Griffin wins the battle but Carolina wins the war
Blake Griffin is probably going to win the National Player of the Year, but today’s game between top seed North Carolina (32-4) and second seed Oklahoma (30-6) showed us all that if you are a team you can beat any one player. That is why UNC beat OU by the final of 72 to 60, and make no mistake the score doesn’t tell you how dominant the Tar Heels were, especially in the second half. The key to this game was simple, Oklahoma tried to make it a “big man versus big man” game, Carolina didn’t bite and made it into a 5 vs. 5 game, and they triumphed.
Before I go on to my comments let me tell you how an analyst or commentator can change the perception of the game. It was half time and Clark Kellogg said the following as CBS is about to go to the half time show “the Sooners have cut the lead into single digits”. Anyone that didn’t tune in for the first half, or has the game on and wasn’t paying attention to it, would think that the Sooners were pretty much even with the Tar Heels. The reality was that UNC was winning by 9 points with Tyler Hansbrough sitting on the bench for over ten minutes due to two fouls. Hope that clears up the discussion on how Hansbrough gets all the calls and never is called for a foul.
The reality of the matter is that North Carolina won it’s 100th NCAA Tournament game ever because of a deep bench that went into the game and played, and while they might not be at the level of the starters, they weren’t a liability and gave the starters enough of a breather while wearing down a much thinner Oklahoma lineup. I said it in my preview, and will repeat it now, because it happened: Carolina can win this game if Hansbrough loses the match up against Griffin, but Oklahoma can’t say the same. Blake Griffin was held in check for the first 11 minutes of the game and North Carolina used that time to build their lead. When the future NPOY did get going he had 23 points and 16 rebounds, but he couldn’t do it all by himself, as OU went 0 for their first 15 shots from beyond the arc, finishing 2 for 19.
I believe that Jay Bilas, who I like as an analyst, said that North Carolina had the hardest road of any of the top seeds to get to Detroit. He was right, as both Gonzaga and Oklahoma are tough teams, but Carolina showed they are much tougher, and while #1 overall Louisville and #1 Pittsburgh won’t make it to Detroit, UNC has punched its ticket with two great performances over the weekend, and will play on Saturday against Villanova at 8:47 as the night cap for CBS. This was a team on a mission, and at least for this weekend, that mission was definitely accomplished. From the leadership that Ty Lawson has given them, to the inside game of all of the big men (Hansbrough, Deon Thompson, Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller), to the sharp shooting of the perimeter players (Wayne Ellington and Danny Green), to the good minutes of the bench (Bobby Frasor, Davis and Larry Drew II) this time is proving to one and all that if you are united you are going to win.
Danny Green, who finished with 18 points, had 14 of them in the first half to keep the Heels motor going. I was very happy to see him shake the funk from the last couple of weeks, as he is one of the “X” factors for head coach Roy Williams’ squad. Green once again did his “stat stuffing” getting three boards, an assist, a steal and a block, but what the stats don’t show was the couple of daggers from three and an amazing rebound in between the two Griffins and then the hard put back for two points. The other, Ed Davis, played 16 minutes with just four points, three rebounds and two steals, but what the stats don’t show is the work he did down low, and while he did pick up four fouls he also worked hard against whichever Griffin he had to guard.
As I write this post I’m thinking this: Hansbrough played just 9 minutes in the first half, Bobby Frasor had 3 fouls and Ed Davis was in trouble with that as well. We would end up with the senior forward and junior shooting guard Wayne Ellington scoring less than 10 points each and a little fear that this would not be a win had started creeping in. But a win is exactly what happened, and that just shows me (and should show the rest of the nation) how many weapons this team has and how powerful they can all be when they’re clicking on all cylinders. After listening to the Carolina press conference it is more and more evident that while Hansbrough or Lawson or anyone else enjoys the personal awards, they all want the team award, the national championship. As coach Williams said:
“If Hansbrough has 8 points but the team wins he is going to be the happiest one in the gym”
I have always believed that and this game just reinforced that belief. What more can be said? Well, one thing: this team played great defense, especially in the first half, including 2 shot clock violations and forced 11 turnovers. So much for this team can’t play defense, because it was shown that they can. This team is the complete package, and now they have two more games in their way before everyone has to realize that. It’s going to be North Carolina against Villanova this Saturday, and I will have much more on that game as the week goes on, but for now I am going to enjoy this weekend, where UNC proved once again what a great coaching staff and players it has.
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