Lucas: Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. What a strong, important road win for the Tar Heels. The victory was the program's first ever victory in the Yum Center and helped keep Carolina in contention for an ACC Tournament double bye. Even more amazing: in the final 35 minutes of the game, Carolina never led by fewer than six points. They controlled the game almost from the tip and won 93-76.

2. Put Joel Berry's block of Ray Spalding in his Carolina career time capsule. Louisville had closed to within eight points with two minutes left and appeared to have a run-out dunk that would cut it to six. But Berry hustled all the way down the floor to block the shot, then also got the rebound. It was an incredible play from a senior who has done almost everything in his UNC career--and now can add a game-preserving blocked shot to the list.

3. If you've ever doubted the importance of Theo Pinson, the closing minutes of the first half provided all the evidence you need. When Pinson picked up his second foul with about nine minutes left in the half, Roy Williams looked at the senior and said, "Do you want to stay in? Or do you want to come out and then go back in." Pinson wanted to stay in, and helped the Tar Heels build a 19-point lead. But when he left the game with six minutes left in the half, the Carolina offense bogged down, and Louisville cut six points off the deficit. Pinson finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a terrific effort.

4. Expect Joel Berry to get some good-natured grief from his teammates for his high number of shot attempts. Berry took 15 in the first half and 20 for the game. But at least three of those first-half attempts came when the Tar Heels presented the ball to Berry with under five seconds on the shot clock and basically asked him to bail them out of trouble. Berry finished with 23 points.

5. Louisville's defensive intensity was problematic for Carolina in the final 30 minutes or so of the game. The Cardinals pushed their defense out to the midcourt line and were completely committed to getting back in transition (the Tar Heels did not have a fast break point in the game).

6. Quietly, Kenny Williams did exactly what a winning team needs a player to do in order to be a winning team. Williams' stat line wasn't spectacular, as he finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Beyond the box, though, his hustle was essential to at least two Tar Heel offensive rebounds, and sprinting back on defense snuffed a potential Louisville 2-on-1 fast break midway through the second half when the Cardinals were threatening to seize the momentum.

7. Carolina's work on the offensive glass was key on a night when the Louisville defense often stifled the first shot of a possession. The Tar Heels racked up 22 second chance points and led 22-6 in that category. At one point in the second half, Carolina was rebounding over 60 percent of its missed shots. That total came down later in the half, but propelled the visitors through a stretch when the first shots weren't often falling.

8. Luke Maye didn't have one of his trademark huge games following his single-digit output against Notre Dame on Monday. But Maye still came through with a double-double (19 points and 13 rebounds), and also hit one of the biggest shots of the game when he swished a three-pointer with four minutes left and the shot clock at one second. And seriously, how good are you when you get 19 and 13 and the storyline is you didn't have a great game?

9. All five Carolina starters finished in double figures as the Tar Heels have found solid scoring balance in recent weeks.

10. That was perhaps the most, er, unique halftime show the Tar Heels have seen this year. It's hard to describe it accurately with limited time and space, but imagine if every halftime show in America joined forces and stared blankly into the crowd while seeming equally confused about what they were doing there.

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Luke Maye

Theo Pinson

Kenny Williams

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