Lucas: Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. When people tell you what Carolina-Duke was like in the 1980s and 1990s, they're talking about a game like Friday night. In a battle that had a little bit of everything, including flagrant fouls, stare-downs, and coach conferences at midcourt, Carolina survived Duke and won 74-69 to advance to the ACC Tournament championship game.

2. Remember how it felt like the Miami loss was hurtful in so many different ways--ACC seeding, NCAA seeding, Charlotte pod, etc? That win might have gotten all of those things back. It's difficult to imagine how the Tar Heels would not have secured a slot in Charlotte with that win, having taken two of three from Duke. And, a win tomorrow over Virginia would potentially give Carolina a shot at a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.

3. Let's just don't talk about those last five minutes.

4. All things considered--personnel, the situation, the matchups--that was one of the best defensive efforts of the Roy Williams era. Theo Pinson deserves extra mention for his work against Marvin Bagley in the paint, where he had a direct hand in at least four Duke turnovers.

5. We all know how good Kenny Williams has been at drawing charges this year. He did it again on Friday night, drawing a huge one on Grayson Allen with 17.8 seconds left in a three-point game. Theo Pinson also drew one on Bagley...and Pinson did it with four fouls.

6. Incredible work on the offensive glass by the Tar Heels. They controlled that category 18-12. They weren't always efficient at turning those boards into points, but it helped run time off the clock, including a possession with 3:30 left when the Heels ate up a minute just by shooting and missing three times. It was very fortunate at the end that Duke didn't have that minute to use.

7. A young fella grew up a little bit on Friday night. Garrison Brooks stood eye-to-eye with Duke's touted frontcourt and played hard for every single one of his 13 minutes. The freshman was active all over the court and scored ten points to go with his four rebounds. Brooks was a good outlet for the Tar Heel offense when they beat the Duke zone into the middle near the free throw line.

8. Carolina caught a break on the sequence that included Grayson Allen's flagrant foul. Because the officials didn't blow the whistle in real time, the play continued and Kenny Williams knocked in a jumper. Then the Tar Heels got two free throws and then got another possession. Unfortunately, they wasted the possession with a quick turnover, which gave Duke the chance to go two-for-one and essentially nullified the advantage Carolina had gained.

9. Theo Pinson's two first half fouls forced Roy Williams into some unusual lineups. The Tar Heels didn't want Pinson to defend a Duke big man with two fouls--he had done a solid job in that area to that point--but needed him on the floor offensively. So Carolina mostly played two freshmen big men at the same time and put Pinson on Duval. The arrangement gave up some buckets to the Devils in the paint, but Pinson survived the rest of the half without picking up the third foul.

10. In a game with plenty of highlights, don't overlook the first half sequence when Garrison Brooks hustled to save a loose ball, redirected it to Theo Pinson, who was on his back in the lane, who then recorded an assist by tossing it to Sterling Manley. That was about as pretty as it can get.

11. As you start to think about NCAA Tournament seeding with the brackets due to be released less than 48 hours from now, a reminder that Carolina has a very, very strong profile. The Tar Heels are number-5 in the RPI, have the #1 strength of schedule in the country, have the most Quadrant 1 wins in the country (12), and have six wins over teams in the top 30 of the RPI. It's not a by-the-numbers process, of course, but the numbers part of Carolina's resume is very strong.

12. Another note: the outcomes of games like the one played on Friday have had almost no historical relevance. Prior to Friday's game, there had been ten UNC-Duke games in the ACC Tournament after which both squads went to the NCAA Tournament. Five times the team that won that matchup advanced further in the NCAA Tournament, and five times the loser advanced further in NCAA play.

13. It takes contributions from a wide variety of people to make a successful college basketball program work at a high level. You already read earlier this week about how the Tar Heels pulled off the warmup shirts with the tribute to Woody Durham on the back. The Carolina blue ribbons the coaching staff is wearing in Woody's honor were secured by Kaye Chase and Angie Bitting (you might remember her from the postgame tribute after the Miami game at the Smith Center). The duo searched most of New York City for the right shade of Carolina blue on Wednesday, eventually finding it in the Garment District.

14. Quick pet peeve: it's not fair to use a good crowd for a UNC-Duke game as "evidence" that Brooklyn has "embraced" ACC basketball. You could play Carolina-Duke on the surface of the moon and--scientific rationale to the contrary--there would still be a great atmosphere.

15. Wow. Go back and watch the replay of that one. It's one to savor.

Players Mentioned

Garrison Brooks

Sterling Manley

Theo Pinson

Kenny Williams

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