What a great bounce back performance by Carolina, led by Tyler Zeller, in their win over Virginia today. The Wahoos, though boring and at time excruciating to watch, are nonetheless a tough out.
The Cavalier defense (another great ACCism like Hokie Pride, Hurricane Basketball, and Duke cheerleaders) kept the Heels from getting up and down the floor, but at least we looked like Carolina in frequently and successfully going inside for scores and winning the rebounding battle.
Finally, we looked like Carolina is methodically closing out the win. The Heels stretched the lead from 4 to 18 in the final 5 minutes of the game, a stark contrast with, well, you know what I'm talking about.
One thing that DID carry over from Wednesday night was the stellar play of Tyler Zeller. At one point, after a nice blocked shot, I tweeted 'is there anyone playing better the Zeller right now?"* Psycho Z had another great game with 25 and 9. On a day when most of the Tar Heels missed most of their shots, Zeller was an efficient 9 for 16 with 3 steals, too.
It was inspiring to watch Zeller bounce back from easily the 3 worst minutes of his life.
As great as Zeller played, it was also excellent to watch the Heels close out a game Carolina style. The defense in the second half was excellent as the Heels rebounded well, closed out on shooters, put up walls and held Virginia to 20 points in 20 minutes.
That defense was especially tight in the last 5 minutes. Ol' Roy called a time out just prior to the under 4 time out and the Heels got the message, tightened up their defense, and did NOT let Virginia get back in the game.
Great stuff.
But it wasn't just Zeller that carried over back to back (and for him, back to back to ...) positive performances. James Michael McAdoo did, too, as he looked confident and aggressive this afternoon on his way to 9 points, 7 boards and 2 steals in 18 minutes. That's at least 6 straight good halves for McAdoo, who appears to have turned the corner.
Carolina's bench this game was the unlikely trio of McAdoo, Justin Watts and Stilman White. White looked good, and played with confidence in giving Marshall a break. The offense did stall with him at point, a significant accomplishment.
Watts was effective, too, and was rewarded with 18 minutes filling in for P.J. Hairston, Dexter Strickland, Leslie McDonald, and Wanda.
A nifty 18-point win over a ranked and tough team. That line would have been impressive no matter the circumstance, but coming off a agonizing loss even more impressive.
GO HEELS!
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