CHAPEL HILL, N.C. _ Roy Williams finally did it.
After a long wait, Williams' North Carolina Tar Heels beat Miami, 94-71, on Saturday at the Dean Smith Center, sending Williams past his mentor, Dean Smith, on college basketball's all-time wins list.
Williams now has 880 wins, fourth-best all time. He can next pass former Indiana, Texas Tech and Army coach Bobby Knight, who is No. 3 with 902 wins.
As Williams jogged back to the locker room after the game, he waved to fans who cheered his name. He didn't jump for joy. He didn't pump his fist. He didn't smile.
He looked relieved.
"I would have been just as happy if it happened four or five games ago," Williams said.
Williams said he wasn't even sure he was close to Smith's record until Jones Angell, the team's play-by-play radio announcer, told him this summer.
"I desperately wanted (win) No. 9 for this team," he said. "And I'm being very honest."
"I really haven't tried to evaluate where I am or anything like that, because that usually means you're ready to quit, and I hope I'm not ready to quit."
Williams has a career record of 880-244, including 462-143 at UNC. Smith was 879-254 in 36 seasons with the Tar Heels.
For Williams, finally passing Smith proved to be a more difficult task than originally imagined. Williams tied Smith at 879 with a win over Yale on Dec. 30. But since then, the Tar Heels (9-10, 2-6 ACC) lost five consecutive games, having gone 24 days in between victories.
They also lost six consecutive ACC games, including one on Dec. 8 against Virginia. Their last conference win was against Notre Dame on Nov. 6 _ the season opener.
The losses were a mix of blowouts and close defeats.
It included a home loss to Clemson in overtime, snapping a 59-game home winning streak against the Tigers, and a 96-83 loss to Georgia Tech at home.
But something seemed to change after UNC's double overtime road loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. The mood in the locker room after the game was that of optimism. The Tar Heels felt they had given it their all. They led the Hokies for most of that game but just ran out of gas.
But they knew they were close.
"I'm at the point where I'm just kind of tired of moral victories," UNC guard Leaky Black said on Friday.
Which led us to Saturday's game against Miami. Miami (10-9, 2-7), like UNC was down a few key players. Junior point guard Chris Lykes, who averages 15.7 points per game, was out with a groin injury.
And the Tar Heels took advantage.
They jumped out to an early 24-7 lead after 12 minutes and never really looked back. At halftime, they led by 22 points. And with 13:34 left, they led 67-36.
Senior guard Brandon Robinson, who missed UNC's game against Virginia Tech with soreness in his neck, was back and better than ever. He scored a career-high 29 points, and was 11 of 16 from the floor. He was also 6 of 10 from behind the 3-point line.
"I'm going to be really honest with you. We didn't even think about him passing Coach Smith, because we were just trying to get this next win," Robinson said.
Freshman forward Armando Bacot had 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. And junior forward Garrison Brooks had 14 points.
The Tar Heels dominated in nearly ever statistical category. They won on the boards. They took care of the basketball and shot it efficiently.
The Tar Heels' win will bode well for their confidence moving forward. Their schedule will get tougher soon. Their next four games include N.C. State on Monday, Boston College, No. 5 Florida State and No. 8 Duke.
The Tar Heels were efficient. They shot 58% from the floor for the game and 43% from behind the 3-point line.
It was the first time all season that the Tar Heels had shot 50% or better for the game.
There were few mistakes made in this game. The Tar Heels played well from start to finish. They allowed some open 3-pointers in the final few minutes. But by that time, the game was out of reach.
Freshman guard Jeremiah Francis was dealing with soreness in his left knee and did not play on Saturday. Francis has had two surgeries on the knee prior to college. It was his second game missed in four games.
Francis, a 6-foot, 210-pound point guard, is averaging 5.1 points per game and 2.6 assists.
