There'll be a Carolina victory - every time the Tar Heels play Michigan State. What a great win in East Lansing against the undefeated and top-ranked Spartans,* again.
Many if not all the post-game stories included words or sentiments such as 'unexpected' or 'upset' but as we all know, when Carolina wins it's never an upset. Even against number one on the road, even after a loss to UAB. Carolina is Carolina.
Carolina basketball is a feeling as much as it is a system (a term Dean hated) or philosophy. That feel extends to fans, too. For instance, five minutes into the game in Birmingham I imagine most Carolina fans knew - as I felt - that we were going to lose. The Heels came out flat, listless, and disengaged thanks to a combination of (a week off)+ (a little too much post-Louisville hubris)=loss.
But those kinds of games are to be expected from a young team still learning it's way.
Five minutes into the game versus Michigan State I felt - I knew, I tweeted - the Heels were going to win.
Why? Because we looked like Carolina. Carolina forced a terrible shot on Michigan State's initial possession to start the game. On the other end we immediately went inside, as Dean taught for years, something that worked ALL night.
It was Carolina blue heaven all night.
And so is winning.
The only item not on that list is lots of fast break points. Though the Heels did not run that much, they did have some impressive and important points in transition. Tokoto's block of a dunk attempt early in the second half, a dunk that would have given the Spartans their first lead of the night, led to an old-fashioned three-point play when Britt threw an incredible diagonal pass to a streaking Page for a huge bucket and one.
Page made huge plays all night. You can pick among his 3 to open the second half, the charge he took in the first half, the fast break basket from Britt, or his big 3 late.
Later in the half, when once again Michigan State had tied the score, feeding the post Carolina-style won the game for the Heels. Johnson scored 4 straight, then Tokoto scored 6 straight with one hoop coming on an offensive board and another on a one-man fast break, before Meeks went on a one-man 4-point run.
As it was against Louisville every Heel contributed. Britt and McAdoo got us started with some great shooting in the first half; when they went out with two fouls the Spartans finally tied the Heels after trailing by 10 for most of the half. McAdoo struggled for most of the night, but in addition to the good first half offensively he had a huge board at the end of the shot clock in the second half and a great block with less than a minute left.
Meeks also had an impressive block late, and his skip pass from the post to Page for Marcus' killer three was a thing of beauty and probably the play of the game.
Lots of great performances for a great win, a win that was all Carolina basketball right from the start.
GO HEELS!
Many if not all the post-game stories included words or sentiments such as 'unexpected' or 'upset' but as we all know, when Carolina wins it's never an upset. Even against number one on the road, even after a loss to UAB. Carolina is Carolina.
Carolina basketball is a feeling as much as it is a system (a term Dean hated) or philosophy. That feel extends to fans, too. For instance, five minutes into the game in Birmingham I imagine most Carolina fans knew - as I felt - that we were going to lose. The Heels came out flat, listless, and disengaged thanks to a combination of (a week off)+ (a little too much post-Louisville hubris)=loss.
But those kinds of games are to be expected from a young team still learning it's way.
Five minutes into the game versus Michigan State I felt - I knew, I tweeted - the Heels were going to win.
Why? Because we looked like Carolina. Carolina forced a terrible shot on Michigan State's initial possession to start the game. On the other end we immediately went inside, as Dean taught for years, something that worked ALL night.
It was Carolina blue heaven all night.
- The Heels were relentless in feeding the post, as Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, and Joel James were getting lots of touches and making lots of shots.
- When someone missed, Johnson, Meeks, and especially J.P. Tokoto were there for the offensive rebound. Tokoto also seemed to grab every lose ball.
- If we weren't feeding the post the Heels were taking it to the rack. Nate Britt was fantastic both looking for his shot and getting the ball down low, as was Marcus Page. And Tokoto.
- Our aggressiveness on offense led us to the free-throw line, where at least for one night the Heels were awesome (especially Britt late, less so for James Michael McAdoo).
And so is winning.
The only item not on that list is lots of fast break points. Though the Heels did not run that much, they did have some impressive and important points in transition. Tokoto's block of a dunk attempt early in the second half, a dunk that would have given the Spartans their first lead of the night, led to an old-fashioned three-point play when Britt threw an incredible diagonal pass to a streaking Page for a huge bucket and one.
Page made huge plays all night. You can pick among his 3 to open the second half, the charge he took in the first half, the fast break basket from Britt, or his big 3 late.
Later in the half, when once again Michigan State had tied the score, feeding the post Carolina-style won the game for the Heels. Johnson scored 4 straight, then Tokoto scored 6 straight with one hoop coming on an offensive board and another on a one-man fast break, before Meeks went on a one-man 4-point run.
As it was against Louisville every Heel contributed. Britt and McAdoo got us started with some great shooting in the first half; when they went out with two fouls the Spartans finally tied the Heels after trailing by 10 for most of the half. McAdoo struggled for most of the night, but in addition to the good first half offensively he had a huge board at the end of the shot clock in the second half and a great block with less than a minute left.
Meeks also had an impressive block late, and his skip pass from the post to Page for Marcus' killer three was a thing of beauty and probably the play of the game.
Lots of great performances for a great win, a win that was all Carolina basketball right from the start.
GO HEELS!
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