The Heels methodically took apart the Pack in the second half, led by Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Quentin Thomas. Hansbrough finished with 32 points, 12 boards and 5 steals. He simply ate up State in the second half.
As great as Hansbrough was the whole team looked great. Offensively the Heels were efficient and smart, and as a result shot 52 percent for the contest. And defensively the Heels were much more aggressive in the second half.
In addition to Hansbrough, Ellington, Q and Roy had great games.
Ellington had another great shooting night; his slump is dead and buried. Best of all, he made shots from all over the court - on threes, pull ups and drives. He was 8 for 13, finished with 21 points and 8 boards. Eight boards!
Q had another nice, confidence-building effort against the Pack. He looked cool and in control tonight as he ran the offense and shot the ball well, making great decisions all game long. He finished with 10 points - on 5 of 7 shooting - and 7 assists (versus only 2 turnovers). Thomas looked like a first-string ACC point guard tonight.
And let's give Roy some love. The defensive adjustments the Heels made at the break fueled the run that quickly put this game away early in the second half.
Roy and those three players were stellar, and I haven't even mentioned Marcus Ginyard, who finished with 13 and 6, including two nasty spirit-crushing - almost coach-firing - dunks.
If I was a State fan I would be embarrassed by that team and their effort. Two of Ginyard's dunks we uncontested - in the half court! State did not compete in the second half, which is incredible when you consider it was a home game against their most heated rival.
But I guess Hansbrough can do that to a squad, crowd and school. When he is this unstoppable, relentlessly getting the ball where he likes it and making shots - that can demoralize anyone or any team. Tonight he had everything working: making shots down low, a few 12 footers, a few spin moves taking it to the rack, and those five steals.
As good as Hansbrough was, State was that bad.
A Few Random Thoughts:
- Carolina has won two straight games by more than 50 points with Q at the point, and overall are 5-1 without Lawson. I love the mental toughness the Heels have developed in the face of losing Ty for six games, and can't wait to see how well the Heels play once Lawson returns.
- Even without Lawson, the way Q has played lately the Heels could be a final four team with Thomas at the point. As long as Ellington shoots it like he has lately, Hansbrough keeps being Hansbrough, and Q keeps gaining confidence you never know how far this line up could go.
- And the Heels are now tied for first in the ACC after Miami's upset of Duke tonight in the Gables. I'm not terribly surprised by this score. Miami was coming off a win, and knew going in that a win over the Devils would dramatically enhance their chance of making the NCAA tournament. They pulled it off tonight, scoring 96 points against Duke.
- The U plays Maryland next, with the Terps coming off a loss at home to Viriginia Tech. Maryland looked terrible on offense, and let the Hokies hang around for 35 minutes. In the last five Virginia Tech got hot, Maryland got tentative and the Hokies stole a win in College Park.
- Tonight's results remind you of why college basketball is college basketball. Virginia Tech, coming off a 39 point humiliation to Caroline, BEATS the team that beat Carolina - on their home floor. Miami beats a team - Duke - at home that beat Carolina in Chapel Hill, the same Carolina team that defeated Miami in Coral Gables by 16.
3 comments:
The State students, as expected, ragged Hansbrough nonstop. Not that he cared.
"I think it's great," Hansbrough said. "It not only motivates me, it makes the win that much better."
Interesting info from Adam Lucas'c column on Tarheelblue.com:
Against State Carolina utilized "the most liberal use of trapping this season. . .that strategy has been a growing part of the Tar Heel defense over the past two weeks.
"Everybody is seeing the big picture," Ginyard said. "When we run traps and one guy doesn't see it, he might not rotate and that throws off everything. But right now everyone is ready to move, and we move when the trap starts moving. When we execute traps the way we did tonight we get more steals and can really force the tempo."
The traps were so effective that at one point Ginyard--playing with a chip on his shoulder after an early-game bump from Javi Gonzalez--lobbied Roy Williams for even more pressure. After Hansbrough had a steal (yes, another) and dunk (yes, another) to make the score 56-38, Ginyard looked over at the bench and held up the signal for another trap. Williams responded by signaling for straight man-to-man. With lobbying that would have made his hometown near the Beltway proud, Ginyard almost sheepishly threw up the signal for a trap again.
The head coach, of course, made the final call, and the Tar Heels played straight man-to-man on that possession. But Ginyard's desire to apply the knockout punch was a welcome sight.
It's amazing how little passion State plays with, and what a stark contrast that is to Hansbrough. Who cares what other fans say about him; he plays harder than anyone else in the ACC by far, and 10 times harder than anyone on State. I hope Carolina fans appreciate how good he is and how hard he plays, and now I think in Lawson's absence the rest of the team has completely started to follow his lead. I hope they can keep playing with this toughness when Lawson comes back.
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