CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina's depth and versatile lineup produced again, this time taking down an area rival.

Forward Kennedy Meeks, who was in the starting lineup for the first time since returning from an injury a week ago, scored 23 points as the No. 5 Tar Heels pulled away to defeat stubborn North Carolina State 67-55 on Saturday at the Dean Smith Center.

Meeks shot 10 of 16 from the field, but it took time for the Tar Heels to collect their ninth victory in a row.

"We have to prepare a lot of guys to play across a long season," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "Depth is extremely important to me over the course of a season. I think it's a more versatile team that we've had the last few years."

The Tar Heels showed the ability to adapt in what was a low-scoring game by their standards. It matched North Carolina's lowest point total of the season.

Guard Joel Berry poured in 14 points and forward Isaiah Hicks added 10 points for North Carolina (16-2, 5-0 ACC), which continues its best conference start under Williams.

"Not the prettiest game I've ever coached," Williams said.

A 9-2 run before the midway mark of the second half pushed the Tar Heels to a 47-38 lead.

Forward Justin Jackson's first basket in seven attempts from the field gave the Tar Heels a 51-41 edge.

Meeks had been nursing a knee injury and sat out for nearly a month, but his presence gives the Tar Heels another major frontcourt threat.

"We have to attack inside," Williams said.

Forward Abdul-Malik Abu's 12 points, forward Cody Martin's 10 points and guard Maverick Rowan's 10 points led N.C. State (10-8, 0-5), which is off to its worst conference start since going 0-8 in 1996-97.

"Regardless of the record and those types of things, what you're thinking about next is the next game whether you're on a winning streak of if you've lost a bunch in a row," N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said.

The Tar Heels paid particular attention to guard Anthony Barber, who entered the game as the ACC scoring leader at 22.5 points per game. He had all nine of his points in the first half.

Berry and guard Nate Britt drew a large dose of the defensive assignments on Barber.

"There's no question, it has to be the emphasis of our defense," Williams said of defending Barber.

There were too many offensive droughts for the Wolfpack.

"You've got to grow up at some point," Gottfried said. "You've got to get there. You've got to get over the hump."

The Tar Heels didn't receive much from their top offensive threat with guard Marcus Paige going 1-for-8 from the field and ending with three points. He's a combined 2-for-17 in the last two games.

Berry made up for that with a few clutch shots during the game's key juncture.

N.C. State scored the first four points of the second half while North Carolina forward Brice Johnson picked up his third foul.

It was tied 29-29 at halftime, though the Wolfpack played from in front for much of the opening half.

N.C. State made was 7 of 14 from the field for a 15-11 lead.

The Wolfpack was up for an eight-minute stretch of the first half before the Tar Heels caught up.

North Carolina failed on chances to build an edge in part because of 5-for-1 first-half free-throw shooting.

NOTES: North Carolina leads the series 152-77. ... N.C. State is leading the ACC with 15.8 offensive rebounds per game. The Wolfpack grabbed 17 at that end Saturday. ... The last time North Carolina had better than a 5-0 start in ACC play came under coach Matt Doherty in 2000-01 when the Tar Heels won their first 11 conference games. ... N.C. State's first four ACC losses came by a combined 20 points. ... Last year, N.C. State came to the Smith Center and posted a 58-46 upset, marking the fewest points ever scored by the Tar Heels in the building. ... North Carolina played four games in eight days in a stretch that ended earlier this month. This was only the Tar Heels' second game in a 12-day span. ... North Carolina plays at home against Wake Forest on Wednesday night, while N.C. State goes to Pittsburgh on the same night. Based on current rankings, N.C. State will have three consecutive games against nationally ranked teams.