CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The scouting report on slowing North Carolina's offense just got a little bit tougher.

The past few seasons it's been quite simple: Challenge the Tar Heels to win by shooting 3-pointers.

Carolina has shot above 35 percent from behind the arc only once in the past seven seasons. Despite reaching the national championship game, the Tar Heels shot just 32.7 percent from deep last season, which ranked 259th in Division I and was the worst in program history.

Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams stuck with that same game plan Thursday: "Do you want to give them one pass or zero dunks in transition? Do you want to get in rotation and they just pulverize you on the offensive glass? Or do you want to at least be in front and hopefully affect the shot on a contest and have inside position? As far as the numbers that we pay attention to, relative to the complexion of our roster, we thought that was best."

It used to be. After watching Carolina drill a season-high 14 3-pointers in its 91-72 win over the Hokies, it's time to rewrite the game plan. It was the most 3-pointers the Heels have made since having 15 against Mississippi State in the 2012 Maui Invitational.

Justin Jackson contributed five of the Tar Heels' 14 3-pointers. Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports

"They came out in a zone and wanted to double-team our big men, and they just gave us open opportunities from the 3-point line," said Joel Berry II, who scored all 15 of his points from 3. "I know Justin [Jackson] hit one long 3, but other than that, I thought we had a couple of wide-open jump shots. ... If we can shoot like that, it makes our offense that much better."

Six different players made 3s, including five apiece from Berry and Jackson. The Heels haven't had that many players make a 3-pointer all season. That included one from Theo Pinson, who left the game in the first half after rolling his right ankle. Pinson, who missed the first 16 games due to a broken bone in his right foot, was held out of the second half as a precaution, and North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he would be evaluated Friday.

Ordinarily, Williams would have objected somewhere along the line of launching a season-high 30 3-pointers.

Williams said that early in the game he thought post players Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks were too stagnant in fighting for position inside, which led to a few 3-point attempts. But the Heels were taking them within the offensive flow.

"Guys understand who the shooters are," Williams said. "Kennedy so far hasn't taken a 3, Isaiah hasn't taken a 3. Justin and Joel, they made five and five and they're our two highest percentage shooters."

The Heels rank third in ACC play in 3-point shooting at 38.7 percent. The last season they shot that high ended in them being crowned the 2009 national champions.

"I know a lot of guys on this team are confident, so whenever they get into that position to make a 3, they feel like they're going to make it every time," said Jackson, who finished with a game-high 26 points. "I think overall we're a lot more confident -- I don't know the stats, I don't know anything like that -- but I think with that confidence translates into more makes."

It's not just confidence in the shots alone. Those shots are buoyed by the Heels knowing they lead the nation in offensive-rebounding percentage.

In the first half against the Hokies, Carolina shot just 17-of-42 from the field -- but rebounded 16 of its 25 misses.

"Whenever you shoot a 3, it gives you more confidence knowing we're great on the offensive boards," Jackson said. "When we can shoot the ball like we did tonight, it just adds another aspect to our game."

It makes preparing for the Tar Heels even harder. Do opponents now aim to limit their offensive boards or limit their 3-point shooting?

"It is a poison," Buzz Williams said. "And it's a poison no matter which way you look, and I think that's why they are in the position they're in."