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
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
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