Elite guard play wins in March, or so the adage goes.

But there’s a reason wisdom becomes old wisdom.

When you think about the great moments and performances in the history of March Madness, a common thread tends to be great guard play.

Sure, there’s a handful of other moments.

Luke May hit this shot.

That guy from the school down the street caught that three-quarter court pass and made a turnaround jump shot that doesn’t get talked about much on Franklin Street. Joakim Noah had 14 blocks in the Final Four. Carmelo Anthony willed Syracuse to a title.

But the biggest moments and the biggest performances tend to come from guards. That’s been the case at North Carolina, too, from His Airness making that jump shot to Caleb Love’s dagger 3 vs. Duke at the 2022 Final Four and plenty of March moments before and in between, it’s guard play that is the showstopper or, if it isn’t up to snuff, the flaw that stops the show.

If you want to see the forest through the trees, it goes beyond guard play, too, and speaks to something deeper. To win in March, you better have guards that can orchestrate and create.

Jordan and Wilkins going back and forth in 1983. Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier in a span of 4 years at UConn. Kansas State’s Marquis Nowell or Miami’s Isaiah Wong making every shot imaginable a season ago, if you need a more recent memory. What’s the common thread? Guards who could attack in isolation and score and create for teammates off the bounce.

The reasons for this make sense. Defenses play with max effort in March. Players take fewer possessions “off” than they might in the grind of league play. After 30-plus games, teams weaknesses are known everywhere, and on NCAA Tournament teams, the best coaches have the best scouts ready to counter what you do best.

What’s the solution to that? Players who can make a tough, guarded shot or win a battle in isolation. Players whose prowess off the bounce commands help that frees up teammates. More often that not, these teams win in March, and deliver the take your breath away moments that make March special.

Enter North Carolina, led by ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis, a magician off the bounce who can beat you on a crossover or step back or blow by you off the dribble and command help.

Davis led the Tar Heels with 18 points in Thursday’s rout of Florida State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, and, as evidenced in his 42-point Dean Smith Center outburst against Miami last month, it’s his consistent ability to create when other things breakdown that make him special. Davis, who passed Antwan Jamison to become Carolina’s 9th all-time leading scorer in the win, isn’t the only Tar Heel guard who can make special things happen off the dribble.

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Elliot Cadeau, the jitterbug freshman who conjures up Kendal Marshall vibes as the Tar Heels fearless floor general, was everywhere on Thursday. Dashing and fighting his way into the paint to kick to an open teammate for 1 of his 6 assists, finishing multiple tough looks at the tin, creating transition opportunities with 3 steals — you name it, Cadeau did it on Thursday. The Cadeau who showed up against FSU is the Cadeau who can guide the Tar Heels to the Final Four next month, and that’s exactly what UNC coach Hubert Davis told him as he came off the floor to a rousing ovation late in the second half, game well in hand.

“(Coach) just told me that’s my job, to play smart on both ends, not to force things, to let my teammates shine,” Cadeau told the media after the victory. “I had a turnover late where I forced a pass, for example, and need to clean that up. But (Coach) told me today was the way this team needs me to play.”

Cadeau’s backcourt mate Seth Trimble stepped up and made spectacular plays of his own, including this thunderous dunk that shook the Capital One Arena to its core in the second half.

https://twitter.com/UNC_Humor/status/1768334767584432331?s

Combined, North Carolina’s slippery, smooth-dribbling trio of Davis, Trimble and Cadeau combined for 38 points and 11 assists against just 4 turnovers. With 3 players slashing and diving to the tin all afternoon, Florida State’s help defense on All-ACC big man Armando Bacot crumbled, allowing the Carolina big man to operate without help in the second half and tally 14 points and 10 rebounds, his by now customary double-double.

Bigger tests await the Tar Heels, including a potential 3rd tilt with archrival Duke in the championship game Saturday, which could decide UNC’s fate as a number 1 or 2 seed come Selection Sunday.

But make no mistake, this isn’t just the RJ Davis and Armando Bacot show. North Carolina’s backcourt, with its swashbuckling, speedy guards — not to mention a savy sharp-shooter in Cormac Ryan — is built for March. That’s why an ACC regular season championship may be just the beginning of what this group of Tar Heels ends up winning.