Tar Heels Face Wisconsin

  The Carolina Tar Heels rolled into the SWEET SIXTEEN by knocking off Arkansas, 87-78. The game was close in the first half, but then UNC star guard Marcus Paige scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to pull the Heels ahead and allow them to break away in the closing minutes.

  Now UNC advances to the round of 16 for a record 26th time, but faces the #1 seed Wisconsin.  Even if Carolina upsets Wisconsin to play in the West Regional final, it will most likely face another behemoth in #2 seed Arizona.  Both the Badgers and the Wildcats sport identical 31-3 records, two of the best season records in the tournament.  

DAVID & GOLIATH

  The UNC-Wisconsin game measures up as a David vs. Goliath matchup, not only because of the Badgers' impressive record, but because of the stars of the respective teams.  While 6'1"guard Marcus Paige leads the Tar Heels, 7'0" giant Frank Kaminsky is the leader of the Wisconsin squad.  They also are their team's scoring leaders at 18.4 (Kaminsky) and 14.1 (Paige).  The underdog role is heightened by the fact that UNC big man Kennedy Meeks went down in the Arkansas game with a left knee sprain, and is considered unlikely to play on Thursday night against Wisconsin.

   It is my opinion that UNC will pound the ball inside, hoping to get Kaminsky in foul trouble;  while Wisconsin is loaded with big, tall players, none of them is as potent inside as is Frank Kaminsky.  So getting him into foul trouble early would greatly help the Tar Heels' chances.

   The Tar Heels will have to shoot well, and handle the ball better than they did against either Harvard or Arkansas, to be able to win against Wisconsin.

   While Carolina's record of 26-11 isn't as impressive as either Wisconsin's or Arizona's, they have come on strong lately, especially in the postseason, beating Virginia in the ACC semifinals and two hard-fought wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA's.   They are a definite underdog to Wisconsin, but not a huge underdog.  The Badgers are favored by a mere five points.

   If UNC gets out of the West region, I really like their chances in the Final Four.  Some of this feeling stems from my thoughts that more high seeded teams are likely to get knocked off before it comes down to Indianapolis.   In particular, I'm looking for Kentucky and Duke to fall, but that is not a certainty.  Either way, if the Heels get to that point, they will be playing good enough basketball to win it all.

   But that doesn't really help them this weekend.  More updates after the Wisconsin game.   Here's hoping for a victory on Thursday night, and advancing to the Regional Final.

  GO  TAR  HEELS!  

UNC vs. Harvard-- The Tar Heels Escape

   It's been awhile since I've written about Tar Heels basketball.  This blog was meant to be a game-by-game coverage of UNC's seasons.  As I've said before, I don't get paid for this, so sometimes other things take precedence, and lapses do occur.  I apologize to you for this.  

  This 2014-15 season for UNC basketball has been a series of ups and downs.  The team is 25-11 and should be about 31-5... in my opinion.  The only losses that I see as excusable are those to Duke, Virginia, or Kentucky.  The other losses were to weaker teams, and were due to poor and inconsistent play on the part of Carolina.  In many of these losses, the Tar Heels held a double-digit lead late in the second half, and managed to squander it away.

   The same was also true tonight in the opening NCAA Tournament game against Harvard;  however, UNC somehow held on to win the game, 67-65, and advance to the next round.  Carolina led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but allowed Harvard to claw its way back into the game, and actually take the lead at one point.

Justin Jackson

   Freshman Justin Jackson and Marcus Paige led the way with 14 and 12 points, while Isiah Hicks provided some good play off the bench.   UNC won despite allowing a game-high 26 points to Harvard ace Wesley Saunders.

   The bottom line in tonight's game was--- the Tar Heels played well enough to win... but barely escaped.  A three-point shot by Harvard with less than a second on the clock could have sent Carolina home for the season, but caromed off the back of the rim.   As is the usual case, the Heels played extremely well in spurts, but as Paige put it, (they) "got complacent" in the second half.  This changed a potential blow-out into a close game at the end.  For some fans, this would've been an entertaining game to watch.  For Tar Heels fans, we wish they would "put the nail in the coffin" when they have a game in hand.  

   If UNC is to advance much farther, they must play each game consistently for forty minutes.   These inconsistent lapses will not hold up in games against better teams in their WEST bracket like Wisconsin or Arizona, both with 31-3 records.   

NEXT UP :  WOFFORD or ARKANSAS

Saturday (3/21)

The Anatomy of a Defeat

NCAA Regional Quarterfinal

   Most analysts and fans point to the final 30 seconds of the NCAA regional quarterfinal between UNC and Iowa State as the crucial point in the game, in which the Tar Heels lost the ball, and subsequently the game, as Iowa State player DeAndre Kane, who was a thorn in Carolina's side all day long, drove the lane and scored on a layup.  After both teams had led by as many as eight or nine points, the game came down to one deciding shot.

        
   Or they will point to the aftermath, in which panic and frenzy ensued, as freshman Nate Britt dribbled the ball upcourt, thinking there was still time on the clock.  The referees ended the game in a dead ball huddle,  determining that there was actually no time left on the clock, when the scoreboard showed otherwise.  Apparently, the scorekeeper turned the clock off and forgot or neglected to turn it back on.

   
  These plays obviously seemed like the determining factors in the game.

  Or were they ?

  While UNC guard Marcus Paige openly took blame for the defeat, it was not necessarily his turnover with 0:31 left on the clock that ultimately led to UNC's meltdown loss.  The Tar Heels had trailed by as many as nine points (35-26) in the first half, and seven in the second stanza, before they rallied and fought back to go ahead THREE DIFFERENT TIMES by eight, the last time by 76-68 at 4:24 left.   The Tar Heels steal the ball, and at the other end, Paige immediately hoists up a 3-point shot, which in most cases, would've counted.  He's almost 40% from the arc, and a lot higher percentage in clutch situations.  This time, though, it caromed off the rim.  Naz Long rebounded, then received a pass on the other end where he connected on a 3-point shot to trim the lead to five, 76-71.

  It was on this critical exchange where the Tar Heels lost both the momentum and the game.  Am I saying that it was impossible that they could've won the game ?  No.  It was highly possible.  But rather than depending on last-second heroics, UNC could've bagged the game at the 4:00 mark.  Paige's shot would've given Carolina an 11-point cushion had he made it.  Even better, Paige could've chosen to push the ball inside to either McAdoo or Meeks, who had been scoring down low all game, for a 10-point lead.  Either way, we would've had a double-digit lead and incredible momentum going into the last four minutes.  I am convinced that we would've won going away, had we been successful on this one play.

   Instead, we had a six-point turnaround.  Instead of an 11-point lead, it became five. Then, with less than a minute to go, Naz Long made another 3-pointer to tie the game for the second time in three minutes at 81-81.   We "could've" pulled the game out.  But by this time, the momentum and confidence had clearly shifted to Iowa State.  

   As I've said before, a player only has seconds to think about a decision in a game, then they have months to think about it afterwards.   

   Marcus Paige says that he knows the Tar Heels blew this game.  But he's also excited and looking forward to the upcoming 2014-15 season.  Carolina has most of its starters returning, plus the #3 recruiting class in the nation.  It should be a promising year for us.  

   Ya know.. we've been on the "good" end of a blown game before.  Freddie Brown's errant pass in 1982, and Chris Webber's time out in 2003, have an unfortunate legacy that will follow them the rest of their lives.  Both of those plays resulted in UNC clinching a NCAA championship.  

  Then, we've been on the "bad" end too.. the 1977 Four Corners fiasco with Marquette, injuries to Kenny Smith in 1984 and Kendall Marshall in 2011.   We can look back at the good and savor it, and look back at the bad, and say..

   "If only.. "

CYCLONES RIP OUT CAROLINA’S HEART

Carolina's LAST game of the Year : UNC vs. Iowa State
 

Notes from the UNC-Iowa State game

__________________________________________________________

First Half Highlights :

Story of runs and cold spells :

Carolina ahead 14-7 early in game

Iowa State goes on 28-12 run to take a 9-point lead, 35-26.

UNC comes back on 11-5 run to cut lead to 3 at half, 40-37.

COLD SHOOTING :

Iowa State has been giving UNC the long shot, but they’ve not been hitting them.

Marcus Paige has 9 points and one 3-pointer at half and shot 37%.

Carolina shot 33% from 3-point arc (4-12), while Iowa State shot 47% on three’s.

PG DeAndre Kane, whose season avg. is 17 ppg, led ISU with 15 pts and 8 rebounds.

Leslie McDonald led UNC with 12 pts

__________________________________________________________

Second Half Highlights :

Tar Heels start out 4-1 to tie the game, 41-41, at  .  But then Iowa State went 7-0 to go ahead, 48-41.

J.P. Tokoto steal results in a dunk at 15:32, Iowa State up 48-45.

Leslie McDonald hits a “3” at 13:15 to tie the game at 52-52, he has 15 points and 3/7 on three pointers

Paige hits 3-pointer at 11:14 to put UNC up, 56-55.  Then Justin Hogue completes 3-point play at foul line to put Iowa State back up, 58-56.

McDonald steals, then Kennedy Meeks layup and another Paige 3-pointer finishes a 10-0 run by the Tar Heels for a six-point lead, 66-60 at 8-minute mark. 

Marcus Paige steals at the 6:30 mark and takes it for a layup and a 70-62 UNC lead.

Meeks & McAdoo have been dominating the boards, getting offensive boards and follow lay-ups.

UNC seemed poised and ready to put the game away with three different 8-point leads, the last one at 76-68 on a Meeks layup.

Carolina stole the ball and had an opportunity to raise the lead to eleven at the 4:00 mark, but Paige missed a 3-point shot.  Instead, Long hit a 3-pointer for ISU to cut the lead to five. 

But two Iowa State 3-point shots draw the score to two, at the 3:00 mark, then a layup ties the game at 76 with 2:00 to go.  ISU on an 8-0 run.

McDonald clutch 3-pointer at 1:30, Tar Heels up 3, 79-76.  Trade layups, then Long hits a 3-pointer to tie the game at 81, with less than a minute (50.9).

Steal and long pass for layup puts ISU up, 83-81, with 28 seconds left in the game.

McAdoo calmly hits two free throws at 15.7 seconds to tie game.

Driving layup with less than three seconds by Kane puts Iowa State ahead, 85-83.

A Tar Heels timeout was called late, and the referees called the game over.   Iowa State 85, UNC 83.

IT'S ALL OVER FOLKS!   THERE GOES OUR SEASON!

 Actually, it wasn't a BAD season.. just a BAD ending.. 

 

The Mercy of Providence

    I had high hopes for UNC and their chances against Providence on Friday night.  And I'm still a believer in the Tar Heels and their chances moving forward in the NCAA Tournament.  Part of that is a biased preference and passion for Carolina.  I've been a fan of the Heels ever since I was about 10 or 12 years old.  I went to their basketball camp two years in a row [I don't know for what purpose!].   I don't think that I've missed more than a handful of UNC's games over the last four decades. [Yes!]  But I have to admit, as one of my friends remarked, "They have to play better than this!"  Yes, I agree with him.

Providence was no E-Z Opponent

   For a long while on Friday, it appeared as if the Providence Friars had control of this basketball game.  They started off hitting four of their first five shots, but UNC hung in there, only down one, 9-8.  As the first half progressed, Carolina actually went ahead and built as much as a six to eight-point lead.  An impressive steal and spin dunk by J.P. Tokoto put the Heels up 37-30 with 3 1/2 minutes left.  Then PU's talented PG Bryce Cotton took over, as he did so many different times in this game, and brought Providence back to within three at the half, 39-36.

   A brief crowd pleaser occurred as the first half buzzer sounded.  Marcus Paige heaved a prayer from beyond the half court line that swished, but alas, it had been released just a half second too late to count.

   Coach Roy Williams said at halftime, "We need to play better."  This seems like a season-long mantra, more than a passing observation.   It served to hold true, as the Tar Heels were to just barely get out with their Basketball Lives in the second half.

    It appeared early in the 2nd half as if UNC would blow this game out, as they came out determined, and through several steals, layups, and dunks, ran out to leads of 45-38 and then 54-45.  But it was not to be, as BU's Cotton again led a comeback to bring this game right down to the wire.  

Providence star Bryce Cotton

   As Cotton performed his heroics, the Tar Heels went an amazing three minutes without scoring a point, and Providence went on an 11-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the half, 60-58.  At this point, UNC looked dazed and confused, and had no rhythm or rhyme in their offense, and absolutely no answer for Bryce Cotton and his amazing shooting and ballhandling display.

   Only our version of the Bryce/Brice combo, Brice Johnson, was able to keep us in the game with some key plays, while star guard Marcus Paige was battling a cold shooting night.  Then, suddenly, at the 3:00 and 1:05 marks, Paige came alive as he drilled two separate 3-pointers, each tying the score at 71-71 and 77-77.

   After a Providence missed layup, the Tar Heels rebounded and James Michael McAdoo was fouled on an offensive rebound and went to the line twice, with less than four seconds to go.  He made the first free throw, then missed and got his own rebound, and was promptly fouled again.   Once again, he hit the first, but missed the second.  However, this time, the rebound was lost as time expired.

   After the game, I heard some sportscaster praising McAdoo for "winning the game" for Carolina.  I must argue a point : McAdoo only made two of four free throws with only seconds to go in the game.   What happens when he, or another poor Carolina free throw shooter, goes to the line, down two or four points, in the closing seconds?   It's easy pontificating from the sidelines, but we need some guys (other than Paige and Britt) who can step up to the line and take care of business.. in the clutch.   If not, then missed foul shots may prove to be our downfall and send us home to contemplate next year.

  UNC wins, 79-77.  The Mercy of Providence.  

    NEXT GAME : SUN MARCH 23 vs. IOWA STATE

Digger Predicts UNC Flop

   Digger Phelps, ESPN Sports Analyst, today announced his prediction for the upcoming UNC-Providence NCAA Tournament game.

   He says the Friars are going to bounce Carolina out of the tournament and send them packing for home.

   Phelps, in an on-air discussion of NCAA game predictions, stated his opinion that Bryce Cotton, Providence's star guard, will penetrate and out-shoot the UNC team to cause the upset in Friday night's game.   Phelps also predicted that Carolina's poor (62%) free throw shooting will cause Providence to send them to the line, if the score is close late in the game.

   It is clear that Providence is somewhat of a sleeper, having had an average 20-11 regular season, but then winning three straight in the Big East tournament, knocking off favorite Creighton in the final game.

    If Phelp's predictions come true, it will be a sad ending to an up-and-down year for the Tar Heels.  Starting out unpredictably slow, Carolina still managed to beat three Top Ten teams in Louisville, Michigan State, and Kentucky.  In early 2014, Carolina broke down, losing four out of their first five ACC contests.   Then UNC heated up in late January, going through February undefeated on a record 12-game winning streak.  Only in the last two games, in rematches with Duke and Pittsburgh, did the Tar Heels seem to revert back to early season woes.

   Another fellow ESPN analyst predicted that UNC's bigger front line of Kennedy Meeks, Brice Johnson, and James Michael McAdoo will dominate the smaller Providence team.  However, one of the surprising weaknesses lately with the Tar Heels team, along with their poor foul shooting, has been the inability to rebound.  In the Duke game, UNC managed just 20 rebounds, their lowest total of the season.   This was incredibly uncharacteristic of a normal UNC front line.

   Let's hope that the Tar Heels can "put their act together" and play up to their potential in the next four games, starting with the Providence matchup on Friday.   If so, they will prove Digger wrong, and move on to another game on Sunday, probably against Iowa State.

NEXT GAME :  FRIDAY, MARCH 21 @ 7:20 PM vs. PROVIDENCE

 

 

From Feast to Famine

 TAR HEELS COME BACK DOWN TO EARTH
  A 12-game winning streak.  A place in the national poll's Top 20.   Vaulting from a tie for last place to 2nd or 3rd in the ACC standings.   Beating Duke at the Dean Dome.

  Great accomplishments for any team.  But somewhat of a tradition and ordinary occurrence for Carolina and its fans.  High hopes for another ACC Tournament championship.  A high seed in the NCAA Tournament.  A run to the Final Four.

  BACK TO REALITY..  It didn't take but two games for gravity to bring us back from the stratoshere down to earth again.  

PARKER & ZANNA HAVE CAREER DAYS

   UNC went down to Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, where the Blue Devils have been almost invincible, and lost 93-81.  Duke's two-headed monster of Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood were not to be denied, scoring 54 points combined, with Parker having a career-high 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way, hitting on 10 of his 17 shots.  Carolina was behind by only a respectable three points at 40-37 at the midway mark, but fell apart in the second half as Duke went on a roll.  The Blue Devils missed 12 of its first 14 3-point shots, but then came on strong, shooting 57% in the second half.  

   Six days later, in their ACC Tournament quarterfinal game, UNC met Pittsburgh again, a team they had beaten by 75-71 in Chapel Hill a month earlier.  This game was entirely different from the outset, as the Panthers outplayed the Tar Heels and held on to win, 80-75.  Pitt big man Talib Zanna had 19 points and a career-high 21 rebounds in the victory over the Heels.  UNC probably could have pulled out a win, as they staged a miraculous comeback that brought them within three points in the final seconds.  Pitt had led by 20 points midway through the second half, before turnovers and missed foul shots allowed the Tar Heels to climb back into the game.  UNC's Marcus Paige led all scorers with 27 points, and 20 of those came in the second half comeback.  Still, Carolina came up short.

BRAND NEW START: NCAA TOURNEY
   Carolina gets a fresh start, so to speak, this week in the NCAA Tournament.  All 68 teams are now 0-0 as they begin playing a one-and-done quest for a national championship.  UNC is certainly not favored to get to the Final Four.   They were seeded a disappointing sixth in the East Regional.  Their opening game is Friday, March 21, in San Antonio, TX, against a surprising Providence team, who finished the regular season an average 20-11, but won three straight to win the Big East tournament, beating #14 Creighton and national scoring leader Doug McDermott in the final game.

   This is no easy match for the Tar Heels.  It is no gimme, no shoo-in.  And, if they are able to make it past Providence, then the East bracket will no doubt usher in Iowa State, and then either UConn or Villanova in the Semifinals, and either Virginia or Michigan State in the Regional Finals.  Four wins will catapult us into the Final Four, but these will be four extremely tough matchups.

 WHASSUP, TAR HEELS ?
   Are the Tar Heels up to the challenge?   Hardly anyone thinks so.  They have shown glaring defects all season long.   First of all, they manage to lose their star and high scoring guard P.J. Hairston to off-the-court violations.  Then they go into an absolutely horrible doldrum of poor free throw shooting.  They seem to play up or down to their competition, beating high-ranked Louisville, Michigan State, and Kentucky convincingly, but losing to humdrum teams like Belmont and UAB.  Then, at the midway point, they go on a tear, winning a phenomenal 12 games in a row, but albeit, against the ACC's middle to lower echelon teams, with the exception of beating Duke at home.

  So which UNC team will show up ?  The team that set records and went 12-0, or the team that lost to Belmont, and the last two games, including a bomb in the ACC Tournament ?   We'll soon see.  Don't make any big bets on the Heels.   However, anything's possible.  They have shown some glimmers of hope during this season.  Will reality set in again, or will they somehow find a way to again defy gravity and soar to new heights in the postseason ?

NEXT GAME :  FRIDAY, MARCH 21 @ 7:20 PM vs. PROVIDENCE