and others to continue to step up in Wilson's absence. The supporting cast showed it could do against Louisville, raising hopes for what the Tar Heels might still be able to accomplish this season.