CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina's shooting woes were a much-discussed topic after another victory Wednesday night.

The Tar Heels had an ideal way to combat the perimeter misfires because of forward Brice Johnson's work in the lane.

Johnson scored 27 points as No. 2 North Carolina held a double-digit lead for most of the game in an 83-68 victory against visiting Wake Forest at the Dean Smith Center.

"Just being aggressive and then getting on the offensive boards," Johnson said.

There were ample opportunities for that because North Carolina shot 26.5 percent from the field in the second half to end up at 38.4 percent for the game. That was barely better than its season-low percentage in the previous game.

"Shooting, sometimes the ball goes in and sometimes it doesn't," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "Wake struggled and so did we."

Johnson, who also grabbed 11 rebounds, made 8 of 12 shots from the field as the only North Carolina player in double figures. He ended up with his 10th double-double of the season while playing only 24 minutes.

The Tar Heels, the only Atlantic Coast Conference team without a league loss, have won 10 games in a row. The last two victories came despite lower-than-normal shooting numbers.

"We can grind out a game and that's what we've been doing," Johnson said.

Forward Kennedy Meeks, forward Isaiah Hicks and guard Joel Berry all had nine points for North Carolina (17-2, 6-0), which could be on the verge of returning to No. 1 in the next poll. Already this week, No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Kansas have lost.

North Carolina made 3 of 18 shots from 3-point range.

"Defensively, we created some turnovers early and that gave us some confidence," Williams said.

Guard Bryant Crawford scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half for Wake Forest (10-8, 1-5), which has a season-worst three-game losing streak. Forward Devin Thomas scored 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field.

The Demon Deacons, who committed 19 turnovers, suffered their third road loss after winning their first three true road games. But unlike setbacks at Louisville and Virginia Tech, this one got away from them early.

"When you go out and play against teams in our league, you've got to be locked in," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said. "This is the ACC. This is what we signed up for."

North Carolina had a 64-37 edge with 12:25 left after a technical foul called on Manning.

The Demon Deacons recovered to pull within 69-53 before going almost three minutes without scoring.

North Carolina standout guard Marcus Paige didn't score until less than 5 1/2 minutes remained. He finished with two points on 1-for-8 shooting.

The Tar Heels surged late in the first half with Paige on the bench with two fouls. The senior has shot 3-for-25 across a three-game stretch.

"I've never had a player I have as much confidence in as Marcus Paige," Williams said. "But the ball (is) not going in for him."

North Carolina led 46-30 at halftime behind Johnson's 15 points.

The Tar Heels jumped out to a 15-3 lead and later used a 12-0 run to grab a 42-23 advantage.

Wake Forest made 1 of 10 shots from the field to begin the game.

The Demon Deacons were 2 of 18 on 3-pointers after going 2 of 20 from long range in a blowout loss Saturday to Syracuse. They missed their first seven 3-point attempts Wednesday before Crawford connected twice from deep late in the first half.

"We're not making shots," said Manning, whose team was 0-for-8 on second-half 3s. "The guys we need to make shots, we're in a fog from the 3-point line. We're getting some good shots."

NOTES: This was the only regular-season meeting between the teams. ... The first game played at the Smith Center came 30 years and two days earlier. ... North Carolina C Joel James sat out the game with an Achilles tendon injury. ... The last time North Carolina had better than a 5-0 ACC record came with an 11-0 mark at the start of the 2000-01 conference schedule. ... Wake Forest last defeated a top-five team in the 2008-09 season, beating No. 3 North Carolina. ... Wake Forest has an ACC-leading 11 players who have scored in double figures at least once this season. ... Wake Forest, which began a stretch of three road outings in a four-game span, plays at Miami on Saturday. North Carolina visits Virginia Tech on Sunday night.