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CHAPEL HILL (AP) — Virginia had accomplished the easy part by running out to a surprising start in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now the Cavaliers are aiming to stick around the top of the league longer than anyone expects.

Sylven Landesberg scored 29 points and Virginia ran off 18 unanswered points early in the second half to beat struggling North Carolina 75-60 on Sunday night, helping the Cavaliers end a two-game skid that threatened to drain the buzz from their 3-0 ACC start.

Sammy Zeglinski added 19 points for the Cavaliers (13-6, 4-2), who had lost 63 of 68 meetings here coming in. But this year's group blew the game open by holding the Tar Heels without a field goal for nearly 8 minutes in front of a stunned Smith Center crowd, earning the program's biggest margin of victory ever in Chapel Hill.

So much for the idea that the Cavaliers — picked to finish 11th in the ACC — were sliding back to reality after a lopsided loss at Wake Forest followed by an overtime home loss to Virginia Tech in which they blew a 10-point lead late in regulation.

"I said, 'A lot of teams would probably hang their head, maybe go into a situation like this and not fight,'" first-year coach Tony Bennett said he told his team. "But I said, 'I want you to be different.' ... Our guys were really ready to play, and I was happy to see it."

While Landesberg led the offense, Zeglinski knocked down a pair of 3-pointers during the decisive run, which turned a 35-32 margin into a 21-point lead with 14:20 to play. Virginia never let North Carolina (13-8, 2-4) back in it, maintaining a comfortable lead and shooting 52 percent for the game.

Meanwhile, the defense did what Bennett asked: It made the defending national champions work for every look. North Carolina shot 36 percent and scored just three points in the first 8½ minutes of the second half as the Cavaliers steadily pulled away.

"Beating a team like North Carolina is great," Landesberg said. "Being able to do it on the road, at their home, feels so much better. Getting a win like this should prove to all of us we can pretty much win anywhere and we should always be confident in our games."

Not so for the Tar Heels, who added another head-scratching loss to an ever-growing list of them.

Will Graves and Larry Drew II each scored 15 points to lead the Tar Heels, who snapped their first three-game losing streak under Roy Williams with Tuesday's win at rival North Carolina State. It was a victory North Carolina fans hoped was just the beginning for a team that had fallen from co-ACC favorite and sixth in the preseason to being unranked and near the bottom of the league.

And yet, the Tar Heels played with punchless intensity. They never led and got no closer than 14 after Virginia's big run.

"I'm pretty sure Coach will be up all night trying to figure out what is next," said senior Deon Thompson, who had seven points. "I'll be up all night trying to figure out what is next. I've got four more home games after this. I really don't know what's next."

Landesberg finished 11-for-18 from the field, while Zeglinski's fifth 3 was a shot-clock beater with about a minute left that punctuated the victory.

"I just want to keep my confidence up," Zeglinski said. "I'm going to shoot it and my team needs me to make shots. I just want to step up and get it done."

Mike Scott started the decisive run with a stickback of a miss from Landesberg, the first of six straight scoring possessions for the Cavaliers. Zeglinski added a 3 to beat the shot clock, then got free in the left corner to bury another one a few possessions later. Jerome Meyinsse ended the run by dunking over Drew for a three-point play that made it 53-32.

The game was played in a building that was about two-thirds full following a weekend in which about 5 inches of snow left a slushy mix on area roads to cut into attendance. That prompted arena officials during the first timeout to invite fans in the upper section to come downstairs and fill the open seats that dotted the lower level.

The Tar Heels never gave those lucky fans much to cheer for on this night.

"I'm about as frustrated and disappointed as I've ever been in my entire life," Williams said. "I've been very fortunate to have some great moments, but this is definitely not one of them."

VIRGINIA (13-6) — Scott 4-8 2-2 11, Meyinsse 3-4 1-1 7, Landesberg 11-18 7-8 29, Zeglinski 5-9 4-4 19, Evans 2-4 0-0 4, Farrakhan 0-3 0-0 0, Sherrill 1-2 0-0 2, Baker 1-2 0-0 3, Sene 0-1 0-1 0, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Tat 0-0 0-2 0, Spurlock 0-0 0-0 0, Jonke 0-0 0-0 0, Kody 0-0 0-0 0, Browman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-52 14-18 75.

NORTH CAROLINA (13-8) — Thompson 2-7 3-6 7, Davis 1-3 2-6 4, Graves 5-15 1-2 15, Ginyard 0-3 2-4 2, Drew II 5-13 1-2 15, T.Wear 2-5 0-0 4, Henson 1-3 0-0 2, Strickland 1-2 2-2 4, McDonald 1-2 0-0 3, D.Wear 0-0 0-0 0, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Petree 2-3 0-0 4, Watts 0-0 0-0 0, Thornton 0-0 0-0 0, Gallagher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 11-22 60.

Halftime—Virginia 35-30.
3-point goals—Virginia 7-17 (Zeglinski 5-8, Baker 1-1, Scott 1-1, Evans 0-1, Sherrill 0-1, Landesberg 0-1, Jones 0-1, Farrakhan 0-3), North Carolina 9-22 (Drew II 4-8, Graves 4-9, McDonald 1-1, T.Wear 0-1, Strickland 0-1, Ginyard 0-2).
Fouled out—None.
Rebounds—Virginia 30 (Landesberg, Meyinsse, Scott 5), North Carolina 35 (Davis 7).
Assists—Virginia 18 (Evans 6), North Carolina 11 (Drew II, Ginyard 3).
Total fouls—Virginia 16, North Carolina 16.
A—14,437.