Bring on Duke.
There really isn’t much to say about this one outside the performance of Tyler Zeller and Kendall Marshall breaking Ed Cota’s assist mark. Zeller decided he was going out big in his final game at the Dean Dome. Zeller scored 30 points to go along with eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Zeller was also 20-23 from the free throw line which is just an insane number of free throws for one player to take. No doubt the local ABC chapter is going nuts over this one. If there were any questions about Zeller for ACC Player of the Year there are far fewer now. In fact most of the media commentary I saw during the game pointed to Zeller being a near lock for the award.
John Henson was also really good in this game in concert with Zeller. Henson had 19 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Zeller and Henson combined for 49 points, 17 rebounds, six blocks and four steals. Harrison Barnes was quiet though he did chip in three assists to go with his 10 points. He also only took eight shots but considering the kind of work Zeller and Henson were doing, Barnes doing more is not as necessary as it might be for teams playing with fewer options. Marshall had eight assists versus one turnover and now holds the UNC single season assist record at 289 passing Ed Cota’s 12 year old mark of 284.
And we would be remiss if Patrick Crouch and David DuPont’s three point shooting exhibition went unmentioned. This is the fun part of Senior Night, especially when the game is salted away. The senior walk-ons get plenty of time on the court and in the case of Crouch and DuPont, both hit three pointers which drew a huge reaction from the crowd. For guys who rarely play, it was a dream way of ending their last home game as Tar Heels.
Overall it was a slow start mainly because the Heels continue to miss a ton of shots it seems like they should hit. The lack of consistency in this area is a concern except UNC continues to win games, most of them handily with these struggles in play. The hope is the offense will be there when it counts most and the game on Saturday vs Duke certainly qualifies.
Less than 72 hours until UNC plays for all the marbles.
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back from the game. Marshall with 3 great passes in the 1st that the receiver managed to botch in grand and new fashions.
easy shots being missed.
PJ had 2 of his 4 3s look fantastic, but not go in.
Sturgeon is going to get a ton of Ts in this league if he doesnt dial it down a bit. boy, he gets ticked.
hated seeing half the crowd exit before the game was over. great to see Z’s last game. what an unexpected time for me. i havent seen a Senior Night in person in about 25 years.
“Zeller was also 20-23 from the free throw line which is just an insane number of free throws for one player to take”
Yes it is…the second most in UNC history.
BRING DOWN DUKE!
Feed the Z in Cameron. POY.
That was the last game I will be able to attend in person as a student at the University of North Carolina. What a way to go out for Tyler Zeller(and for that matter, David DuPont).
oh, boy.
dook mode.
*looks for blood pressure pills*
http://northcarolina.scout.com/3/video.html
Another example of why john henson will be one of my favorite players of all time, and second how tall that kid is.
2 records broken in one game, great game to see HTTE
^after the (now-taped)senior speeches, and the Seniors stood at halfcourt, the PA announcer brought up Marshall and the record.
to his credit, Marshall was very humble, waving his hands for quiet and pointed to the Seniors.
for fans of other Tar Heel sports, Katelyn Falgowski, now graduated i believe, field hockey player, 2011 Division I POY, member of the US team, and only American on the World All-Star Team, had her jersey retired.
whole Tar Heel team was honored at half.
i was hoping for a Zeller jersey in the rafters, but probably next year.
Question: What happened to a UNC player tonight that has only happened every 88.5 minutes he’s played this season?
Answer: Reggie Bullock went to the FT line.
Bullock has been to the line only 8 times this year, and not since the Wake game, 8 games ago. The great news is he’s 10/12 for the season, and perfect over his last 6 trips. So much for needing reps to be a good FT shooter.
Somebody please make sure Barnes’ mom and teachers are at the game on Saturday!
Correct me if I am wrong but I think that Zeller fouled out of this game with like 6 minutes left in the game.
This reminds me of the ’09 game against duke on senior day when Psycho T fouled out of that game. Both players named Tyler, both players that represent the idea of a Carolina basketball player to perfection.
I actually met both Zeller and Hansbrough at the Roy Williams basketball camp ( got Psycho T’s signature on my shoe).
My wish list from the previous post wasn’t totally filled, but I’ll take it. The good news is there were no injuries, they got a convincing win (unlike the JV team down the road barely holding on against Wake) and put themselves in position to take the cake. I honestly feel bad for PJ. This has got to be doing a serious number on his head. Nothing would be better than to see him come off the bench Saturday night and light up Hansbrough Indoor. Especially headed into the tourney. The Heels really need this guy to get right and get right quick.
JMM played pretty well tonight. Barnes seems to be in a different place the last two games. Maybe he’s saving it all for Saturday and the 2 tourneys after. Let’s hope so.
Go Heels.
This team is scary good…if they could hit at least 1/3 from 3. …Otherwise, they’re just good.
^^^Z only had 3 fouls when he left the game for good, with UNC up by 28.
To Barnes’ credit, he was unselfish and did more off the ball or was smarter when faced up and made intelligent passes. Sometimes I think people are too hard on him. I know he came in with all that hype, but he can have a quiet game and be productive.
Anyway, congrats to the seniors. Z was an absolute monster.
Actually, the whole team played as crisply and aggressively as I’ve seen them all year in the opening minutes of the game. Hopefully they keep that up and get over their struggles finishing at times. Really impressed with them early on.
Nod to THF on the score prediction-
Ever been to Vegas?
Yes, Zeller & Henson had a big night. Kudos! That said, UNC better have more than an inside game at Cameron and the remainder of this seasons games. Will not go far with a one dimensional game. Must have reasonable outside shooting or prepare self to lose.
The good thing is that we know that we have guys who CAN drop them in from the perimeter…we just have to organize a flock of flying pigs, or turn the moon blue, or come up with some other kind of secret sauce that will empower them on the night. Which may be something as simple as PJ burying one from distance in the first minute of a game. I’d far rather have a dominating inside game and on-off three point shooting than a bunch of guys who can hit them from the parking lot…sometimes…and no inside game. This team have proved they can win while shooting bricks…let’s just hope they can prove over the next few weeks that they CAN put it all together. Saturday would be a good time to start…
BTW for all you guys complaining about poor TV reception, try sitting in front a PC in England at 3am depending on ESPNplayer and an iffy Internet connection. Brings a whole new meaning to the term “freeze-frame”…
Questionable at times we led the game by X or Y margin only close it out. Felt like we put the boot on their throat pretty good, anyone?
This has been a good season. It’ll be great if we can win at Duke this weekend. Inconsistent shooting has dogged the team all season.
It’s difficult to believe we hit 11 3′s against Kentucky.
“Felt like we put the boot on their throat pretty good, anyone?”
I would say so. They went from an 8-pt. lead to a 28-pt. lead in around 6 minutes, then the starters began coming out.
They win by 24 while shooting less than 40% and essentially getting matched on the boards so they must be doing some things well. The odd thing is I don’t think anyone really thinks they’ve come close to their peak potential, yet here they are at 24-4 (14-2) with all kinds of reward opportunities over the next few games.
This just may be one of those teams that always seems to have one or two things missing (at least in a given game), but does so many other things well that it ends up not mattering that much. I guess we’ll see.
Let the countdown to Durham begin,
58 hours.
Here’s an ESPN article from yesterday to add to the fun:
________
Sticking with the leap year theme, here are 10 leaps of faith (predictions) heading into the NCAA tournament and beyond.
1. Ohio State will regroup. There is too much talent and leadership among this group to write the Buckeyes off.
2. North Carolina will beat Duke and win the ACC title. If Miami and Florida State can win in Durham, the Tar Heels can, too.
3. Thomas Robinson will edge Anthony Davis for the Wooden Award. And rightfully so.
4. At least two schools from non-Big Six conferences will make the Elite Eight, and one of them will be Wichita State.
5. At least one No. 14 seed will win its first-round game. As of Tuesday, Joe Lunardi had the matchups as Baylor versus Nevada, Georgetown versus Belmont, Michigan versus Akron and Marquette versus Middle Tennessee State. Out of those matchups, Georgetown-Belmont catches my eye. The Hoyas have been bad in the NCAA tournament lately and, don’t forget, the Bruins almost upset Duke in Durham at the beginning of the season.
6. The winner of Saturday’s West Virginia-South Florida game will receive an NCAA tournament berth. The loser will not.
7. Butler will win the Horizon League tournament and be back in the Big Dance.
8. Syracuse will not make the Final Four.
9. Kentucky will not win the national championship.
10. North Carolina will.
Jason King covers college basketball for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonKingESPN.
damn…got me all misty-eyed this morning…i saw him do this…
“But Steve and Lorri Zeller didn’t truly beam until a few minutes later, when the Smith Center video boards captured Tyler joking with his teammates. He broke into a wide smile and covered his grin with a towel. Scoring 30 points hadn’t caused his parents to crack. But seeing their son that happy moved them. They laughed, elbowing each other to make sure the other saw it. Their smiles lingered as play resumed. He was happy. And they were happy.”
http://www.tarheelblue.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/022912aab.html
Thanks for 4 great years, Tyler.
Regarding Barnes, judging by his facial expressions, body language, and final numbers, my guess is that someone on the coaching staff pulled him aside and told him to let “Z” have his night. If so, that was a tough call for the young man, as it helped make “Z” a near-lock for ACC POY, while Barnes was the pre-season pick and is also in the running for the honor. For Barnes, holding back and looking sub-par could cost him a spot on the All-ACC first team. All of this could bump him down from being a lottery pick, which is literally worth millions. I would not be surprised if Barnes re-states his own case and drops 40 on the Dookies on Saturday.
“They won by (a decent margin) while shooting less than (a lousy percentage).”
This seems to be a recurring theme. The glass half full spin is — just imagine what they’ll do when they start shooting straight. Unfortunately, because I’m a bit of a pessimist, I’m of the glass half empty view, which is: they ain’t gonna start shooting straight. (In fact, I just completed a differential equation that suggests there is a 23% probability that PJ will not make another shot. Ever. Even in a Nerf hoop game in his dorm room.)
The Heels lack of a perimeter game is going to kill them in the Tourney. You can’t win 6 games in a row, going 4-18, 3-15 etc. from deep, particularly when you have demonstrated the unenviable, reciprocal ability to allow guard-oriented teams to strafe you with threes.
I hope I’m wrong. This Duke game will be a clarifying harbinger of things to come, for good or ill.
I agree with you 100% Jim.
like i said earlier, PJ had 2 of his 4 shots look like they were right down the barrel, and they just rattled out.
maybe they have another level to go to.
there’s a minimum of 3 games left…max 10.
so they may be about to flip the imaginary switch. we’ll see.
i sure hope so.
and in my opinion, Barnes is just a different guy. very cerebral. theres a reason someone made a Barnesbot twitter. i dont know how much we can gleam about the guy from out here.
It has been a pleasure to watch Zeller mature. I love watching the Carolina kids grow up. He will be missed next year.
PJ’s shot looks flat to me. Maybe the foot is limiting his lift but his trajectory makes his misses come off like bullets; he gets no benefit of a soft iron. If I could talk to him I’d say add a little more arch. We need him bad.
didnt seem flat in person. is it a rainbow like Reggie’s? no.
but my brain didnt say, oh thats flat.
he’s not as square and balanced as he could be, i’ll say that.
not like Crouch and Dupont.
I think my point is they don’t necessarily have to flip a switch or get it 100% together to be very competitive, certainly up to the Elite Eight. And I think maybe 5 threes on 15 shots, which they’ve gotten in essentially half of their games and is entirely within reason to expect, could be sufficient to get to the FF with their inside game, rebounding, and ability to get to the foul line. Remember, Kentucky, for example, is only averaging 5/14 threes for the season, and their outside shooting lately hasn’t looked that consistent either.
If one believes that won’t be enough, then I can see them seeing the glass half empty.
Larry:
For me, it’s not so much about being able to average a certain number of threes (I think they hit 5 last night due to some garbage time baskets). My concern is: if they are in a game — and they will be — where their front court is being neutralized (or the opponent is torrid from three, and trading 3 for 2 repeatedly), can they consistently hit deep shots, in the flow of their offense, to win that type of contest?
Based on the evidence to date, I’m not sure they can.
http://www.indyweek.com/binary/a509/1330592038-dsc00665.jpg
The odds are really long on winning tournaments because of all the variables in a single game. These games are more competitive because each is the last game of the season.
Off significantly in any area and you are done.
If the team is significantly better in one area they often fall off in another. For example the recent game where Kendall Marshall scored so well.
They can control the defensive effort. When they play their best defense it is very tough for any team to match them. That is the key. As is no injuries.
atl
jeez…all business now, huh? Is this what happens to you at the end of the season? That was no fun at all.
Special shout out to the three senior walk-ons who started last night in their final home game for Carolina. STEWART COOPER, PATRICK CROUCH and DAVID DUPONT. They represented themselves and the University with great respect, pride and dedication, continuing a great tradition. I know the entire Carolina family thanks you for your contributions to the basketball program and wishes you the best of luck in all of your endeavors in life.
I think Barnes is a safe bet for All ACC First Team.
Think this team should go with its strength, which is defense.
As for shooting, an odd stat popped up last night. Stoglin was in the Top 10 in field goal percentage at around 41%. Let’s face it folks no one is shooting well.
faustus1500-
What is shooting well?
There is a lot more contact allowed this year in ACC play. Quite a few of UNC misses were taken with “contact”. How this affects shooting percentage is obvious.
Missing uncontested open shots is another thing. While there have been misses, on 3s UNC has had more close to makes of late.
AZACCFan…
What is a “close to makes?”
AZZAC – you are right. This team has to win primarily on its D. They are the Baltimore Ravens of college basketball. If we get favorable matchups and hit just a few key shots, we can win the NC. But we have little room for error.
As others have stated, the limited shooting ability of this team really places a premium on playing good defense.
Last year this team played great defense – in the regular season. In the post season they weren’t nearly as effective, defensively, as they were in the regular season. It was like watching two completely different teams.
Whether or not the same thing happens this year is going to make all the difference in how far this team gets in the NCAAT.
Anybody know where to find video of the senior speeches? Did they do it live after the game last night or did I hear that they were taped before the game and played on the big screen?
taped. not sure when they started that.
i guess it helps for coherency at a tough time.
marcus62660-
Rim out. In and out. Bounce out. On line, but won’t go in. Stuff like that.
Williams wants passionately to win.
But when he keeps saying that he has a very good shooting team, I believe he is sincere. He comes across as a country boy, but he hates to be seen as unwise, unskilled, etc.
So you can bet that they are trying “like the dickens” to get all of this on track for the final possible 10 games of the season.
AZACCFan…
Oh, you mean missed shots.
marcus62660-
Missed, but not by a lot. Not bricks, air balls, or hail marys.
atl, I can’t disagree with one of your scenarios. If UNC’s froncourt gets neutralized and they have to hit threes to win then they’re in a spot of bother. We’ve been saying all along that 3′s make things easier for them, but as a complement to their real strengths, not a primary option.
I don’t want to get stuck on a number of outside shots they have to have, but if Zeller and Henson have it going, and Barnes shows up, then I’ve always felt 5 or 6 would be just about right. A couple each from Bullock and Barnes, and maybe 1 each from Marshall and Hairston will go a long way in keeping the opposing D honest, and providing some balance. Not a lot to ask, and fully within their capabilities.
Zeller and Henson look ready to roll, to my eyes. Marshall’s going to be OK, as is Bullock. Barnes is the one that can be the difference maker from here out, hopefully starting Sat.
I’m not sure their front-court will be neutralized. They showed a couple of new wrinkles last night that are going to pay off in the NCAAT. And I agree that Roy isn’t spouting platitudes about them being able to shoot. Hell, anyone who’s ever played knows a good shooter when they see one, and we have several with great strokes…just a matter of getting on a roll. And, it helps to have a dependable defense to compensate when you do miss–it makes a huge difference in your offensive confidence.
“they’re in a spot of bother”
theyd be barmy with that rubbish.
I love how there is no talk about how other teams will match up and stop UNC’s frontline. Just the hu hum, UNC cant shoot doomsday from the Carolina fans..
52bgJ-
Post season tournament games are very hard to scout. Talent and athleticism combined with defense go a long way.
But the biggest factor is determination.
For UNC this year toughness, grit, heart, desire, spunk and competitive effort are what they really need.
The upcoming Duke game will reveal whether they all have it or not. No doubt that Zeller does. What about the other guys?
AZfan,
For me shooting well, is not having a guy shooting under 45% and being in the Top Ten of a conference.
does it bother anyone else that Henson rarely thanks the passer?
I can’t be the only one to notice it.
I know it seems small, but I think it belies things.
Also:
BIG Z.
^^^^No other team can stop UNC’s fontline. But sometimes they stop themselves. Henson got himself in foul trouble early in last year’s Elite 8 game against Ky. Zeller committed a lot of turnovers in this years matchup against Ky. There are also times when the team just doesn’t try hard enough to get the ball to Z and Henson before letting someone else (cough*PJ Hairston*cough) shoot the ball before Henson and Zeller get to touch it.
That’s why while they need to always run the offense through the post first, they also need to be able to score in other ways if that isn’t working.
^^did you also notice that Strickland rarely does either? I wouldn’t put too much into it, but for those of us “raised on Dean”, yes it is bothersome to a degree.
and agreed on the determination AZZ–like you said, Z will be fine–I also like what I see from Reggie & Henson most of the time.
52bgJ-
Dude Strickland doesn’t have to thank a lot of passers now. I will send him a tweet along about next October!
Marcus: my apologies for failing to provide my contractually guaranteed humorous content, which I know sustains you at your soul deadening job as admissions director at the Wolfpack Institute for Advanced Sewage Treatment Studies and Canine Cosmetology.
Unfortunately, my crack team of writers went on strike today, protesting inhumane working conditions. Their main grievance is that I make them eat my wife’s healthy kale chips. Ah, what is kale, you ask? I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of poisonous seaweed that flourishes in the Dead Sea and fresh water lakes around Chernobyl. Anyway, my wife has convinced our poor children that kale chips (she bakes the seaweed in the oven and salts the shriveled detritus that emerges) are a “snack”, which is morally equivalent to tricking your children into believing that Janet Reno is a supermodel, or that Al Gore is not insane. Anyway, our deluded kids actually clamor for them, like Oliver Twist plaintively asking for more gruel. Kale chips taste like baked toe cheese, but their best feature is that because they have the consistency of glass Christmas tree ornaments, when eaten, they disintegrate into billions of tiny kale shards that are resistant to even a 100 hp Shop Vac. I’ll post the recipe.
Also, I’m fearful that most of my contributions here are so … tangential, that I’ve got to earn back some minimal street cred by occasionally making sober observations about round ball stuff.
I’ll definitely have my nonsense mojo back after the Duke game, particularly if we lose. I’m good at screeds.
atl…
Thanks for the small fix. I was jonesin’ pretty bad for a few days. More, please, as you see fit. You’re only allowed one normal post every other game, so that adds up to, let’s see, 5 more of them if my math is correct.