A couple of months ago, I wouldn't have bet a nickel on Carolina's chances of salvaging a good, much less remarkable season. They were 11-7, barely over .500, and tied for last place in the ACC standings. Twelve games later.. well.. they have pulled off an amazing miracle run of twelve straight wins, and now stand 23-7, passing Duke for third place in the ACC. The Tar Heels have already secured a two-game BYE in the ACC Tournament, and will not play until the Quarterfinals. They have also finally vaulted back into national prominence, at #14 in the latest college basketball polls. A win against Duke will most surely put them back into the Top Ten, and stake their claim for a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Since the last post, UNC has notched their 11th and 12th wins in a row, at Virginia Tech and Notre Dame at home. Surprisingly, both of these wins came with some degree of difficulty, considering the weaker opposition. The Tar Heels' last three games have been won by a combined total of seven points. Is this a point of concern, heading into the regular season finale against Duke, and the postseason ?TAR HEELS : SURGING OR SLUGGISH ?
Tar Heel guard Marcus Paige said, "If we have big goals and dreams, we can’t have all these sluggish games." In these wins, Carolina hasn't looked terrible. They have just allowed weaker teams to stay within striking distance, and then have to either make a rally or hold on to a slim lead at the end of games to pull out the win. This luxury, however, of being close at the end of games may not follow them into the post-season tournament. When they are facing teams of the caliber of Duke, Syracuse, or Wichita State, it will take forty minutes of a total effort from every player to secure a victory.
It seems that the sluggish play has been a result of lack of focus and concentration, and desire. Point guard Nate Britt remarked, "We’ve talked about the need to pick it up, especially the intensity
level the last few games... [They] have been close and we could
have played a whole lot better." Even Coach Roy Williams pointed out that the Tar Heels were sharper in their previous day's practice than they were in the win over Notre Dame.CRUNCH TIME
Okay. It's crunch time. We all know the history and tradition of Tar Heels basketball. We always tend to play our best basketball in March and April. We can't afford a letdown, after such a marvellous display over the last twelve games. Our Heels looked like a band of ragamuffins back in January. Now, in recent games, they have shown the promise of being a contender for a run into the tournament, and maybe even a title.
We go play Duke at their place, Cameron Indoor Stadium, on Saturday. Obviously, the place will be humming with crowd noise. It's imperative that we pull together and play Tar Heels basketball. After the Duke game comes the ACC Tournament, and odds are great that we will be facing two teams that beat us earlier, Syracuse and Virginia. And then, the NCAA tournment, where heaven-only-knows what powerhouses we will come up against in the brackets.
The Bottom Line : It don't get any easier from this point on.
It's time to suck it up and show us what you got. As Nike says, "Just Do It."
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