On to Monday night

The second half went according to plan and the Heels held on to defeat Villanova by 14.  And as good as Ellington and Lawson were, the best player on the floor for the final 20 was Danny Green.  

Villanova hit shots and turned the Heels over coming out of halftime and cut the lead to five points.   At that point, Green hit two big threes around an old-fashioned three-point play by Lawson - after one of Hansbrough's four steals - to practically ice the win for North Carolina.  

Green has done that all season, hitting so many game-changing shots that I've lost count. But tonight, as it always is with Danny Green, it was about his total game not just his three-point shooting.  As was the case when he ripped an offensive rebound away from the Griffin brothers, Green had a big offensive rebound he simply wanted more than two Wildcats in the second half.  Ditto with a big blocked shot and charge that he took to end Villanova's second half run. He's a deity in my book.

  

Green's second half play looks even bigger when you look at the overall play of both teams. Neither team was very smooth on offense, with Carolina leaving good shots on the rim and stubbornly missing lots of free throws. The silver lining, besides Green, is that Ellington hit two key baskets at key times and Lawson continued to push the ball up court.   But Carolina missed shots because they missed shots.  Villanova missed mainly due to Carolina's defense.  Every Wildcat shot seemed to be contested. Carolina's defensive intensity and aggressiveness on offense wore out Villanova, who as predicted were overwhelmed by the Heels' defense, focus, and talent.

That focus and toughness and improvement on defense, coupled with the fact that on offense Carolina has been able to get any shot they want all tournament long, will hopefully lead to their 5th NCAA title on Monday night.

GO HEELS!

One last note; one reason the second half had no flow was the referees, who generally stunk and I thought called a self-conscious game.  In the first half, they appeared spooked by both teams being in the double bonus and swallowed their whistles.  In general, college officiating is getting worse and worse, so bad that Sport Illustrated noted that the college game is much rougher than the NBA.  And the flow and beauty of basketball - and offense - suffer mightily.  Here's hoping the NCAA adopts two great NBA rules: no hand checking, and the 'no-charge zone' under the basket.  The way games are officiated now in the NCAA the defense has a big advantage.  

That style of play is one reason why I keep criticizing the Big East. That league is way too physical and as a result is simply bad and unattractive basketball.  Ironic that that overrated conference will - in effect - have 3 refs on the floor Monday night but no teams playing for a national championship.