After the Hokies, it’s the `Noles
Carolina’s quarter finals win over Virginia Tech by the score of 79 to 76 wasn’t as exciting as other games that have been played this week, for that check out the game between SU and UConn that went for six over times. It might not have been as flashy as other games, it might not have been a lot of things, but it was surely a great job by a team that was without the ACC Player of the Year, Ty Lawson, and with Danny Green definitely not having a stat stuffer game.So how did UNC win this game? Easy, they did what I said they should do in my preview, they went to their bread and butter, feeding the ball down low to Tyler Hansbrough (28 points), Deon Thompson (12 pts), Ed Davis (10 points) and ever Tyler Zeller (4 points). And while the result of going down low and pounding it inside might make this team look a lot less pretty than when they are running up and down the court with Lawson leading the way, even head coach Roy Williams believe that winning ugly is something a team must do, as he told the press after the game:
“It was an ugly game, but I’ve said many, many times that you’ve got to win some games ugly to have a great year, and it was one of them.”
But ugly or not this Carolina team sure did show a lot, when you think about the fact that they were missing their point guard and Green went 2 of 13 from the floor (5 points in all). The other thing I have to say about this game is that both Bobby Frasor and Larry Drew II stepped it up and played well, and while they do not have the speed that Lawson has (and who does?), what they did is play a very solid game that included 7 assists to 3 turnovers, four points and seven rebounds in 51 minutes of combined play. Also to be mentioned is the play of Wayne Ellington, who had an excellent game and hit many crucial buckets when the Heels needed a lift. In the end the junior shooting guard finished the game with 16 points off a 6 for 10 (4 for 7 from beyond the arc) performance.
In a close game, where there were 15 lead changes, this team played as one and worked it out, and in the end they were rewarded with their 28th win of the year. It also got top ranked and top seeded North Carolina (28-3, 14-3 in the ACC) a semi final matchup with #4 Florida State (24-8, 11-6 in the ACC). The `Noles defeated the Yellow Jackets 64 to 62 in yesterday’s game in order to advance. UNC and FSU met once this season, in Tallahassee, with Carolina coming out with a 80 to 77 win thanks to a buzzer beating shot by Ty Lawson.
In this game, just like the prior one, UNC has to feed the post, and even though FSU is bigger in the middle than Va Tech, if I am not mistaken Hansbrough didn’t score in double digits against Florida State in their only meeting of the season. But, I believe that Hansbrough and Company, working like they did yesterday, can have the advantage in the paint. I say this because Thompson and Davis are stepping it up and FSU cannot just concentrate on Hansbrough. It’s certainly not going to be an easy game, and even more, it’s certainly not going to be one that can be taken lightly if Carolina is to win it. But, with or without Lawson, if the team sticks to the game plan of going down low, and the perimeter game is there, I have to believe that Carolina can win this one as well.
One thing I hope not to see as much as I did yesterday was three’s being shot before the post players get a touch of the ball. Somehow, in the middle part of the second half, the Heels went away from giving the ball to Hansbrough or Thompson, and took some long shots with less than 10 seconds off the shot clock. Fortunately Virginia Tech didn’t get long rebounds and outlet them into easy points, but they could have. Now, in this game, the team must remember that with Hansbrough playing well, and the team able to hit the threes if needed, an inside/out game is what is needed.
With Lawson probably not seeing any action until the beginning of the NCAA Tournament it’s going to be Frasor and Drew and whoever else going up against FSU’s Toney Douglas. He will get his, because that’s just the way it is, but what Carolina must do is prevent FSU from having anyone else going off on them with 20+ points. The Las Vegas oddsmakers have Carolina as an 8.5 point favorite, but I think that without their point guard UNC should win this one a bit closer than that, mainly because of their free throw capabilities, and they come out by 3-5 points ahead in the end.
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