Turning ugly into victory

Ugly seems to be the theme of many a Carolina win this season, none more so than today's victory over State in the ACC tournament semi-finals.

Ugly - let me count the ways:

• No John Henson
• Tyler Zeller fouls out
• Harrison Barnes went 3 for 12
• James Michael McAdoo and Kendall Marshall were also in foul trouble
• Carolina had to utilize their fourth-string point guard - in the first half!

Yet, save for Henson all those players stepped up to help will the Heels to a tough win over a determined Wolfpack.

Zeller was generally unstoppable on his was to 23 points on 8 for 11 shooting.  The strategy of 'give it to Zeller and have him score or foul out the other team' helped win this game today.

Barnes left a dozen points on the rim, but his aggressiveness midway through the second half changed the game in Carolina's favor.  He seemed to recognize that his shot wasn't falling so it was time to take it to the rack, which usually resulted in free throws and points.  Barnes' one-man run was huge.

McAdoo struggled at times in his first career start, but did finish with 9 points.

But this game belonged to Marshall and Watts.  When my brother asked me 'How did Carolina win this game" I muttered "Uh, Marshall and Watts made plays" but struggled to come up with any other info on the game.

Marshall had an uneven game, but came up big at the end with his game-winning drive.  And for the record, that was not a charge.  The State defender had to lean into Marshall to even get close to charge position.  And philosophically, on that kind of play the benefit of the doubt goes to the offense.  More on this point later.

It wasn't just that last drive; Marshall made play after play in the second half, and his offensive game is now legit - and dangerous for the other team.

But what can you say about Justin Watts?  He played point guard when Marshall got into foul trouble, spelled McAdoo at power forward when he picked up his fourth foul, then made THE play of the game with his steal - under the State basket - with less than 5 seconds left.  Watts played 18 crucial minutes, and saved the game, turning ugly into victory along the way.

GO HEELS

•  I would have been happy with either FSU or Duke as Carolina's opponent tomorrow.  The chance to smite Duke again would have been great, but I think most Tar Heels fan like the idea of avenging the loss in Tallahassee.
• It should be quite a slug fest between two big front lines, especially if the Heels are again without Henson. 
• Neither FSU nor Duke looked that smooth on offense, so if Carolina can shut down Snaer and James, with Bullock and Zeller, we should be okay.  Of course, that assumes we also shut down Dulkys so Marshall, Watts and Barnes also need to step up on D.
• I like our chances though. Revenge is a powerful motivator.  Look for a focused Barnes to lead the Heels to another ACC championship, 77 to 65.

Finally, some more thoughts on charges and blocking fouls.

The referees really stunk in this game, at both ends for both teams.  

In general, college basketball refs have not had a good season, and it seems that down the stretch of this ACC season they have gone charge crazy.  

I've blogged/ranted on this point before, but to me at least most of these charges should be called blocking fouls.  

One, the team with the ball should get the benefit of the doubt.  They are instigating the action, and should NOT be penalized for that. As it is in baseball, where a tie goes to the runner, in basketball a close play should be called a blocking foul, not a charge.

Two, too often charging calls reward lazy defense. Things have improved with the NCAA adopting the NBA semi-circle under the basket so that players literally can't just wait for the offense to come to them. For years, Duke would just plant a player under the hoop and wait for drivers to run into them and draw a cheap charging foul.

But that style of  'waiting for an offensive player to run into me' defense is still utilized by teams outside that semi-circle - and referees reward them for it.  It makes no sense.  

If a defensive player is NOT set once the player with the ball leaves his or her feet, that's a blocking foul. It's unfair to the offensive player to be called for charging for running into a defender who slides over to where that player is going to land.  The offensive player is penalized for abiding by the laws of gravity.  

Again, the offense should be given the benefit of the doubt, and the defensive team should actually guard someone by moving their feet and not be rewarded for acting like a statue.

Five Great Halves in a Row

The Heels continued to prove they were back today against Georgia Tech, extending their winning streak to 31 straight at home, but more importantly playing their fourth and fifth straight great halves of basketball in routing the Yellow Jackets.

Lot's of other numbers to talk about: Carolina shot 54 for the game; made 8 three-point shots in the 1st half; the Tar Heels blocked 10 shots and had 8 steals versus only 10 turnovers for the game; ended a 4 game losing streak to Georgia Tech (the oddest number in this list).

Those numbers do tell the story.  Two numbers, two stories, two stats it particular should make every Tar Heels fan on the planet happy.

One, and the gaudiest one to look at, is the 10 threes for the game. Carolina started the season shooting 3s very well but had cooled of late.  This afternoon the Heels were getting and making open looks from beyond the arch. That, of course, opened thing up inside for another great game from Zeller, and effective and emphatic drives from Barnes.

If today's performance is proof that the Heels, in particular Bullock and Hairston, have regained their outside touch this team is practically unbeatable.  Who does the other team guard when all five Heels can shoot and score? 

Two, the defense was generally outstanding today, as evidenced by the 30 boards, and an 18 to 10 ratio of take aways - steals and blocks - to give aways - the dreaded turnover.  Boards, blocks and steals lead to fast breaks, and fast breaks lead to points.

In the second half Carolina's perimeter defense lagged at times, but the interior defense was outstanding, and I agree with Hubert Davis' kudos to Barnes for shutting down Glen Rice Jr. this afternoon.

As it is with Carolina's outside shooting, when the Heels defend and rebound like they did today, watch out world. 

The great news is the Heels have now done that for 5 halves in a row, and are starting to regain their swagger.

The iffy news is, can you really measure progress against a team that looked so overmatched like Georgia Tech looked today?  With Wake and Maryland up next, we may not find out that answer  for another week or so.  Either way, it's great to see Carolina looking like Carolina.

GO HEELS!

A few - ok, quite a few - more Heels notes:

• I loved Reggie Bullock's game today.  Not only did he bury some shots, 3 of 6 from three, I loved his activity on defense and without the ball.  His transition defense was key in the decisive first-half run that put this game away early.
• How crazy good is Kendall Marshall?  Ho hum, another 12-1 assist to turnover ratio game, with an excellent mix of long, spectacular, skip passes, mixed in with a three-pointer and a few nifty drives.  Running out of superlatives for his game.
• Fantastic to see John Michael McAdoo play with confidence today.  He had his best game in about a month.  Best of all?  He did not settle for that 10-foot fadeaway jumper he loves.  McAdoo was confident and aggressive today.
• Tyler Zeller continues to be 'the good Tyler Zeller' of last year's stretch run.  He was efficient and smooth on offense, great on the boards, and had another nice defensive game, too.  Front court mate John Henson had a nice if unspectacular game as well, 13 points, 6 boards, 4 blocks and a stop the presses 5 of 8 on free throws!
• Oh yeah, Harrison Barnes put together another dominant half of hoops.  In the first half he was not that aggressive but he made up for in the second stanza with a series of drives, pull ups, dunks, threes, and reverse lay ups.  And he played pretty good defense, too.
• Stillman White had a decent game, hitting one three, making one assist and one steal in 6 minutes of spelling Marshall at the point. Interesting to see Justin Watts play the point for about 2 minutes late in the game.  As a result, Marshall 'only' played 31 minutes tonight, which coincidentally is his season's average this year.