As discussed here earlier in the week, there was a way for Villanova to beat North Carolina. They had to do it on the perimeter, where they were supposedly strong and the Tar Heels were supposedly weak. They had to do it by exploiting Carolina's suspect three-point shooting defense and driving against the Heels' weak help-side interior defense.This was all feasible. Anybody who's watched Carolina play for the past couple of years has seen the Heels go through scoring droughts and fritter away leads while they ignored defense entirely for large chunks of the game.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Ford Field. It looks as if North Carolina doesn't do that anymore. In fact, with a healthy Ty Lawson and an improved 40-minute focus, it looks as if North Carolina might not have any flaws in its game at all.
First things first -- North Carolina beat Villanova soundly and controlled this game by dominating the perimeter. They hit their three-point shots, in large part because of the way the Wildcats seemed to fall asleep on defense and play too far off shooters like Danny Green and Wayne Ellington. And Villanova missed its own three-point shots, in large part because Carolina played a smothering blanket defense on the perimeter, and Nova wasn't patient enough to find uncontested shots.
Villanova was outmanned in this game, which everybody knew they'd be. They're not as deep or as big or as athletic as North Carolina is, and if they were going to win, they were going to have to make their shots. Lots of shots. They were going to have to make shots the way Rollie Massimino's team made them 24 years ago in the title game against Georgetown.
And they did not. Not even close.
But the Wildcats didn't shame themselves. They fought. They got back into the game. Got the lead down to five points at one point in the second half. Scottie Reynolds did that thing where he takes over the game, and for a while it looked like his driving, dishing and scoring might be enough to bring Villanova back into it.
But it was not, because these are not the 2007-08 North Carolina Tar Heels. This is not the team that got smoked by Kansas in this very round a year ago. This team pays attention on defense. This team avoids those long scoring droughts, mainly because Ty Lawson always comes up with a way to end them before they get too serious. Maybe the emergence of Lawson as a co-superstar to go with Tyler Hansbrough was enough to elevate this team from 2008 Final Four loser to 2009 national champion. Lawson is that kind of player, and he's had that kind of year.
Can they win one more and send Hansbrough out with a title? They'll be favored, of course, and for good reason. They were the best team in the country in November, the best when 2009 started. And the only reason they weren't considered the best when this tournament began was that we didn't know how healthy Lawson was. He's obviously fine, and that's enough to make Michigan State the underdog Monday night.
Michigan State may have what it takes to win. They'll have the fan support. And their rebounding could be a huge help, especially on offense. Outsized Villanova did very well on the offensive glass tonight against Carolina, and it's easy to point to defensive rebounding as a Tar Heel weakness that the Spartans could exploit.
But as this event has unfolded, and all of the preseason hype about the unbeatable Tar Heels has begun to look more and more accurate, you have to start to wonder if Carolina has any weaknesses at all. Or if they're just going to go ahead and take this thing they've always believed would be theirs.
NCAA Tournament Action
GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 21: Wayne Ellington #22 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against Garrett Temple #14 of the Louisiana State University Tigers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 21, 2009 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Wayne Ellington;Garrett Temple
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: A Washington Huskies cheerleader performs during a break in the action against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Manny Harris #3 of the Michigan Wolverines jumps to the basket for a lay up against Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Harris
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Zack Novan #0 and Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for the loose ball with Blake Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Gibson;Zack Novak;Blake Griffin
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Willie Warren #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners makes contact as he goes to the basket with Zack Gibson #32 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first hafl during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Willie Warren
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #32 of the Oklahoma Sooners goes up for the short jump shot against DeShawn Sims #34 of the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Taylor Griffin;DeShawn Sims
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: JaJuan Johnson #25 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a shot over Jon Brockman #40 of the Washington Huskies in the second half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** JaJuan Johnson;Jon Brockman
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Taylor Griffin #23 of the Oklahoma Sooners and Zack Novak #0 of the Michigan Wolverines vie for position to the loose ball in the first half during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Zack Novak;Taylor Griffin
Getty Images
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 21: Head Coach Jeff Capel of the Michigan Wolverines yells from the sideline during their game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 21, 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Capel
Getty Images
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: Lewis Jackson #23 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a layup as Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies looks on during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Lewis Jackson;Quincy Pondexter
Getty Images
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-05-2009 @ 11:09AM
heelfan said...
the championship will be ours the heels will have six trophy go heels bring it back to chapel hill go heels
Reply