Additional thoughts on the UNC win and other stuff.
- I hate to sound like a broken record but you really cannot say enough about how this team handles adversity late in the game clock. Perhaps some of my more seasoned readers have better examples but I do not recall a UNC team being in this many tight games and pulling them all out save one. Once again UNC was down in the 2nd half, rallied and executed on both ends in the final two minutes to win the game. I would rather they win more comfortably but the way it has gone this season I am numb to the possibility of losing regardless of the circumstances. It has become so commonplace for this team to pull wins out of some deep orifice that it is expected at this point.
- Tyler Hansbrough's game winner was created by his hustle. Again, not wanting to sound like a broken record but if you watch that play, Hansbrough is at the free throw line when the shot goes up and he sprints down, works past a group of players fighting for the rebound, grabs the ball and shoots the jumper to give UNC the lead. The shot was the easiest part of the sequence. Hustle made that play happen and without him being so tenacious in going after the ball UNC goes to OT and who knows what happens there.
- And yes, the celebration from Hansbrough was downright ugly.
- Roy said in his postgame press conference that he agreed with the referee's call to give Wayne Ellington a technical and was disappointed that it happened. He also said Ellington would be doing some extra "conditioning" while his teammates watched next week. Roy did point out that despite the mistake, Ellington hit some big shots to keep UNC in the game but the behavior that garnered the technical was not something he wanted to see. It is interesting to note that Dean Smith would have put Ellington on the bench for getting the T. Roy left him in the game, mainly because they needed him in the game.
- With Tennessee losing in the SEC Semifinals and Duke losing to Clemson, it would appear that the NCAA #1 seeds are pretty well locked up. UCLA will be #1 in the West, Memphis in the South, the winner of Kansas-Texas in the Midwest and UNC in the East. In terms of seeding the game on Sunday has no bearing except in how UNC will be seeded among the top four. As it stands right now, the Heels would be the #1 overall seed which allegedly will offer better matchups since the teams a overall #1 would see are usually the weakest in their seed group. Not that it matters because upsets usually render such matchups meaningless.