University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Sort Out the 'What Ifs'
March 11, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2006
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The short drive from the ACC Tournament back to Chapel Hill was filled a bunch of "what ifs" after the Tar Heels fell to Boston College 85-82 in the semifinals Saturday.
What if Reyshawn Terry didn't get in early foul trouble?
What if the Tar Heels played better defense on a few more possessions?
What if Danny Green didn't suffer a cut above his eye, limiting the key reserve to just eight minutes?
What if a mental lapse on a key inbounds play late in the game didn't occur?
What if Craig Smith didn't play the game of his life for the Eagles?
ut Roy Williams wasn't buying any of the "what ifs" following the tough loss that snapped the team's season-long eight-game winning streak.
"Sometimes you've got to give credit to the other team," said Williams. "It's not always North Carolina didn't do this or North Carolina didn't do that. Sometimes you give credit to the other team and I feel that way today."
Williams is correct.
The second-seeded Tar Heels (22-7) played well enough to win on most days, but North Carolina just happened to run into a veteran team hotter than itself and couldn't make the key plays when it counted most. The end result was another exit from the ACC Tournament without a title. The last league crown for the Tar Heels came in 1998.
"We made some mental mistakes," said Wes Miller. "And you've got to give them credit, they finished down the stretch. I don't know about a lack of experience. They just made plays and we didn't. It's that simple."
A second-half scoring drought, in which the Tar Heels managed just four points in 6 1-2 minutes, was uncharacteristic of this team, which has showed tremendous offensive balance since mid-January.
So, getting down by 14 with 8:38 left was something this crew hadn't had to deal with lately in a series of double-digit wins that propelled the program that supposedly lost everything from last year's national title team to a No. 10 ranking.
Once in the hole, Boston College's half-court pace was frustrating to the Tar Heels.
"We want to get up-and-down, I don't think that's a secret to anybody," Miller said. "They like to slow it down. It was a battle of which style was going to prevail and they were able to set the tempo, especially in the second half, and pound it down low."
ut there's little reason to get down at this point of the season for an overachieving team that has enough weapons to make a run in the NCAA Tournament yet again.
And the Tar Heels just might find themselves back at the Greensboro Coliseum for some redemption in a few days for first- and second-round NCAA tourney action.
"We're not going to put this game behind us," said senior David Noel. "We're going to learn from it and make sure it doesn't happen in the NCAA Tournament. I'm just going to tell the guys it's put up or shut up now."
And don't expect Williams to back off. The veteran of dozens of NCAA postseason games will be geared up to defend his first title. You can count on that.
"This team has done an excellent job of playing very close to its potential," Williams said. "I will expect and I will demand that we continue to do so the rest of our season."
