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Off the cuff: Hopefully the Tar Heels saved a little bit for the next game but they sure proved a point - although to a man they say they weren't trying to send a message with the dominating performance in the First Four "play-in" game in Dayton, Ohio.

Basketball analyst Seth Davis, who went to Duke and joined a chorus of sports experts in decrying Carolina's at-large bid into the tournament, changed his tune a bit after the big win over San Diego State.

Speaking to the camera as if it were the UNC team he said, "You proved your point emphatically and you should feel good about it."

Seth Greenberg, former ACC coach and now analyst, was very outspoken against Carolina getting a bid. But then on Tuesday, he predicted a UNC victory in this game and in the next against Ole Miss. Crazy that these guys don't think Carolina is good enough to make the tournament but they are good enough to make it to the Sweet 16.

Maybe that's it. Pushing the Quad 1 nonsense incessantly, they have to say Carolina shouldn't get in because the Heels might actually make some noise. Then there are just the Carolina haters you can't reason with.

Jalen Rose, one of the CBS basketball analysts, seems to be one of them. He was upset that Carolina got a bid too and he went so far as to say it wouldn't matter because San Diego State would take care of the Tar Heels. At halftime, he looked like a deer in headlights.

There are plenty of Carolina lovers out there too. "The atmosphere was awesome," Seth Trimble said. "Our fans were here. In March we feel that we have the home fans no matter where we are."

Former Villanova coach Jay Wright seems to like Carolina. He spoke glowingly about the Tar Heels playing with pride in the Carolina program.

The whole uproar against Carolina was really silly. The Quad discussion has overshadowed everything. I think they should drop the whole Quad discussions. No, Carolina didn't beat Alabama or Auburn or Duke or Florida or Michigan State. These are top seeds in the tournament - a lot of teams wouldn't have beaten them.

For the most part, Carolina beat everyone they should have beaten and lost to teams ranked higher than them. Using more in-depth analytics than how they played against a top team in November, the KenPom ratings have the Tar Heels as the 33rd best team in the country. They certainly should be in a tournament that has 68 entrants.

The teams that are most angry about not making the tournament seem to be West Virginia and Indiana. Those teams went 5-5 down the stretch - compared to 8-2 for Carolina including losses to Duke. WVU lost its final game to a 19-loss team. Indiana is ranked 48th in the KenPom ratings while WVU is 53rd, both well below the Tar Heels.

In the NET rankings, that the NCAA selection committee also uses, the Tar Heels are 36th while West Virginia is 51st - below Wes Miller's Cincinnati team. Yet they are talking about suing the NCAA. Carolina's win probably puts a crimp into that lawsuit.

So, in review, Carolina had more overall wins than the other contenders, are higher ranked and were playing better at the end of the season.

Not to get too political, the uproar reminds of Trump Derangement Syndrome. The vitriol directly at UNC was off the charts. Social media posters saying wild things like it doesn't matter if Carolina wins the tournament, they didn't deserve to be in the tournament. Huh?

They first say that Carolina didn't deserve to get a bid and they were going to get killed in the tournament but now that they weren't killed they're saying they still shouldn't be in the tournament. So, we don't want the best teams in the tournament? It's more like we should never have known Carolina is one of the best teams.

After an up and down year, it's strange to say but if they can keep playing like that, they are one of the best teams.

At the very least, as former Carolina great Tyler Zeller said on the radio after the game, "I think they showed they belong tonight."

Now, can the Tar Heels keep it up against Ole Miss?

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Jim Boeheim, the former Syracuse coach who is now an analyst on ACC games, admitted to not particularly liking North Carolina and he blasted the Tar Heels effort in the first half against Duke.

By the time the game was over, Carolina had won over Boeheim and he enthusiastically said the Tar Heels should be in the NCAA Tournament. "It was a great effort that was spoiled by a mental mistake," he added.

I really don't know what the urgency was for Withers to get a quick start. You don't assume your teammate is going to hit the free throw but you certainly don't risk a lane violation in that situation. He likely saw himself knifing through the lane for a tip in to give Carolina the victory.

Carolina fans should forgive Withers, who feels bad enough about his mental error, but there is blame there and he knows it.

A lot of things could have gone differently. Lubin could have hit the first free throw and then the urgency to get the possible rebound on the second free throw wouldn't have been there.

Of course, there is no guarantee that the game would have gone into overtime or that Carolina would have won if it had.

The Withers miscue lifts some off the blame off Lubin - or at least diverts attention. Had Lubin hit the first free throw, his second likely would have ended the game in Carolina's favor.

Duke coach Jon Scheyer made a good point in the post-game news conference when he pointed to Proctor's pull-up jumper with 3:25 to play as a key play of the game.

Duke hadn't scored in a couple of minutes and Carolina had cut the lead to 70-66 when Proctor hit the short jumper and seemed to surprise the Heels by pulling up for the shot rather than takng it to the hoop. It was the only basket Duke hit over the last five minutes but it was a big one.

Carolina ended up with a respectable shooting percentage at 47.3 percent (59.3 percent in the second half) but the three-point shooting killed the Heels. They were just three of 17 with the lately hot RJ Davis missing all three of his attempts.

Except for the last five minutes of the first half when Duke blitzed the Heels 15-0, Carolina was superior and often looked like the better team. All the Heels needed was for a three to go - or a couple of free throws with four seconds left to go down.

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(Photo by UNC Sports Information)
UNC 95, San Diego State 68
Heels click in NCAAs, show they belong
North Carolina showed all those with UNC Derangement Syndrome that the Tar Heels belong in the NCAA Tournament as they were locked in during a 95-68 romp over San Diego State in a game that wasn't even that close. (3/18)

The Tar Heels, who led by as many as 40 points, figured to have a tough go against a taller team that leads the nation in defensive field goal percentage. But it was the Carolina defense that set the tone and fast break buckets and three-pointers followed as the Heels poured it on.

Up just 13-11 after turning the ball over seven times, Carolina went on a 20-2 run over six minutes to take command of the game at 33-13. During that stretch, Drake Powell and Jae'lyn Withers both swished threes while Eliott Cadeau had a couple off flashy assists and a spinning drive of his own to the hoop.

"Our defense was real, especially in the first half," UNC coach Hubert Davis said. "We did a good job defending the paint and then getting out in transition...

"This group is getting better - our confidence is growing."

RJ Davis, playing in his final NCAA Tournament, made it one to remember as he hit all six off his three-point shots and finished with a game-high 26 points including a three at the first-half buzzer to give the Heels their largest lead to that point at 47-23.

Carolina kept the up-and-down offense and stingy defense going in the second half working the lead up to 40 at 82-42 following Davis' final three of the game with 7:32 to go. Soon thereafter Coach Davis started taking the starters out as the Heels settled for a 29-point win.

"We know we deserved to be here," said UNC's Seth Trimble, who scored 16 points. "We're not sending a message to anybody else. We hear what people say but it doesn't make any difference."

The three-point shot made a difference for the Heels as they hit 14 of 24 for their best three-point percentage in a game this season. Carolina also outrebounded the Aztecs 39-28. After turning the ball over seven times in the first six minutes of the game, UNC turned it over just four more times over the last 34 minutes of the game.

"We have focused guys," Coach Davis said. "It doesn't surprise me that they had one of their best games of the year."

The other two Tar Heels in double figures were Ven-Allen Lubin, who had 12 points, and Jaylen Withers, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The 11th seeded Heels, now 23-13, advance to play No. 6 seed Ole Miss Friday at 4 p.m.

Box score

(Photo by UNC Sports Information)
Duke 74, UNC 71
FT, mental error ends Heels' comeback
North Carolina rallied from 24 points down on rival Duke and had a chance to take the lead at the foul line with four seconds left. Then, the absolute worst things that could happen happened and the Tar Heels fell to the Blue Devils 74-71 in the ACC Tournament semi-finals. (3/14)

Down 72-71, Carolina's Ven-Allen Lubin drew a foul and went to the free throw line with a good chance to win it. Lubin, who had made all four of his free throws earlier in the game, missed the first of two free but he still had a chance to hit the second and possibly send the game into overtime. He indeed hit what would have been the tying free throw but an over-anxious Jae'lyn Withers moved his foot into the lane for a violation that negated the free throw.

Carolina was forced to foul and Duke's best free throw shooter - Kon Knueppel - got the ball on the inbounds, was fouled and hit two free throws to make it 74-71. With a couple of seconds left, the Tar Heels were unable to get the ball to RJ Davis and big man Lubin had to heave up a three at the buzzer that wasn't close. Duke, playing without best player Cooper Flagg, had survived.

"I've never seen anything like that before," Knueppel said. "Obviously we were pretty happy they didn't get a chance to tie it."

Earlier, it looked as if it would be a runaway as Duke scored the last 15 points of the first half over the last 4:40 and took a commanding 45-24 halftime lead. The Blue Devils extended the lead to 52-28 before the Tar Heels started their comeback.

Over the next seven minutes, Carolina shaved 10 points off the Duke lead but still trailed by 14. In the final eight minutes, the Tar Heels made some defensive stops and attacked the basket often, absolutely dominating the No. 1 team.

A 24-7 run during that time pulled the Heels within a point when Seth Trimble converted two free throws with 32 seconds left to make it 72-71, setting up the disastrous finish.

An emotional Withers left the court with a towel over his head and teammates consoling him. For his part, UNC coach Hubert Davis wouldn't directly address the play. He was asked a question about lifting Withers' spirits. "It's all over our spirits because we're a team," Coach Davis said. "When we win we win together and when we lose we lose together."

He also wouldn't directly answer questions about whether or not his team had done enough to make the NCAA Tournament. He noted that the Tar Heels had been asked about being on the bubble for more than a month during which time the players have been focused on becoming the best team it can. "We've been playing must-win games for a month and we've played our best basketball. That's pretty cool."

In this game, Carolina's recent three-point barrage ended. The Tar Heels, who have been averaging 11 threes a game late in the season, managed only three - and they were all from a surprising source, Elliot Cadeau, who was saddled virtually the entire game in foul trouble. As a result, Cadeau played less than 27 minutes but still scored 15 points, dished out five assist and picked off a pair of steals.

While the Heels were cold from outside, Lubin picked it up in the paint with a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double in the last five games. "He has been consistently high level for a while, giving us that inside presence we need," Coach Davis said.

The other two Tar Heels in double figures were Seth Trimble with 14 points and Drake Powell with 10.

The Heels, now 22-13, must wait until Sunday at 6 p.m. to find out if they did enough to make the NCAA Tournament.

Even if Duke doesn't win the ACC Tournament title Saturday night, the Devils are likely to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils, now 30-3, had five players in double figures with Knueppel leading the way with 17 points, 12 of which came in the first half.

Box score


 

2024-2025 UNC Season Preview

Read about any UNC basketball game since 2007-2008
Other old archived headlines:
2012-2013 UNC basketball season preview
2010-2011 season began with Late Nite with Roy

ESPN blows it - What were they thinking?
Read about UNC's 2010 football bowl win
Readers weighed in on Tar Heels' 2009-2010 troubles
Shorthanded Heels get big game from freshmen in opener
Season Review: UNC baseball had one of its best years in 2008
Carolina basketball's run ends after comeback falls short
Tar Heels run out of gas against Fresno State
Season Review: Carolina ends season where it wanted - in Omaha

Flack does it in the clutch again as Tar Heels fight on
Federowicz heroics keep UNC alive in College World Series
Carolina in the College World Series again
UNC is one win away from third straight trip to the World Series

Carolina baseball advances to host Super Regional starting Saturday
Heels defeats UNC-Wilmington 7-3 with five-run inning
UNC's wins over Miami vault Heels to No. 1 in the nation
Carolina baseball reaches 40-game win mark
Tar Heels take two of three from Florida State

Also, check out my articles for the UNC alumni Web site on Carolina's 8-4 win over LSU, the 5-3 loss to Fresno State, the 7-3 win over LSU, the 4-3 victory over Fresno State and the season-ending loss to Fresno State.

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Barnes

Heel Prints reviewed each UNC game
As a student sports editor years ago, prior to the season, Clifton Barnes predicted a national championship for the Tar Heels and indeed they won. In fact he wrote his lede paragraph for the national championship game almost a year early. He regrets that he didn't keep a journal after each game. He kept a journal after each game of the 2007-2008 season and you can reach them here. At the request of readers, he has kept up his journal of each game ever since. He also has written about UNC baseball and wrote an analysis after each 2008 UNC football game.

 

Editor's Note: HeelPrints chronicled the UNC basketball, baseball and football seasons for 2008 and 2009. Since the vast majority of comments I get about the site relate to basketball and since this isn't a paying job for me, I decided to limit my coverage and analysis to basketball. Baseball and football will remain archived and if I have comments or opinions I want to make on those or any other sports at UNC, I will make them here on the front page and then archive them in the corresponding sports section. Thanks for all the positive comments I have received about the site. Should I get sponsorship in the future, I will reconsider adding baseball and football again. Ironically, my favorite sports to watch in person are baseball and football. But my first connections to UNC came from watching Dean Smith's basketball teams on TV or listening to them on the radio in the days before all the games were televised. It should come as no surprise that people pay more attention to the basketball coverage. Thanks for your interest in this site.