The last time that North Carolina and Boston College met it was an away game for the Tar Heels and they pounded their opponents for over 100 points in the match up, with the final being 106 to 74. Less than three weeks later the two teams met up again, in the friendly compound of the Dean Dome and this time the two squads could not combine to score the amount of points that the Heels did in the first game, with UNC beating BC by a bucket, 48 to 46. Believe it or not the score was seven nothing for the Heels with the -12 minutes to play time out having been called. Now, I know that we all love when head coach Roy Williams has the team running full court and getting easy transition baskets, but there is something to be said about this game as well, this team played as good of a defensive game as I have seen in quite a while. Sure, it’s not the type of game that let’s the fan base explode with joy, but you know what they say about defense, right?
Before I get told that the Eagles missed open shots let me say this: so did Carolina. That is not the point I am trying to make. What I am trying to say is that in another time, with this team, or others, a game of this tempo/score would have probably been a loss. It wasn’t because the team buckled down and played good on the defensive side of the ball. That to me is encouraging in more ways than one. It’s not a fluke that many of BC’s offensive possessions ended with wild/poor shots coming with just a few seconds on the shot clock. (I would have re-watch the game once again, but I do believe that BC also had two or three shot clock violations) UNC has been known to play good D for the first 25 seconds and then giving up the open look shot or an easy lay in. Not this time, the D was tight from the moment that Boston College’s guards got the ball past mid court until they finally took a shot. The Eagles shot 26.9% for the game and 25.9% from beyond the arc, those are numbers that prove to me that the Heels were doing their job.
Unfortunately while the D is to be praised, the offense left a lot to be desired, and listening to Len Elmore talking about how Boston College has a chance has North Carolina kept missing shot after shot after shot (eight altogether) down the stretch was truly frustrating. However, like the game or not, it was a win, which might have been one if this sort of thing happened a year ago. Once again making me believe that there has been a lot of progress made even with all the players that have unexpectedly left the program this season. Their loss, not ours! But the three that left Chapel Hill have nothing to do with the fact that this offense seems to be missing something/someone to get it to spark at the right time. I could think of plenty of things to say about the subject, like finding someone that is going to hit the three on a constant basis, or a bit more of a presence inside when the team can not find the shot from long distance, but more and more it is looking like that when Harrison Barnes is on his game so is the rest of the team.
I know no one wants to hear that, especially coming down the stretch of the season, but on the other hand, if he is the player we all thought he would be this is his moment to shine, and that means a better performance than 4 for 14. The same has to go for another freshman, Kendall Marshall, who can not have games where he turns over the ball in critical moments. Five TOs aren’t so bad, but if we look at two of them, that happened in two minutes where UNC went five for five in possession/turn overs, that is just not what we need for this team. There is no denying that the talent is there, from Barnes to Marshall to John Henson to Tyler Zeller and to the rest of the team, this is a very talented group. But it is also one that is coming off a bad season, off the field problems (the 3 leaving) and is still in a lot of ways young and learning. Sometimes when you have a core of players that have the skills but it is not clicking for them that night they push too much, try too hard, I think this is the case for the Heels when it comes to this game.
Does that mean it should happen? Of course not, what it means though is that we must realize that this team still has struggles with things, such as the zone, especially when they only hit 2 for 11 from three point land. Had a couple of those gone in early in the game I think it would have put the whole team a bit more at ease, would have taken BC out of their confort zone and the score would have been a bit different in the end. For those of you that like to focus on the positives here is one for you: with this win Carolina has reached 20 wins this season, it took them the whole season, including a deep run in the NIT to get that many last year. If that is not good enough for you, they are second in the ACC, only behind you know who, with ten wins, meaning that they are once again in the thick of things when it comes to conference play. Want more? They are once again ranked, looking good for a run in the post season tournaments, and probably heading for another great recruiting class. What am I trying to say? Simply this: last year was a bump in the road, not something that will haunt the Tar Heels for a long time!
There are four games to go, with N.C. State (tomorrow) and FSU (3/2) on the road, while Maryland comes to Chapel Hill (2/27) along with the awaited rematch against arch rival Duke (2/5) to close the season. Frankly, with a good showing on both sides of the ball, Carolina could go 4 and 0 to finish up the season. Can it happen? Sure! Will it? Let you know in a couple of weeks! Until then let’s enjoy the end of the regular season and get ready for the post season where we will once again see North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.
Original Story:
http://www.the5thcorner.com/unc-wins-...
