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.

ACC Tournament Semi-finals

No surprises on day two of the ACC tournament.

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.

Other Random Hoops Thoughts

• 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?

ACC Tournament Preview

Carolina takes on FSU in a few hours in the first game of the second day of the ACC tournament. I think I blogged this last year, but growing up in North Carolina the first day of the ACC tournament was practically a state holiday. There were only two days - or two events - where TVs were allowed in class: a moon walk and the ACC tournament. Class would stop in order to watch some college basketball, at least in the good ol' North State.

Of course, there was more riding on the outcome back then in the days of each league only getting one entry into the NCAA tournament. That's one reason the ACC tournament always was the cover story on the next week's Sports Illustrated (also a big deal back then).

John Feinstein laments what has happened to the ACC tournament - more focused on the post-football expansion ACC as opposed to the post-multiple NCAA bids ACC - in the Post today.

• Man, did Maryland look terrible last night down the stretch in losing to Boston College. Vasquez in particular was horrible with a lot of turnovers, and James Gist didn't help matters by jacking up shots from the perimeter. You'd think Gary Williams would call a time out, draw an X on the whiteboard marking Gist down low, and order Vasquez to get him the ball. Seems like a simple thing to do, but the Terps couldn't do it.
• The fans are starting to get restless with Williams in College Park; interesting how the press in DC always defends him. I wonder how long that will last since Maryland is doomed for a third trip to the NIT in four years.
• Miami played their way into the tournament yesterday with their win over NC State. State finished with a losing record and won't even get invited to the NIT.
• The biggest game of the day is Virginia Tech versus the Hurricanes at 2:30. A win by the Hokies guarantees their bid to the NCAA, though one would hope with 9 wins in the RPI's toughest conference would be enough. But 9 wins is not a lock after playing an unbalanced schedule most of your wins coming over bottom feeders like BC, NC State and Wake.
• Carolina's tilt against FSU could end up being a close game. Counting their first round win over Wake, the Seminoles are now 8-9 in the ACC. A win over the Heels could get them into the tournament, or FSU probably thinks it can so they will be fired up.
• The good news for Carolina is they are starting to hit their stride on offense and defense, and now has four almost unstoppable weapons in Hansbrough, Ellington, Lawson and Danny the Deity.

Go Heels!

God I Love Danny Green

I found myself texting that message to quite a few friends after Carolina's great win over the Devils tonight in Durham.

There were so many great performances tonight by the Heels.   Let's start with the team itself.  

As they did in the final regular season game in 2005, Carolina held Duke scoreless - SCORELESS - down the stretch as they outscored the Blue Devils 10-0.  It was a great team effort, with lots of help defense.  

To wit, after Scheyer made it 66-68 with just under 6 minutes left the Heels didn't score for 3 minutes - but did not panic. With 3 minutes left Scheyer drove one more time trying to make it a four-point game but my new deity - Danny Green - rotated over and blocked the shot.  

From that point on the Heels played great Carolina basketball; they were smart, kept their cool and were methodical down the stretch on the offensive end. In the last three minutes there were just so many huge huge plays by the Heels.

Start with Ellington's driving basket to tie it at 68.  Carolina wanted to get the ball to Hansbrough, but when Wayne realized that Tyler was not open he made a great decision and a great drive past a great Hansbrough screen for the big bucket.  

After Henderson missed a contested shot we saw more smart Carolina basketball on the ensuing possession.   Again, Carolina looked down low. But Lawson could not get it to Psycho T but did find a cutting Marcus Ginyard. Ginyard missed the shot, but Green kept the ball alive and Hansbrough just took the ball from Singler for the put back and a 2-point lead that restored order in the universe.

That may have been the play of the game, and highlighted Carolina's dominance on the boards.

Trailing by two, Duke came out of a time out only to see Paulus miss a 3-point shot that was taken way too early in the possession.  But you can't fault Paulus for having the stones to take the shot and for carrying Duke the entire night.

Carolina got the ball back and added insult to Paulus' injury.  Roy called the same play he ran in February 2007 when the Heels won in Cameron - clear it out for Lawson and let him blow by Paulus. Instead of scoring he got fouled and make both free throws for a 72-68 lead.  

   

If Hansbrough's put back was the biggest play of the night, the second biggest was Lawson's steal after he knocked down the two free throws.  Again, it was more great team defense.  After Henderson tried to dribble around Hansbrough, Lawson came over to steal the ball. 

Ty immediately pushed the ball up court, but missed the lay up.  But if you run the floor good thing happen. Danny the Diety did, and his tip in of the Lawson miss gave Carolina a six point lead.  

Just as Lawson followed his free throws with a steal, Green followed his tip in with a big block of Scheyer's lay up on the other end.  Green was simply spectacular tonight - on offense and defense, in the first half and the second. 

Duke got the ball back only to have Scheyer's three blocked by Hansbrough - one of 15 FIFTEEN - blocked shots by the Heels.  Carolina's rebounding, defense and blocked shots were three of the many great things the Heels did in Durham tonight.

After the block Carolina got the ball up the court quickly, with crisp diagonal passes from Lawson to Ginyard to Ellington to Green for an emphatic dunk and an 8 point lead with 25 seconds left.

Duke 'answered' with a Nelson air ball and the game was over, though Green got one more block against Paulus with 10 seconds left.

Just an excellent game with great plays by the entire Tar Heel squad.

Everyone played great and contributed.  I've already mentioned Green, Hansbrough, Ellington and Lawson.  But how about Q's big three to regain the lead at 60-57 after Scheyer had tied it with 9 minutes left?   Or Thompson, who finished with 5 blocks, 7 points and 9 boards, plus made two big free throws in the second half?

Some of the stat lines for the Heels are just as gaudy.  Hansbrough's 16 points and 15 boards, Lawson's 10 points, and Ellington's 16.

But the gaudiest and best line belongs to the player who won this game for the Heels, my man Danny Green. He goes to Durham, comes off the bench and finishes with 18 points, 8 boards and 7 blocks.  He got the Heels off to the great start in the first half - including a freak-nasty in-your-grill dunk over Paulus - and closed the game with big plays on both ends of the floor.  God I love Danny Green.   

A Few More Thoughts

• Heels finish the season undefeated on the road. Pretty phenomenal, and a tribute to Roy but mainly to the players for developing a toughness that was not there last year.
• Krzyzewski once again has a losing lifetime record versus Carolina (14-24 vs. Dean, BTW), and the Heels have beaten Duke three times in a row at Cameron.
• Nothing like defeating Duke at Duke, in front of all the right-wing entitlement boobs.  Take that Richard Nixon, Ken Starr, Elizabeth Dole, etc. etc.
• That said, here's to Greg Paulus.  The guy has made himself a player.  Hard to knock Duke's squad - in Paulus, Henderson, Nelson, Scheyer, and Singler that is a ton of talent, and I haven't mentioned perhaps their most talented player Nolan Smith.  Another testament to Carolina's defense, toughness and smarts in defeating a team like that on their home floor.
• As talented as they are - and it was a great great college basketball game - the Dukies looked gassed and really bothered by the Heels down the stretch. Whereas the Heels methodically imposed their will in the last four minutes, Duke looked tight and tired. Paulus' missed three, Singler's missed three and a big miss by Henderson at the 5 minute mark all point to a tired team that may have expended all their energy in simply making it a tie ball game.

Of course, Carolina had a lot to do with their fatigue and general discombobulatedness.  The Heels played a great overall game with contributions from everyone and everywhere on the floor.  What a great win, led by my man Danny the Deity.

Go Heels!

Olympiacos Eliminated

Olympiacos got waxed on Wednesday, losing 0-3 to Chelsea and thus getting eliminated from the European Champions league tournament.  Chelsea dominated and kept the ball on their side of the field most of the game.   The most telling stat of the game was shots - Chelsea had 18 on goal, while the Reds only had 6.

Not exactly news, but the game reminded you once again that English league football is a lot better than the Hellenic league.

The next Hellenic football news to watch for is the upcoming European Championships in Austria and Switzerland where Greece will defend her 2004 championship.

Of course, some ACC hoops news:

• Clemson lost tonight at Georgia Tech, but with 9 wins they are in.  They host Virginia Tech this weekend; the winner will have 10 wins, but both the Tigers and the Hokies are in either way.  That game is also huge in terms of seeding for the ACC tournament; the winner will finish third and get a bye, but the loser could tie with Miami who could finish fourth when their win over Duke is used as the tie breaker (best quality win).
• Maryland has a huge game at Virginia this weekend, but even if they win they need help in the ACC tournament.
• Miami is probably in with 8 wins after their comeback against BC Wednesday night.   They could really breath easy if they take care of FSU in Tallahassee this weekend to finish with 9 wins.   Other than the Carolina-Duke game the Canes at the Noles is probably the game of the weekend.
• Finally, in a mild upset as Vince Carter - with 5 votes or 35% - won our poll as the best Carolina dunker of all time.  He edged the greatest basketball player of all time 5 to 4.  I'm pretty sure I voted for David Noel solely on his dunk at Kentucky.  Hard to pick against Carter, especially when you consider his dunk over a 7 footer in the Olympics - perhaps the greatest dunk of all time and his display at the slam dunk contest a few years ago.
• Kudos to brother and Baseball America editor John Manuel for planting the seed for our new poll on Tyler Hansbrough.

A Win Is A Win

For a nice win - where the Heels shot 70 percent in the second half - tonight's game versus Florida State was pretty boring.

The Heels got off to a fairly lackadaisical start highlighted by Surry Wood's four points.   Hansbrough and Ellington both shot air balls before the first TV timeout as FSU got off to a 7 point lead.  I like that Roy gave Wood, a non-scholarship player, the start and let him break a sweat. I also like that he did not overreact - or react at all, really - to Carolina's slow start.

The Heels eventually got rolling a bit; Ginyard made some nice plays, Hansbrough got to the free throw line, but it was Danny Green who really jump started Carolina's offense with some nice shooting and passing.  Will Graves once again had some nice minutes in the first half, too.  Hansbrough eventually finished with 20 and 9, Ginyard with 13 on 5-7 shooting, and Green 12 and 7.  

Carolina was much more methodical and efficient in the second half.  Carolina continued to dominate the backboards, and Hansbrough and Green continued to lead.   The Heels also moved the ball very well, especially in the second half, on the way to finishing with 22 assists.  Thompson - who had a bad game on defense - made a few shots on the way to 8 points, but the biggest difference between the first and second half was the play of Lawson and Thomas.

Lawson made 4 of 6 shots, with 3 assists, in 20 minutes.  Q, playing in his last game at the Dean Dome, finished with 8 points on 4-4 shooting on four nifty drives (and one dunk where he clearly hung and pulled himself up on the rim, something you can only get away with on Senior Night).

Ellington was oddly off, and finished with only 6 points on 2 of 9 shooting.  As you know, to me he is the key to this team.  Hopefully he got it out of his system, and will bounce back against Duke on Saturday.

So a nice win where the Heels shot great in the second half, passed the ball really well, and dominated the boards. And as a bonus Lawson continued to play himself back into playing shape.    It might have been boring, but it was a nice win where the Heels did a lot of things right. 

A Few Random Updates

• Big game for Hellenic football team Olympiacos as they play the second game of their two-game UEFA Champions League series against Chelsea tomorrow (Wednesday) at Stamford Bridge.  The teams played to a scoreless tie two weeks ago in Athens.  The winner tomorrow advances to the round of 8, though Olympiacos can advance on a tie if they score (a 0-0 tie means extra play - I think - but the Reds advance if it's a scoring tie on the basis of away goals).  The game is on ESPN2 at 2:45 pm eastern.
• Virginia Tech played its way into the NCAA tournament with their win over Wake tonight.  The Hokies now have 9 wins in ACC play.  Conversely, Wake is now out of the NCAAs with 9 conference loses.
• Lots of big games left this week and weekend, including the Heels' third straight win at Cameron.  

Visit to Nationals Park

The kids and I took advantage of the nice weather today, and prodded by the article in the Post visited the new Nationals Park.

We purposely took the (Danny) Green line there to see what that would be like. Unfortunately, the new Half Street exit at the Navy Yard metro stop is not finished yet.

We eventually walked down Half Street and were able to look at the stadium from across the street. The stadium itself looks ready. While we were there we got to see them test the fire alarms. They seem to work as the entire stadium had flashing lights going. We thought about starting an actual fire, but thought karma-wise that would not be a good idea.

I've posted some photos of our visit on the old blog.

Unlike the stadium but very much like the metro stop, the area around the stadium is a pretty serious construction site. Behind center field a new building, probably condos, is being built and the huge hole for it's parking garage takes up a city block. The big hole will be on your left when you walk to the stadium from the Half Street metro stop exit. On your right will be an even weirder site - a dreary, maroon-brick colored, block-long Metro bus repair shed/warehouse. I wonder if that's always going to be there, or will Metro sell the building and relocate. I imagine Metro would make a pretty decent profit from selling that building.

I assume everything will be cleaned up in time for opening day, but there still seems to be lots of work to be done in the next 3 weeks.

Hoops Notes

• Maryland blew a 20-point lead with 11 minutes left and lost to Clemson tonight 73-70, in College Park on Senior Night. Vazquez had 7 assists but 7 turnovers - all of them seemed to happen in the last 10 minutes of the game. Clemson was the opposite, and played loose on both ends of the floor before Oglesby hit a fade-away three with 3 seconds left to win it.
• Maryland is 8-7 with a game at Charlottesville. They are back on the bubble, and definitely need wins at Virginia and at least one win in the ACC tournament.
• The Wizards defeated New Orleans for the second time in a week behind Jam-Is-On's 28 points. That guy is a pro's pro. Hard to believe that the 'Zards will likely make the playoffs despite missing Arenas and Butler for most of the year, but not hard to believe that it is due to a great player and leader like Carolina's Antawn Jamison.

Two Great Comebacks Against BC

It's hard to figure out where to begin in blogging about Carolina's great win this afternoon against Boston College. 

So I guess I'll start with the obvious - the great comeback from 18 points down in the second half en route to a 90-80 road win.  Add this game to the list of celebrated Carolina comebacks.  The Heels trailed by 14 at the half and the deficit quickly ballooned to 18 after two more Rice baskets two minutes into the final stanza.  Rice was out of his head on fire in the first half on his way to 34 points.

Since this is a Carolina and Hellenic blog, I'll remind folks that among the greatest sins - perhaps the greatest sin - to the ancient Greeks was hubris.  Rice was hot, but I believe his hubris - exemplified by his fanning of himself after his seventh made three pointer - offended the Carolina Comebacks gods, a pantheon that includes Cunningham, Bradley, Jordan, Lynch and Dean.  

Perhaps for that reason, no matter how hot Rice was and even after the Heels got down by 18, this was one of those games where you just knew the Heels were somehow going to win.   I've blogged this before, but that is just one of those feelings a Tar Heel gets.

One reason you feel it is the coaching of folks like Dean and ol' Roy.  Roy pulled the starters after Rice's second basket of the second half gave the Eagles the 18-point lead.  Whatever Roy said to his starters worked.

The other thing Roy said in the second half that worked was "Danny, go in for . . . "  My man Danny Green was phenomenal today, hitting 3 three-point shots during a 22-3 run that fueled Carolina's comeback.   He finished 4 of 8 on three pointers, and with 18 points and 7 boards.   Green just oozed confidence on his jump shots, and came off the bench with a determined looked on his face that said "Enough is enough; time for me to lead the Heels to a win today."  He did.

Of course, he had help from Wayne Ellington.  At half time I told Ariadne and Evan, 'don't worry, the Heels are going to win this game, and it would be a lot easier if Ellington got hot.'  Well, safe to say he got hot.   After scoring only two points in the first half, Ellington hit two huge threes and showed off his new, varied and complete floor game.  In addition to going two for five on threes, he finished 7 for 12 for 20 points, and 3 steals. Ellington was excellent on both ends of the floor - this guy is no longer simply a three-point shooter - and was as good as any college player in the country in the second half.

Ellington was not alone in playing great defense in the second half;  Green, Ginyard  and the entire team did a nice job, especially on Rice.  Carolina was quick to double team in the final 20 minutes, and also did a great job of playing the passing lanes.   The comeback was fueled by steals and forced turnovers as much as it was by Green and Ellington.

The defense of Rice in the second half  brings me to the second great comeback in the game. I'm of course referring to the return of Ty Lawson.   

How great was it to see Lawson check into the game in the first half?  Me, I was visually and audibly giddy. Offensively Lawson didn't really look for his shot, but he did manage 5 assists in 21 minutes.   And Ty did have one of his patented blow-bys to the rack.  

But defense was where Lawson dramatically impacted this game.  In the first half Rice hit a number of tough and contested shots, with Q in is face on most the them.  The difference in the second half was that Lawson's pressure on Rice kept him from a) getting any open looks at all, and b) initiating any kind of offense for the Eagles.   

I loved the defense, but loved seeing him on the floor even more.

 

Finally, as great as Green and Ellington were, how about Tyler Hansbrough? Psycho T finished with a game high 25 points and 9 rebounds.  He also had the assist on Green's first three of the second half.   More importantly, he single handedly kept the Heels in the game in the first half.

The other guy who helped keep the Heels in striking distance despite the onslaught from Rice was Will Graves.  He scored 5 quick and calming points late in the first half, and also picked up a nifty steal.  Quality minutes at a key time from our only freshman.

A great team effort and great comeback from the Heels today.  It was a great game to watch and a great win.  

Finally, the win coupled with losses by Tennessee, Memphis, and others this week means that the Heels will probably be number one on Monday.   What a nice tribute to Quentin Thomas as he prepares for senior night on Wednesday against Florida State.   No one, including me, thought that he could do what he has done - including leading the Heels to the number one spot in the polls - these last seven games. 

Congrats, Q.  Let's hope your senior season ends the same way your freshmen year did.  

A Few Hoops Notes:

• Lots of big games lately and left on the ACC schedule.  How about that huge win by Maryland on Thursday at Wake Forest behind James Gist's 31 points?  Talk about rising to the occasion; who does Gist think he is, Danny Green?  
• The Deacons lost again today at Georgia Tech, and are now 6-8 with games at Virginia Tech and at home to State left.  A win over Maryland would have given them a great chance to get to 9-7 in the league; now they have to win in Blacksburg to get to 8 wins.  Even then, they would probably have to win at least one game in the ACC tournament.
• Kudos to Maryland for the impressive road win.  If they defeat Clemson in College Park for their ninth conference win on Sunday they should be in the tournament.  
• Even if they lose to Maryland tomorrow, Clemson should get to nine wins if they defeat Virginia Tech at home next weekend, and have an outside chance to get to 10 wins in conference if they can beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
• Virginia Tech can also get to 9 wins by defeating Wake at home on Tuesday.
• Miami's late season surge continued today with win at home over Virginia.   The Canes remaining games are at home to BC and at FSU. Both are winnable, and the U is almost guaranteed to finish with at least 8 wins in conference.
• Tough but explainable loss for State today against Duke.  State just doesn't have the fortitude to compete and win games like Carolina or Duke does.  I bet every fan in the RBC Center felt the dread and certainty that somehow the Pack was going to lose despite holding a 13-point lead with 5 minutes left.  
• Virginia lost despite 41 points from Sean Singetary and leading at half.  Interesting to note both teams with 40+ scorers lost today in the ACC.
• Finally, despite the loss the Cavaliers are playing with some spunk and passion, and will beat Duke this week in Charlottesville.  
• My guess is the ACC gets six teams in the tournament: Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Miami, though Wake could sneak in if they finish 8-8 and win a game or two in the ACC tournament.

Two totally random notes:

• I had probably the best beer I've ever had this week on Wednesday night.  Navin Nayak took me to The Saloon on U Street ("No TV, No Standing") where I feasted on Saxo, an organic, monk-brewed beer from Belgium.  So I was giddy twice on Saturday: when Lawson checked into the game, and when I found Saxo at Rodman's.
• I got a hair cut today, and usually when I ask about a possible bald spot on my head my barber Panayoti always says 'get out of here; I'm bald and I know bald and you are not starting to go bald.'  But today when I asked my Greek-Cypriot friend said, "Well, you're not as bald as me."