Carolina handled FSU despite allowing the Seminoles to shoot almost 50 percent. The outcome was never really in doubt once the Heels took the lead half way through the first half behind Hansbrough, Ginyard and Ellington's shot near the end of the half.
But for much of the first half the Heels seemed to be playing down to the level of the competition.
The most significant development of the first half actually happened before the game started when Ty Lawson was introduced as the starting point guard. Lawson looked ok, and I agree with other commentators who noted that he still is not at full speed.
Though he didn't start Quentin Thomas had another great game off the bench, with 4 points, 3 assists, a couple of assists and a block in eighteen minutes. Q only had one turnover, and in general the Heels took care of the ball to finish with only 10 turnovers.
In the second half Carolina was much more focused and much more productive, at least on offense and the boards. In the first half the Heels were actually out rebounded, but fixed that in the second half. Carolina also repeatedly fed the post and Hansbrough finally went to the foul line after 3 halves of not shooting a free throw. Ellington also had a nice half, and though he didn't shoot well Danny Green made a number of nifty plays and passes, and the Heels maintained a comfortable lead for most of the game before eventually winning 82 - 70.
BTW, there was a big piece on Hansbrough in USA Today this week.
Though it wasn't the most exciting or well played game, it still was a nice win. FSU is a pretty decent team with a lot of scorers. And the Seminoles were playing for a shot - granted a very long shot - at the NCAA tournament. Finally, as Dean always said it's hard to beat a team three times in a season.
The Heels now play Virginia Tech today at 1:30. You may recall the Thomas-led Heels defeated the Hokies by 39 points about a month ago. That humiliation was the turning point of the season for Virginia Tech; after that game coach Seth Greenberg had each player sign a pledge (I pledge to: play hard for my teammates, give my all, listen to the coaches, be a good student, etc.). That seems to have worked as Tech recovered to finish with 9 wins in conference.
Their win over Miami yesterday - a competitive though inelegant game - should be enough to get them into the field of 64. But I assume Virginia Tech will play as if they need one more win - against a marquee opponent like the Heels - to punch their ticket.
That said, I imagine the game will be close early before the Heels pull away methodically for a 20 point win.
Other ACC Tournament Thoughts
- Duke eventually pulled away from Georgia Tech last night to set up a semi-final game versus Clemson. That should be a good game, but my money is on Duke and a rematch for the ACC championship between Carolina and Duke.
- One thing that gives me pause is the way Clemson dispatched BC. Granted, it's BC, but more than the score I was impressed by the way Clemson played. The Tigers were focused and aggressive. I still think Duke will win but it will be a good game.
- I watched the second half of the Duke-Tech game with long time friend - and friend of this blog - Joe Pillow, in for a visit from Seattle (where Joe reports it is hard to watch enough Carolina hoops), my former badminton partner from Carolina Mary Cotter and her husband at a gay sports bar on U Street called Nellie's. Prior to that we went to my new favorite DC spot The Saloon (No TV; No Standing) for some quality craft beer from Germany and Belgium - and some terrible dip called mirza.
- Finally, I wasn't crazy about Roy's introducing Hansbrough to a referee at the end of the game yesterday. Perhaps he did it tongue in check, and it did not come up in his post-game press conference. But it looked like he was showing up the refs a bit, and bottom line Dean would never do that.
- Nice piece by Feinstein (2 references in 2 days for the Duke grad!) about American University Jeff Jones in today's Post. American defeated Colgate for the Patriot League championship and their first appearance - after 41 years of hoops - in the NCAA tournament.
- As most of you know, Jones played and coached at Virginia before being fired by his alma mater. Jones took the Cavaliers to the tournament 5 times in 8 years; conversely the Wahoos have been lost in the hoops wilderness ever since under Pete Gillen and Dave Leito. Anyway, congrats to Jones and AU, the university closest to our home and thus the one I hope my kids go to (if they don't go to Carolina, of course).
- Interesting to note that Gary Williams and Jimmy Lynam both coached at AU. But the most infamous player or coach in AU history is probably . . . ? Hint - his first name is the same as a famous muppet. Who knows that answer?
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I guess he was too modest to post his answer, but Gene Karpinski just emailed me the correct answer - Kermit Washington. He became infamous when he punched Rudy Tomjonovich in an NBA game. Washington was suspended but after playing has been active doing quite a bit of relief and charity work in Africa.
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