Nats Win 3-2 in the Ninth in Nats Park Debut

All four us of went to Opening Day at Nationals Stadium last night.   We had a great time at the new park, but that was mainly due to Ryan Zimmerman as opposed to the $600+ million stadium.

That game was one of the most phenomenal sports experiences I've ever had. Zimmerman always seems to rise to the occasion, and he certainly did last night.  

As most of you probably know, the Nats gave up the lead in the top of the 9th on a Jon Rauch wild pitch.  Prior to that pitch the crowd was pumped.  It was two outs, with a Braves runner on third.  Everyone was on their feet in anticipation of the third out stranding the tying runner at third.  With one wild pitch the crowd completely deflated.

In the bottom of the 9th the first two Nats, Guzman and Milledge, were easily dispatched by the Braves' pitcher. But as soon as Zimmerman, the face of the franchise, stepped out of the dug out the crowd got back on its feet. It was as if all 40,000 fans in attendance thought to themselves, 'Cool, Zimmerman's up; he'll simply hit a home run to win this game, the first one in the new stadium.'  And that is exactly what happened!  Unbelievable what Zimmerman did last night.   Simply unbelievable, and dare I say Hansbroughesque?

Quick Nats Notes

• The new park looks good and is certainly a huge upgrade on RFK.   But as I posted earlier it's not like Camden Yards or other new retro stadiums.  I like it because it's intimate and has better seats, bathrooms, and food.  But I'm not sure it's an awe inspiring stadium like Camden Yards, AT&T Park in SF, or Pittsburgh with the views of the river and Roberto Clemente Bridge.  Perhaps if I sat in one of the seats with a view of the Capitol and the Monument I would feel differently.  
• We got there early to check out the park and beat the crowd through security.  President Bush was there, so everyone was screened and had to go through medal detectors.
• Door to door it took less than an hour from our home in NW DC.  It's a nice trip by Metro.  Ditto for the ride home.  It was crowded but we didn't have trouble getting on a train and did not have to wait long to board.
• Though we got there early it was so crowded that no one felt like walking around.  The kids and I had already done a lap when we visited during the college baseball game played there last weekend.  Alison went for food and visited the team store but other than bathroom breaks we stayed put.
• We were able to attend that college game and get 4 tickets to opening day courtesy of my brother John's connections with an employee of the Nats.  Thanks again Johnny and Catherine for the four tickets in section 111, row AA (our regular season tickets are in section 206).
• Ariadne and Evan are really great fans.  Unlike many folks at the game last night they did not miss a single pitch (except during two bathroom breaks).  They were really into it, every pitch, and cried when Zimmerman homered.
• I lustily booed President Bush when he stepped on to the field to throw out the first pitch.  I was planning to sit on my hands when he came out, but as soon as I saw him come out of the dug out I stood up and booed until I was hoarse (and for the record, I also called him a 'war mongering red neck').  I got a few dirty looks from some fellow fans - and my wife and kids - but the folks in front and next to me supported my free speech (to say nothing that as a DC taxpayer I helped pay for the stadium so had special dispensation to boo).  The Post reported that the President was greeted with equal parts boos and cheers.
• The booing ended well.  Two rows below us were four folks in Texas A&M jackets and gear.  One of them turned to me after my rant and said something like 'real classy' or something sarcastic like that. But as soon as Zimmerman homered who was the first guy I high fived? That guy, who by the 9th inning had been abandoned by his pals and needed someone to celebrate with. He and I later walked up the aisle together too, raving about the game like we were 8 years olds.   Sport is good. 

No Double Double for Heels Hoopsters

Carolina lost to LSU tonight in the Elite 8 in the NCAA Women's Tournament.   The disappointing loss ends a season that saw the Heels go undefeated in the ACC and win the ACC Tournament Championship. 

I was hoping Carolina would win both the men's and women's national championship in the same year.  To my knowledge, that has only been accomplished by the Mierzswinski/Amsbacher/Byrne Huskies.

We watched most of the game, and the Heels generally played terrible.  Lots of turnovers, bad passes, dumb plays, bad shots, etc.  Fayetteville's LaToya Pringle had a nice game but Erlana Larkins did not, going 2 for 11 even though all her shots were from inside.  And Cetera Degraffenreid, Carolina's point guard, was horrible.  She made a number of ill-advised passes and turnovers and finished 1 for 9.   She is no Ivory Latta, but she's only a fresh(wo)man.  As a team Carolina shot 34 percent to 37 percent for LSU.

New Poll

In my last post on Tyler Hansbrough I blogged a bit on his place in the pantheon of all time Tar Heel greats.   Now I am asking my half-dozen readers to weigh.  As you can see, you have seven choices - the six players who have had their numbers retired plus one special guest - of who is the greatest of all time.

Hansbrough

When you look back at Carolina's exhilarating win tonight over a very game Louisville team, all you need to know is Hansbrough.

Tyler Hansbrough.

His numbers - which were awesome - don't begin to tell the story.  The guy is skilled, tough, determined, skilled, gutty, tough, the player of the year, etc. etc.  I certainly can't come close to describing his play, his willingness to take and make big shots and carry his team and the entire Tar Heel nation, his determination.  I've blogged this before, but sport is about stepping up.  I think 28 and 13, with two steals, counts as stepping up. 

That comes close to describing it, but again, this guy's play is as indescribable as it is effective.  

In one way Carolina HAS described it; Hansbrough is one of only six Heels to have his number retired.  The company he is in - Lennie Rosenbluth, Phil Ford, Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Antawn Jamison - goes a long way in describing Psycho T.

But you can make the case - as my brother just did on the phone - that Hansbrough is the greatest Heel of all time.   When you combine his numbers and his will, he makes a compelling case.

Having Tyler Hansbrough on your team will erase a lot of sins.   Carolina played some fantastic basketball down the stretch in the first half.   But in the second half Louisville was much more efficient on offense running their high post plays with Padgett, and Carolina was taken out of it's offense by Louisville's aggressive zone defense.   Whatever it was, Green and Ellington, who dominated the first 20, practically disappeared during the final 20.

I let Ariadne and Evan stay up until 10:30, so they went to bed with Louisville surging and the Heels driving into the teeth of the Cardinals defense for turnovers or blocked shots.  The lead was still four when the kids asked as they walked upstairs if I thought the Heels would weather this storm.  I said yes and mentioned toughness and Duke.  I opined that this team was too tough to lose this game.  And that tonight's elite 8 tilt reminded me of the Duke game at Cameron, when the Heels took the nice lead into half time only to see Duke come back to take the lead late. Of course, the Heels calmly made plays down the stretch to win that game by 10.

The same happened tonight, right down to the 10 point margin of victory. When Louisville tied the game you never saw any panic from the Heels.  And Roy didn't start calling timeouts or jumping up and down. Instead, you saw the Heels make plays on both ends of the floor.   

In order, Deon Thompson hit a huge shot over Padgett to put the back up six with six minutes left.   With the game on the line he calmly took it right at Padgett.  An awesome shot.

Then with five minutes left Lawson, who didn't shoot that much at all tonight but was fantastic breaking Louisville's press, hit a massive three to make it 71-64 Heels.  Lawson, scored 9 of his 11 points in the second half, was the only guy other than Hansbrough to shine offensively for the Heels, so it was no surprise that he hit that shot coming off a Hansbrough screen. No news here, but as much as I love Danny Green those two Tys are the two most important and indispensable Heels on this squad.

But in case you missed it, that wasn't the only thing Hansbrough did down the stretch.  With 2 and half minutes left he drilled a 17-footer to keep the lead at seven.  I blogged this once before, but if you need one guy to make one play to win one game, this is the guy you want.  Only difference is tonight he made about four or five plays - shots, screens and a big rebound late - in the last four minutes that gained his team the victory and an NCAA-record seventeenth Final Four.

Those plays by Thompson, Lawson and Hansbrough are more evidence that this Tar Heel team is tough, one that can't be beat.  Every experience that they went through this year: road wins in Las Vegas, Kentucky, Ohio State, Clemson and Cameron; Lawson's injury; Quentin excelling at point; Ginyard becoming the defensive stopper as well as an excellent leader; Ellington, Lawson and Hansbrough diversifying their offensive arsenals; Green developing into the nation's sixth man; Thompson and Stephenson becoming monsters at the four, added up to great win by a great team lead by a player with unmatched skill and will, a player determined to get his team to the Final Four.  

What a night, what a game, what a season, and what a player.  On to San Antonio. 

Go HEELS!

Big shot by Lawson

I mean HUGE shot - but hate those two empty trips that followed.

This game is giving me a heart attack

Just kidding.   Got to love Hansbrough; the refs are another story.

Half Ends on a High Note - A Real High Note

Carolina played some great basketball at the end of the half, and as a result are up by 12 at half.  

Hard to single out one or two or even three players.   Everyone has played great, but especially Ginyard, Green, Hansbrough and Ellington, actually same goes for Lawson, Thompson, Stephenson.  Maybe Q hasn't been especially great, but he was good while he was in.

Lawson has been great breaking their press with that little stutter step.   And if it wasn't Lawson on the dribble Carolina brilliantly passed over the top of their press for easy baskets.

I assume Roy mentioned the word Georgetown at half.  The memory of that loss should help but the main reason I don't expect a let down is Carolina's defense.  The Heels were very aggressive on defense, which should continue in the final 20.

Go Heels!

Said it once before

But it bears repeating - I love Danny Green.  

Heels up 10, 27-17, with under 8 minutes left.

DOH!  3 bad turnovers - one by Q, one sloppy pass by Green to Hansbrough, and travel on Hansbrough.  Plus, the Heels have allowed a few drives to the basket.  I wonder if Roy is telling folks not to switch on D. 

Anyway, I hope we score coming out of the under 4 time out.  Score now is 31-24.

Good Omen

The day is off to a good start as the Tar Heel women came from behind to defeat Louisville this afternoon, 78-74, in the women's sweet 16.  The Heels got off to a terrible start - missed shots, missed free throws, bad shots, and lackadaisical defense - and trailed by nine at half time.

But in the second half the Heels got hot from behind the three-point line and came back to defeat the Cardinals. The women's team now advances to the elite eight.

Go Heels.

Polls close on Hansbrough's future

In a somewhat surprising development, readers of Carolina Hellenic Blue blog voted that Tyler Hansbrough's pro career would most closely follow the trajectory of Eduardo Najera, or someone who 'develops a niche as a role player/energy gyuy.'  Five of the eleven votes cast were for Najera, while Carlos Boozer came in second with 3 votes. Though it was a secret ballot, I'll admit I voted for Antawn Jamison.  Mark my words - you heard it here first when that happens.

A new, more conventional poll question is now up.

Final Four Preview

I'm anxious but confident going into tonight's Carolina game versus Louisville.   The Cardinals looked pretty good in taking down Tennessee, but their back court was shaky in that game.  And that's where I see the Heels winning tonight's game. Lawson, Ellington, Thomas, Green and Graves will be too much for Louisville to stop.  

Padgett may play Hansbrough to a standstill, but I don't see that happening. Padgett is probably as strong as Hansbrough but Tyler is much more athletic.  Look for Psycho T to repeatedly beat Padgett down the floor to his spot. Ditto Deon and Stephenson.   Louisville likes to run but there is no way for their big people to run with our people. So if Louisville does choose to run with UNC the Heels will win going away.

[I wanted to run a photo of Lawson here, but love this photo of Hanbrough from Insidecarolina.com too much not to share.]

There is some intrigue with this game.  One, Padgett was recruited by ol' Roy to go to Kansas.  When he finally took the Carolina job Padgett transfered to Louisville after one year in Lawrence.  Roy was quoted all over the place yesterday as saying "I could understand if he felt betrayed by me" when discussing Padgett.  A good non-defensive quote from Roy who sometimes can sound remarkably unDeanesque at these press conferences.

Two, Carolina plays Louisville twice today, as the women play at noon in the sweet 16.  The Heels should go to the Final Four of the women's tourney, too, and hopefully will pull a UConn and win both titles this year.  That almost happened in the 90s when the men won in '93 and the women in '94.

Other NCAA Notes

• Generally bad games last night. As good as Davidson looked in beating Wisconsin, Kansas looked that much better.  Beating Wisconsin is not that big of an upset but taking down Kansas would be.   I can't see that happening.  Kansas is the team that scares me the most of the eight teams left.
• Then again, Kansas was playing against the weakest team in the sweet 16 in Villanova.
• Man, was I wrong about Michigan State. I thought they could hang with and beat Memphis, but the Tigers ran the Spartans off the court in the last nine minutes of the first half.  Michigan State went from 'tough and smart Tom Izzo team' to 'overmatched Big 10 squad' in less than 10 minutes. And though they are playing in Houston I expect Memphis to beat Texas.   I just have no faith in Rick Barnes, even against a poser like John Calipari.
• Stanford looked as bad as Michigan State, probably worse, in losing to Texas.  For a bunch of guys who are supposed to be smart they took a million dumb shots.  How hard is it to get the ball down low?  I guess it's harder than I thought; Stanford, Georgetown and Wisconsin haven't done it the last two weekends. 
• UCLA and Xavier will be a good game. I don't want to pick UCLA but it's hard to bet against Kevin Love. Both of those squads remind of Carolina in that neither team seems capable of losing. UCLA played terribly against Texas A&M but made enough plays to win. Ditto Xavier against West Virginia; the Mountaineers had two chances to win that game at the free throw line but didn't.  Conversely, each time the Musketeers needed to make a play, they did.  Should be a great game - if you like games in the 50s. 
• Another good column from Feinstein in today's Post on ways to improve the NCAA tournament.  He's the only Dookie having a good March.  All his recent columns, especially his one on the ACC's post-football problems, have been on point.
• Finally, interesting to look at who's left in the elite 8: two Big 12 teams (Texas and Kansas) then one each from the ACC, Big East (Louisville), Pac 10 (UCLA) and 3 from 'lesser' conferences like the Atlantic 10 (Xavier), Conference USA (Memphis), and the Southern (Davidson).  Some folks know this, but the ACC was carved out of the Southern conference in the late 50s. 

Methodical Win By Heels

Carolina's 21-point win over an overmatched Washington State team reminded me very much of the win over FSU in the ACC tournament.   Like the Seminoles did in Charlotte, Washington State succeeded is slowing the game down.   But in the end, this game in Charlotte ended like that the game in Charlotte - with Carolina cruising to a win in a game where they weren't seriously challenged in the last 30 minutes of the game.

The Heels were sluggish to start the game.  Hansbrough in particular seemed a bit too hyped and started the game with 3 turnovers and at least that many missed shots.

But this team is too good to hold down, especially against a second-rate team like Washington State.  Carolina was simply much more talented than the Cougars.   Will Graves would be the team from Pullman's best player.   

This game was over as soon as Danny Green checked into the Carolina line up.  His first half stats were 12 points, 4 boards, 3 steals, 1 assist and 1 game won.   He was aggressive and came off the bench determined to change the tenor of the contest.  Not only did he dominate the first 20 minutes and help Carolina go into the half up by 14, he put the game away in the first 20.

Deon Thompson and Ellington also had great first halves, with Thompson especially hot early.

The second half was a methodical display of Carolina's many talents. Lawson driving, Hansbrough going down low, shooting free throws, driving and hitting mid-range jumpers, Ellington connecting from all over the floor, and Stephenson and Ginyard playing great defense.   

The game didn't feature the offensive fire works of the previous two wins, but it was another 20 point blow out where the Heels showed they could win a half court game.   A nice night, no matter how you look at it.

Finally, the defense must have been pretty good as Washington State shot around 30 percent.  Some of that was due to Carolinas ball pressure and some of that was due to the fact that Washington State is not that talented.  

So, for the second year in a row Carolina heads to the Elite 8.  Whether the Heels end up running with Louisville or in a half court game against Tennessee, the way this team is playing I really really like our chances.

Go Heels!

NCAA Notes

• Interesting to look at the box score.  Lawson played a great second half, but was credited with zero assists. And the Heels blew out a team on a night when Wayne Ellington finished 4 for 13.
• Tough loss for the Mountaineers.  Great comeback from an early deficit, and Alexander had a great second half.  But West Virginia lost that game at the free throw line.  Not only did Alexander miss at the end of regulation but the Mountaineers missed four free throws in overtime, 3 when they had a chance to pad a four point lead.  
• Western Kentucky's nickname, the Hilltoppers, is a reminder of how daunting climbing hills used to be in the United States.  We take it for granted now, but for much of our nation's history and especially in Kentucky, getting on top of a hill was a significant achievement (I guess).

Heels Playing Better

Carolina has almost casually built the lead back to 21 points. Carolina - especially Lawson and Stephenson - have led the Heels, but Washington State also doesn't look very good.

Nice ending to a sloppy first half

After a sloppy and disconcerting first 10 minutes the Heels, led by Danny the Deity, finished the first half on a nice run.  Green was great with 12 points, and Carolina tightened up on defense quite a bit.  I think we have the seen the best of Washington State so hopefully the Heels will really get going in the second half and put the Cougars away. 

Greece Takes Down Portugal Again

Playing a day after Greek Independence Day the reigning European champs defeated Portugal in a friendly match 2-1 on Wednesday.  Panathinaikos' George Karagounis scored both goals for the motherland.  

It was Greece's fifth straight win over Portugal.  The two most important of those wins were of course in Portugal during EURO 2004, including in the final.

Greece will defend their title, the second most prestigious in football after the World Cup, in 71 days at EURO 2008.  

Sweet 16 Preview

As much as I like the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament, I like sweet 16 weekend even better.  With a smaller field you just get better basketball, and most of the teams playing can usually make credible cases as contenders for the national championship.

Carolina is four wins away from it's second national championship in four years; it would also mean the two states I've lived in the most would have won four championships in a row. 

Washington State, as most of you know, will try to slow the tempo and use the entire shot clock.  But in addition to the expected offensive fireworks courtesy of Lawson, Hansbrough, Ellington, etc. expect the Heels to dominate the boards against a Cougar team that is not that long or good on the boards.   The Heels' rebounding edge will allow Carolina to run and win this game.  I'm also confident that the Heels will stay patient on defense, though staying focused for 35 seconds may be a challenge.    The good news, besides the rebounding and running, is that a few teams have slowed down the Heels this year - namely Ohio State early in the season and more recently Florida State at the ACC tournament - but have lost by double digits each time.  

No news here, but I see the Heels winning comfortably.

The other game in their region, Tennessee and Louisville, could be interesting. But the Volunteers' lack of quality point guard play, against a coach who likes to press, will spell doom for Tennessee.   The Vols have not looked smooth or confident in taking down Butler and American.

The best game of the round will probably be Davidson against Wisconsin.  The Badgers play a lot like Georgetown, inside out.   If they do a better job getting the ball to Beard than Georgetown did getting the ball to Hibbert Wisconsin will win.  But Stefan Curry, probably the biggest individual story of the tournament, is so hot - 30 points a game hot - that you wonder if anyone can slow him down.  Both teams like the half court set and a slow tempo.  I'm picking Davidson and Curry to run their offense more efficiently than Wisconsin so picking the Wildcats to take down the Badgers.

In the other half of that bracket Kansas will easily take down Villanova.

The other blow out will be UCLA over Western Kentucky.  The Hilltoppers may stay close early, but UCLA will eventually grind out another inelegant 15-point win.

The other half of that bracket offers another great match up that is basically a toss up. Xavier won a number of tough games this year and is the dark horse pick to make the 8 on many brackets.  But the Mountaineers are playing with a head of steam, so I'll go with West Virginia.

Finally, in the south expect Michigan State to beat up Memphis, put them on the foul line often, and pick up another signature Tom Izzo win.  It will be blue collar substance over pretty boy style in Houston.    Memphis is the most untested one seed in the tournament, and will wilt against the kind of defense pressure applied by the Spartans.

The other sweet 16 game in the south will see Texas and Rick Barnes cough it up to Stanford in a mild upset (considering the venue).  The loopy Lopez brothers will be too much for an inexperienced Texas front line.

Random sports notes:

• Nice article about Danny Green from ESPN the Mag (which is a terrible magazine in my opinion). The article focuses on the challenge of focusing on basketball while his father was incarcerated on a drug charge.  I like the matter of fact way Carolina's sports information office handled that situation; UNC didn't duck the issue, and Roy or Woody were never defensive in discussing an obviously delicate and touchy situation.

Special Olympics Report

I've always been disgusted by the International Olympic Committee's decision to give Beijing the 2008 Games. What is more cynical, awarding the Games to a abusive totalitarian-capitalist state four years after awarding the Games to the city that invented democracy, reason, and the Socratic method (among other Hellenic ideals currently out of favor in China), or the IOC chucking their stated ideals for billions and billions of loot?

For a great column on the many problems and contradictions inherent in the pending Games check out Sally Jenkins' column in today's Post.   Jenkins helped write Dean's biography (so she rates respect right there).

Props to Speaker Pelosi for going to India last week and calling out the Chinese for their suppression of Tibet protests and general lack of regard for democracy and human rights.  She has been the only high profile American politician to speak out against the pending Beijing games.  

It was disheartening to see how much criticism the French foreign minister received for suggesting a boycott of the opening ceremony. 

This would be a perfect time for Greece - for a million reasons ranging from 'the Olympics was our idea' to 'we invented freedom' - to stand up and call for the Olympics to be moved to Seoul or Sydney or Athens or anywhere else.   How great a statement would that be, for Ellas to once again lead the world out of darkness (fill in more cliches here: following a path lit by the Olympic torch; and into the bright light of human liberty and dignity; like the Ancient Greeks did in Athens when free men defeated the Persians at Marathon and saved all that is good - feta cheese, ouzo, dancing in a circle, democracy, stuff like that).

 

 

Monday Morning Point Guard

A few quick thoughts after reading the sports page this morning:

• Interesting to note that NC State has beaten two of the teams left in the Sweet 16 - Villanova and Davidson. Conversely, they have also gotten blown out, by huge, embarrassing margins, by two of the teams - Carolina and Michigan State.
  
• Some whining in the Post this morning about the Hoyas being forced to play a road game even though they won the Big East regular season. Carolina fans waiting for the Tar Heel game didn't root for Davidson out of in-state solidarity but because they were the underdog. If Georgetown had played Davidson in Birmingham, Anaheim, wherever, the crowd would have pulled for the underdog there too.  
• Bottom line, you are not going to win an NCAA tournament game when you have 11 assists against 20 turnovers. I was surprised by how badly Wallace played. He didn't get the ball down low enough or get Hibbert in the game.  Very odd performance from Georgetown's veteran point guard. 
• Deon Thompson and Alex Stephenson scored 26 points on 13-13 shooting.  Just like to type that.

Heels Barbeque Hogs

Kind of an obvious headline considering how good NC barbeque is (though I've had a some good Q in Arkansas before) and of course how well the Heels played this afternoon.  They completely chopped up Arkansas, a quality team that had played well down the stretch to get an NCAA tournament bid.

But it really does not matter who Carolina plays.  Those kind of details are immaterial when Lawson is playing like he did today, when you have players like Wayne Ellington and Tyler Hansbrough, AND the two-headed four monster of Dean Thompson and Alex Stephenson score 26 points on 13 for 13 shooting with 5 blocked shots.  Thompson was as smooth as Stephenson was strong. Two of his blocks led to excellent fast break baskets for the Heels; Stephenson was brilliant on both sides of the floor.

The 13 for 13 shooting from the four spot was impressive, but ALL the numbers for the Heels today were gaudy.

Hansbrough had another double double with 17 and 10, Ellington scored 20 on 8 of 12 shooting, Lawson scored 19 points against 7 assists - for the weekend he had 11 assists and ZERO turnovers - the Heels had only 7 turnovers for the game against 8 takeaways (3 steals, 5 blocks), and shot 67.7 percent as a team for the game. 

Oh yeah, they won by 31 points.

The Heels play Washington State, arguably the weakest of the number 4 seeds, next week in the Sweet 16.   The Cougars like to slow tempo - dramatically - and held Notre Dame to 41 points in winning yesterday. For the record, it took Carolina 15 minutes to score 41 points today against Arkansas.

Washington State will try to slow down the Heels, but it won't matter.   The hidden strength of this team is rebounding, and Washington State won't be able to slow down the Heels unless they control the boards.   Don't expect that to happen; Hansbrough, Thompson, Stephenson, Green, etc. are just too tough on the glass.  

And finally, can anyone slow down Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough?  I doubt it, so don't be surprised if it's another blow out for the Heels.

NCAA NOTEs

• I refused to acknowledge the strength of the Pac 10 this year, but when you consider they have 3 teams in the Sweet 16 I guess I was wrong.  UCLA played an ugly game versus Texas A&M, but Kevin Love made plays down the stretch to lead the Bruins.  Stanford won a tough game versus Marquette for the right to play Texas in Houston later this week.
• Miami lost to Texas despite a valiant comeback try this afternoon, leaving the ACC with only one team left in the tournament.   Still, it was a very successful season for the Canes who were predicted to finish second to the last in the ACC but instead made it into the second round of the NCAA tournament.
• I agree with many of the pundits/columnists/members of the sports world chattering class that the ACC needs to assess why the basketball seems to have slipped in America's pre-eminent basketball conference. As a first step/quick fix I would return to the balanced schedule where every school plays every other school in the conference twice - even though that would mean 22 conference games.  At least that way a 500 record in conference would get you into the tournament and would boost every member's RPI.
  
• The Big East, who put a hurt on the ACC over the weekend, also has 3 teams in the field of 16 including one - Villanova - who shouldn't have even been in the tournament!  Louisville is still alive in Carolina's bracket and should get past lucky Tennessee to get to the elite 8 and a meeting with the Heels.  Carolina has had great luck in the past against a Pitino coached team and will exact a little revenge on the Big East on the way to the four.
• The class of the Big 12, Kansas and Texas, predictably made it in to the sweet 16.  No surprise there, but it is surprising to have two Big 10 schools survive the first two rounds of play.   No surprise that Michigan State made it; you should always pick the Spartans to make the sweet 16 when filling out your bracket. But I was surprised to see Wisconsin make it.  
• The Badgers play Davidson in what should be one of the most intriguing game of the next round.   Wisconsin is similar to Georgetown in that they have a big sloooowwww semi-talented center and play a physical brand of basketball.  So Davidson could win this game and go to the elite 8.  
• Stefan Curry was phenomenal in taking down Georgetown, by his damnself, this afternoon.  Georgetown played pretty well - at least Sapp and Wright did; Hibbert looked terrible and all the Hoyas had trouble getting him the ball - but could not stop Curry even when they and everyone else on the eastern seaboard knew he was going to get the ball.  That is probably the ultimate compliment for an athlete - to succeed when everyone on the other team is trying to stop you.  Some of that credit should go to Davidson's point guard who did a great job of getting Curry the ball.
• And credit the entire Davidson squad and their coach.  They did not panic when they got down double digits.  Props to the Wildcats, who advance to the sweet 16 for the first time since Lefty Dreisell was their head coach.
• Tellingly, Carolina takes down one of Hillary's home state teams the same week that Obama picks the Heels to win the tournament. A good sign.  But there's more Carolina-Hillary-Obama mojo.  In 2005, Carolina defeated Illinois to win the national championship.  Of course, Hillary was born in Illinois.  And in a sop to her current home state, the Heels could probably take down the Knicks without breaking a sweat (and exact some revenge on Isiah Thomas, too).
  

Finally, check back tomorrow when I hope to post some video and photos from our visit to Nationals Park on Saturday for the college game/run through between St. Joseph's and George Washington; we got tickets courtesy of my brother, Baseball America editor John Manuel.  

My first impressions of the stadium are:

• It's a modern stadium, not a throw back like Camden Yards.  It's sleek and clean and tall and white with blue seats, not brick with black wrought iron and green seats.
• That said, it feels really small. I can't imagine there is a bad seat in there, as you feel right on top of the field no matter where you're seated (we roamed a bit) or at least from the concourses (we did one lap around the stadium);
• Expect all the benefits of a new ball park: wide concourses that are open to the field, lots of food choices, comfortable seats, and a Build A Bear workshop in the outfield near the kids playground;
• One '$611-million-in-public-funding-helped-build-that? note: I didn't care for the exclusive patio for the President's Lounge Club (whatever it's called) right behind home plate; it's basically a place for mucky-mucks to watch the game 25 feet behind home plate while the rest of us look on in envy;
• The Green line is a lot faster than the Orange or Blue line.  We took the Metro from our house - Red line to Gallery Place, Green line to Navy Yard - and it was great and seemed very quick.  Part of it is there are only four stops on the Green line once you transfer at Gallery Place: Navy Memorial, L'Enfant Plaza, Waterfront, then Navy Yard. 
• Perhaps best of all, it doesn't smell like RFK!

Go Heels!

 

51 - 26 Heels at Half

Another great block by Stephenson that led to a nice one-man fast break by my man Q.  Heels dominating even without much from Danny the Deity.

Carolina shot 61 percent in the first half; Arkansas only 36 percent.

Hope the Heels maintain their defensive intensity in the second half and bury the Hogs.  Davidson's comeback - and ol' Roy - should keep the Heels from letting up.

42-21 with under 4 to go

Deon Thompson with a beautiful shot from the same spot where Hansbrough hit his equally beautiful turnaround jumper. 

Evan and I are now watching the game on my laptop due to the national switch to Memphis-Mississippi State.

31 - 11 (Heels)

After the Heels went up by 20 CBS switched us to Louisville-Oklahoma.

What a play by Stephenson - first the block then the presence of mind to tap it to Ellington.  What as asset to have coming off the bench.

26-11 Heels

Heels maintained their lead even with Hansbrough and Lawson on the bench.  Great play by Q just before the tv time out.

I'll blog about this later, but this has been a great day to watch hoops, though I really was hoping Butler would pull it off.   They had looks but couldn't convert.

Davidson's comeback is hard to comprehend.  They were 17 points down and pulled it out in a tale of two superstars - Curry played the role to a T, while Hibbert did not.   

Bad Day for the ACC

Tough day for the ACC yesterday and Friday night. 

Clemson couldn't handle their own success.  After playing an inspired first half the Tigers looked incredibly tight once Villanova made a few baskets after half, and choked down the stretch in losing to a mid-level Big East basketball team in Villanova.

Unfortunately, the losing to mid-level Big East team continued on Saturday.

It rocked the blogosphere when I first posted this - it generated lots of comments, well at least one comment - but I was hoping Duke would make the sweet 16.   That hope was one part ACC loyalty, one part 'must beat Big East' sentiment.

But not only was Duke undone by the now familiar bugaboos of terrible 3-point shooting and terrible play from senior DeMarcus Nelson, but they had to wake up to read plenty of quotes from West Virginia players in the New York Times - the hometown paper of many Blue Devil alumni - dissing their talent and effort.   A bad loss for Duke and the conference. 

For the second year in a row Duke has faded down the stretch - they finished the season going 6-5 and finished 4-8 last year - and for all the attention and fan fare have 'only' gone to one final four in the last six years.  Don't be surprised if this malaise lasts for at least one more season.  I blogged last year that with Krzyzewski distracted by his Team USA duties recruitment and preparation would suffer.  That seems to be the case.

Or it could something else I blogged about.  Lately Duke just seems fatigued at the end of games and seasons. His last two years at Duke J.J. Reddick was gassed going into the tournament.  That's one reason a team that had Sheldon Williams and Reddick for FOUR years - that never happens anymore - only made one Final Four. It seems that in recent seasons Krzyzewski has not developed a deep enough rotation of players he trusts.  Duke plays an aggressive style of defense, and this year ran and spaced the floor.  Both of those tactics require a lot of energy and stamina, something recent Duke player rotations have not had.  

At least that's my opinion.

Looks like Villanova is going to defeat Sienna this afternoon, so a Big East team that lost to NC State on a neutral floor is going to the sweet 16.  That's just one reason folks love college basketball.

Teams That Should NOT Have Made Tourney Lose To Prove the Point

When the brackets were announced on Sunday night, I questioned how the Selection Committee could snub a team like Virginia Tech yet include teams like Oklahoma, South Alabama, Villanova, Baylor, Arizona, Oregon and Texas A&M.

For the record Oklahoma defeated St. Joseph's, and Texas A&M squeaked by BYU.

But the rest of those teams looked like NIT-worthy squads.  South Alabama lost by 20, Baylor by 11 to a Big 10 team, Arizona lost to West Virginia by 10, Oregon gave away a game to Mississippi State, and Villanova has yet to play Clemson tonight. That's 2-4 so far.  

Even though Oklahoma and Texas A&M won, those seven teams did not deserve to make the tournament.

Heels Way Up at Half

Hard to argue with Carolina's offense in the first half.  Ellington, Lawson, Hansbrough and Thompson all had great halves.  I wish we were defending a bit better.  

But I'm knit picking: 60 points in 20 minutes is impressive.

Random Thoughts:

• Hard to believe UConn lost today.  I'm pretty sure I had them going fairly deep in a few of my brackets.
• Great endings to a couple of games today.  I got to watch the Western Kentucky game, which was fun to watch.
• For a second there I thought American was going to pull it out today against Tennessee. They played pretty well and very smart, but just did not have the players to win that game.  Still a good effort from our neighbors up Nebraska Ave.

Obama Picks the Heels

Two days after spending the day in Fayetteville, Barack Obama announced that he has Carolina winning the national championship on his bracket.  He also has Pitt in the final four, so two of his squads are from states with primaries looming.

Obama says that his pick of the Heels has more to do with Tyler Hansbrough than the North Carolina primary; sounds like sound reasoning to me. 

Duke Survives Belmont

Duke survived tonight against Belmont, winning 71 to 70.  As well as Belmont played the Blue Devils generally looked terrible.  Henderson won that game on his own down the stretch, scoring the last four points and grabbing a key rebound. Henderson and Paulus were the only Dukies who played hard or well tonight.

DeMarcus Nelson looked especially bad. I think he only scored 2 points, and missed a big free throw late.   Singler didn't look much better.  Both will have to play a lot better if they are to win on Saturday and advance to the sweet 16. 

Tournament Eve

On the eve of the NCAA tournament, I've been a bit surprised by the number of pundits, etc. picking UCLA to win the national championship.  I'm obviously biased, but I'm also not impressed by the PAC 10 or Big East.  I'm actually not impressed by most of the teams in the tournament.

That said my final four has Carolina, Kansas, UConn, and Stanford making it to San Antonio.   

The Carolina pick is obvious; Louisville will make it to the regional final, but there is no way that team can stop all of Carolina's weapons.   Besides talent, this team is tough minded with a refuse to lose attitude.   It's simply hard to beat the Heels.   Finally, I love to watch the Heels take down a Pitino team, which most famously happened in 1995 in the east regional final.  Stack and 'Sheed were fantastic in that game, as was Donald Williams.

Kansas is the obvious pick in their regional.   Georgetown may give them a game, but the Detroit regional may be the easiest of the four.  Wisconsin in the weakest 3 in the field and the fourth seed, Vanderbilt, could easily lose in the first round to Siena.

Texas should be the favorite in the Houston regional since they will be in their home state.  But as I blogged before, Rick Barnes will find a way to mess that up. Like many, I think Memphis is overrated and will wilt in the tournament. I wouldn't be surprised to see them lose to Tyler Hansbrough's brother's team, Mississippi State in the second round.  That probably won't happen, but they probably will lose to Pitt in the sweet 16.  This is another relatively weak bracket.  I see Stanford taking down Texas in the sweet 16, and then defeat Pitt to make it back to the Final Four.

In the Phoenix regional, I initially had a weak UCLA team winning that bracket. But upon further review, I can't see them getting past the Huskies.  This could be a wide open bracket, with top four seeds UCLA, UConn, Duke and Xavier each having a semi-legit shots at the four.  Duke should make it to the 16 but they're 5-4 in their last nine games, Singler is slumping, and when the jumpers aren't falling Duke has trouble.  I have them losing to Xavier. When UCLA, a faux-Big East team, meets a real Big East team, the real Big East team should win.  So I guess it's going to be UConn and Xavier in the regional final, with UConn going to San Antonio.

That said, UConn peaked a few weeks ago so who knows how that game will go. It's a toss up.  

Either way, I think my dark horse pick Stanford will beat either UCLA or the Huskies, and in the Maudlin Roy Williams Bowl, Carolina will pour salt in the wounds of Jayhawks fans and take down Kansas in the other semi-final.

Stanford will try to slow down the Heels in the championship game, but Ellington and Green will calmly hit shots from outside, Lawson and Ginyard will fill the lane, and Hanbrough will out work and outscore both Lopez brothers.

For Carolina's second national championship in four years, and fifth overall.   

Eddie Fogler's Revenge Deferred

Mt. Saint Mary's, from nearbyEmittsburg, Maryland, defeated Coppin State last night so Carolina's first round opponent is now known.

I wonder if Roy was hoping to play Coppin State though. Folks may remember that a few years ago, actually perhaps closer to 15 years ago, fifteen-seeded Coppin State defeated a second-seeded South Carolina squad coached by Eddie Fogler. Fogler and ol' Roy were flippin' assistant coaches together with Dean for years and are still friends. I'm pretty sure Fogler attended Roy's Hall of Fame induction ceremony, too.

I also think Larry Davis, who played on the '93 Carolina national championship team, was on that Gamecock team after transfering to other, lesser Carolina.

Mt. Saint Mary's also has a Carolina tie in. There former coach, Jim Phelan, passed Dean on the list of lifetime victories (though a lot of those were from when MSM played Division II and Division III hoops). Phelan coached there for more than 30 years.

Carolina Has Top Graduation Rate Among #1 Seeds; Woman Also Earn #1 Seed

According to a new study by the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, Carolina was the only school among the four number one seeds with a graduation rate above 50 percent.   Carolina's rate was 86 percent, compared to 45 percent for Kansas and 40 percent for both UCLA and Memphis. 

The Carolina women's basketball team is also a number one seed, but in the New Orleans NOT the Greensboro bracket.  The problem with the New Orleans bracket is they may have to play 2 seed LSU in their home state of Louisiana.

The women are shooting for their third straight Final Four, and second national championship.  Sylvia Hatchell won Carolina's first women's championship the year after Dean won his second (in a year where the men were favored to repeat) in 1994.  The men coincidentally lost here in Landover in my first March as an inside the beltway resident.

Who can name the disgraced Olympian who was Carolina's point guard in '94?

Media Notes

Some decent articles today in the post-selection show press.  

• In his USA Today column today, Vitale picks Carolina to win it all.
• Good piece by Inside Carolina's Greg Barnes about Wayne Ellington being the key guy on this year's team.  
  

Brackets are out; Hokies are not in

My first impression of Carolina's bracket is that it's a tough one, with a potential second-round game against either a fading but talented Indiana team or a team on the upswing in Arkansas. Not sure that is a great reward for the overall number 1 seed.

Carolina did get a very weak 4 seed in Washington State. On paper the 3 and 2 seeds look tough in Louisville and Tennessee, respectively. But I like my chances against both teams. Louisville is okay, I doubt they can stop both Hansbrough and Ellington, and Tennessee did not impress me the few times I watched them play, even in games they won. Ginyard can lock up Lofton, and again I think Hansbrough is unstoppable against a team like the Volunteers.

So while it will be a challenging regional, I bet the Heels will make it to San Antonio.

I just looked at the other brackets, and can't believe that Virginia Tech did not make it. How can you take Oklahoma, South Alabama or Villanova? Oklahoma played terrible down the stretch, much worse than Tech. Villanova lost to the ACC's last place team - NC State - on a neutral court. Neither one of those team deserve to make it, and there is no way the Big East deserves 8 teams. There are 3 good teams in that conference and 4 average teams, and one that shouldn't be in the tournament.

While I'm on the subject, how did Baylor, Arizona, Oregon and Texas A&M get in? Arizona lost to Virginia - like NC State an ACC bottom feeder this year - at HOME. On top of that, they lost twice to Arizona State, coached by ACC outcast Herb Sendek. If you take Arizona, with a losing conference record, why not Wake Forest or Florida State? Wake beat Duke; does Arizona have a win as impressive? No.

The ACC was better than the Big 12 and the Pac 10; I think the east coast press overdid it all year in praising west coast hoops. The conference should have gotten five teams in on it's own merits, and Virginia Tech was better than most if not all of those seven teams.

Boy, I'm surprised by my Hokieness!

Quick NCAA Thoughts:

• Clemson will beat Villanova, then beat Vanderbilt in a tough second round game. That would set up an interesting game with Kansas in the sweet 16.
• As a reward for it's first NCAA appearance in more than 10 years, Miami gets to play Texas in the second round. A seven seed seems about right for the Canes, but that is a tough match up. The regional final of that bracket is in Houston, so I have Texas beating Memphis - if they get that far - to win that regional and go to the Final Four, in San Antonio.
• As much as the Carolina will benefit from playing in Raleigh and Charlotte, Texas may be the biggest winner of all the teams in the tournament in terms of geography. Then again, Rick Barnes usually finds a way to screw things up.
• Duke's draw is pretty tough. West Virginia is peaking at the right time, but I'll be rooting for Duke against a squad from an overrated conference. But Xavier is also in their bracket, a team that has historically risen to the occasion in the tournament.
• 
  

Back to Back ACC Championships

What a great win today for Carolina's second straight ACC championship. Winning this tournament is more proof that the post-Dean malaise that afflicted Tar Heel Nation is officially over. As much as winning the national championship in 2005 did, these back-to-back championships signal that the Roy era will mimic the Dean era for glory and success.

Today's game was a great college game. Other than the turnovers, which were a result of boneheadedness by the Heels and aggressive defense by the Tigers, Carolina played a pretty good game against a very determined and talented team. Put Clemson in your final 8 in your brackets tonight. That team in playing with a head of steam and should string together at least 4 wins in the NCAAs.

Clemson's high level of play makes today's championship win that much more impressive. Carolina's last three wins - at Duke, and on a neutral floor over Virginia Tech and Clemson - were gut check games. This team is talented, but it's also tough, determined and smart. In short, this team is starting to emulate Hansbrough and Ginyard, the two leaders who make this team such a dangerous one.

I also want to give a tip of the hat (how lame is that phrase, but I'm posting a first draft; without an editor your going to get crap like that) to Quentin Thomas. Nice to see him hold the trophy, but better to know that he earned that honor with his play this season and in this game.

This game really showcased how much the Heels grew in Lawson's absence. Q did a great job running the offense today, and that little 8 footer than rimmed out with around 4 minutes should have fallen. Despite that miss and a few bad turnovers he had a great half.

But the most important player on the floor in the second half was Ty Lawson. He finally started to assert himself and had a great half. Coincidentally enough, like Q he too had a shot rim out - at the end of the first half - that would have given Carolina momentum. Lawson finished with 12, 8 assists and 5 boards, and more importantly had at least 3 patented blow-bys to the hoop when the Heels needed them most.

Besides shots that rimmed out, these guys are now linked by great point guard play (as well as by a few weirdly sloppy turnovers). The TyQ (CueTy? help me out here) combo makes the Heels very tough.

But this is still Hansbrough's team, and it was great to see him get shots in the second half. Psycho T had a great all around game - 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting, 2 steals and 11 boards. As good as his offense was, Hansbrough was money on the boards. He seemed to get every rebound down the stretch, again displaying determination that can be admired but not duplicated by any other basketball player on the planet. I polled folks on who Hansbrough will emulate in the pros, and games like this make me think he's the next Dennis Rodman.

As important as both Lawson and Hansbrough were, Carolina does not win this game without the stellar play of Wayne Ellington. Clemson brings out the best in Ellington, and today he was fantastic. He scored 24 points on only 13 shots (making 10), and only took 4 three-point shots (hitting 2). Ellington has a complete game, and scored bunches of points in transition. One more time, this team will only go as far as Ellington can take them. He was fantastic all weekend.

Have to mention my man Danny Green, who finished with 12 points and made some nifty and pivotal plays - including a big three and offensive board/put back before fouling out. And I can't leave out Marcus Ginyard, who finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds. He and Hansbrough were dominant on the boards.

Again, with TyQ at point, Hansbrough being Hansbrough, Ginyard successfully playing the role of Lynch/Ademola and Ellington and Green peaking at the right time, this team will be hard to stop in the next 6 games.

Two final thoughts on this team.

1. Carolina played smart Carolina basketball today, focusing on transition baskets or on getting the ball down low to Hansbrough and company. The most telling stat of the game is that Carolina only took 10 three pointers. As tough as Clemson's defense was, the Heels - led by Lawson and Q - did not settle for long jump shots. They did not take what Clemson gave them, but imposed their will on the Tigers. When they weren't running they were getting the ball to Hansbrough down low, or Ty, Ginyard, Green and Ellington were taking it to the rack. Great basketball, winning basketball, Carolina basketball.
2. And for the third game in their last four the Heels played great defense. Their effort today was as good as it was at Cameron last weekend. This team has really grown down the stretch, and can play lock down defense and control the boards when they really need to. A great omen for the next month.

What a great weekend - and great week - of basketball. On to the NCAA tournament!

GO HEELS!

Network Coordinators

In case folks didn't watch the credits after the game Jim Love, an old friend from Carolina who now lives in K-polis, was credited as one of two Network Coordinators for Raycom's coverage of the ACC tournament.   Jim has worked for Raycom for almost 10 years now and played the palace this weekend.

Heels up five with less than four to go

Nice comeback by Clemson, aided by a few bad passes by the Heels.  Interesting to note that Clemson has been to the line more than Carolina has, so Hansbrough and company are not getting the calls.

Was not happy to see Danny the Deity foul out, but Thompson stepped up and hit two big FTs.  

Here we go.

Lawson back in the game

Great take by Ty followed by my man Danny Green hitting a big shot, sandwiched around a nice defensive play by Ginyard.  In short, everyone is contributing and the Heels are now up 72-59 with 8 minutes left. 

Turnovers keeping us from building the lead

That said, we're still up 6 with 10:27.  Ellington continuing to excel, which is huge for the Heels.  

Great board by Danny Green

And Hansbrough is back in the flow.  Let's get a few stops and build our lead a bit.  Mark it 55-49 with 13:48 to go.

2nd half starts like the first

Was heartened to see Lawson on a blow by and Hansbrough's three point play.  But Clemson keeps making shots and we keep giving them extra possessions.

Line of the game - "Hansbrough leads the league in lost contact lenses" by Mike Gminski

Great Half

Pretty easy to explain this half. 

1. Clemson is making tough shots, especially KC Rivers.  Not sure that can hold up for another 20
2. Carolina is scoring in transition.  The last stat had us with 20 fast break points.  If that holds up, we'll win this game
3. That is, if we can do a better job against Clemson's press.   The Tigers have really bothered the Heels.  Hopefully Roy and Ty will crack the code at half; it took Carolina almost 30 minutes to solve Clemson's press in Chapel Hill
4. Clemson is really crowding Hansbrough; I imagine he's going to start looking for his midrange shots early in the second half to keep Clemson's defense honest
5. I hope Lawson gets going in the second half.  The Heels need him as a scorer.

This is going to be a tight game for 40 minutes

High level of play by both teams.  Clemson has made some tough shots.   Cliff Hammonds could play on my team any time.  

Can't understand our problems with Clemson's press, though I guess the Tigers have a lot to say about that.

Love Wayne Ellington

Very happy that Ellington is off to a great start, not crazy about Q's second foul.  Nice board and put back by Stephenson, too.

Interesting how early Roy went to the bench.  I wonder if the players are getting tired cause of the pace - and taking themselves out of the game - or if Roy is actively coaching to keep guys fresh.

Frenetic start

Good to see the Heels off to a good start on offense, running and passing over and through Clemson's trap.    After two turnovers to start the game the Heels started taking care of the ball.

Love the steal and take by Hansbrough; anyone who says that guy is not athletic enough to play at the next level is an idiot.

The Heels have been a bit slow on defensive rotations.  Hopefully Roy will get that straightened out.

Tip Off

I'm nervous.   Though it has lost it's luster a bit, I still get geeked up for the ACC tournament championship.

Interesting to note that Clemson has two starters from North Carolina - one from Garner and one Charlotte - while Carolina has none.  And Clemson is wearing their purple unis for the third game in a row.

An Exhausting and Exhilarating Day of Hoops and Hansbrough

Pretty phenomenal day of basketball at the ACC tournament today - to say the least.  Twenty-five years after Jim Valvano coined the term, for the Heels against the Hokies it was survive and advance in Charlotte on Saturday.

What more can you say about Tyler Hansbrough? When you need one player to make one play to win one game, that player is Tyler Hansbrough.   

But against Virginia Tech tonight he made more than one play; his rebound with 30 seconds left was just as big.  That flurry left me exhausted, and I'm just a fan!  How do coaches and players do it?

One more thing about Hansbrough's shot.  He's quoted all over the place saying "I just caught it and let it fly."  But that's not what he did.  Check out the photo (courtesy of the N&O): his form is perfect.  He grabbed the rebound , squared his shoulders, and shot a text-book jumper.  Some say good luck is the residue of hard work.   Well, you saw it on that play.   

Hansbrough finished with 26 and 9 for the game, and the Heels needed every point and rebound to defeat a very game Virginia Tech squad.

The Hokies played a great game today.  They ran - successfully - with the Heels in the first half, and then slowed it down - successfully - in the second. Kudos to ACC coach of the year Seth Greenberg.   The Hokies didn't shoot that well, but led for most of the game - actually controlled the game - behind their defensive pressure and rebounding.

Carolina never got any rhythm going as a result of that rugged Hokies defense. Lawson was especially tentative, Green had a nice stretch in the first half then disappeared, and both Thompson and Stevenson were practically swallowed whole by the Virginia Tech defense. 

Hansbrough was the obvious hero for the Heels, and played a great game in each half.  In the first, he took what the defense gave him and hit a number of perimeter shots.  Ginyard was the other hero of the first 20 minutes, and was the only Heel taking the ball to the rack with authority.

Three Heels distinguished themselves with aggressive play against the Hokies, but who would have thought the third player would be Will Graves?  His strong take late in the first half helped the Heels go into the locker room tied with Tech. With Stephenson and Thompson non-factors Roy gave Graves some good minutes, and was rewarded with some fine play from the freshman.

In the last 20, Hansbrough started having success inside but the Heels still fell behind.  It wasn't until Ellington got hot late in the half that the offense showed any kind of flow or spark. I've said this before, I'll say it now - this team only goes as far as Ellington will take them.

The unsung part of this game - and Ellington's - was the defense he played against Vassallo.  The senior from Puerto Rico had a great first half, but cooled down considerably in the second thanks in part to Ellington's defense. Wayne also finished with 8 rebounds.   As big as his two threes were down the stretch, his defense of Vassallo was just a key to this win.

The defense in general was pretty good for the Heels; they got stops down the stretch when Carolina needed stops.  Besides Hansbrough's performance from start to finish and Ellington's late game heroics, the Heels' defense was the best part of this game for Tar Heel fans. 

So on to a date with Clemson for the ACC championship.  As I blogged about the FSU game, it is hard to beat a team three times in one season.  Carolina barely defeated the Tigers in Clemson and in Chapel Hill, so maybe those close games don't count as 'real' wins?

Go Heels!

A few more ACC tournament thoughts

• Impressive win by Clemson over Duke, for two reasons - one ridiculous, one sublime.  One, Clemson made their free throws.  One would assume kids on scholarship to an ACC school could routinely make an unguarded 15 footer; but that hasn't been the case with Clemson this year.  Today they made their free throws and won. Two, Clemson did not panic after Duke retook the lead with 9 minutes left.  Instead the purple clad Tigers looked like Carolina and methodically ran their offense.   They made plays down the stretch and won a huge game.
• Duke lives by the sword and dies by the sword, and today they died as a result of too many missed three pointers.  Though talented, the Blue Devils often times become too enamored with the three point shot and devolve into a one-dimensional team.  That makes them easy to guard.  The odd thing is in Nelson, Henderson and Singler - even Scheyer - they have some slashers who can finish at the rim.  I wonder why they don't utilize that kind of attack more?  Anyway, they are another cold shooting night away from elimination, which I predict will be in the sweet 16 game.   
• I'm going to watch tomorrow's game live (as opposed to TiVOing it, which I did today and started watching around 3:15 pm), so may try some live blogging during the game if folks are interested.  Feel free to join the conversation during the TV timeouts.