University of North Carolina Athletics
Louisville Game Guide
March 29, 2008 | Men's Basketball
March 29, 2008
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
No. 1/1 Carolina (35-2, 14-2) will face the three-seed in the East, No. 13 Louisville (27-8, 14-4) in the East Regional Final game to earn the right to advance to the Final Four. With its victory in the East Regional semifinal against the fifth seed Washington State, 68-47, Carolina earned a school record for victories in a season with 35 and extended its current winning streak to 14 games. Louisville is coming off of a 79-60 win over the No. 2 seed in the East Region on Thursday night. Carolina is now 95-38 in NCAA Tournament play, including 40-8 as a No. 1 seed. The Tar Heels are also 24-1 in NCAA Tournament games in the state of North Carolina and 8-0 in NCAA games in Charlotte. Carolina is making its second consecutive trip to the Elite 8 and the third in the last four seasons. Louisville is 56-35 in the NCAA Tournament and has a 6-7 record in all games played in Charlotte. Louisville is 8-14 against higher-seeded teams and Rick Pitino is 3-5.
Carolina is 7-3 all-time against Louisville and 2-1 in the NCAA Tournament. The last NCAA Tournament meeting was in the 1997 East Regional Final. Carolina won 97-74. Carolina beat Louisville in the third-place game in 1972 by a score of 105-91; Bob McAdoo had 30 points and 19 rebounds. Louisville defeated Carolina in 1986 in the West Regional Semifinal, 94-79. Louisville would go on to win the national title. Rick Pitino is 0-3 against Carolina.
Game Time: North Carolina vs. Louisville, 9:05 PM.
Last Time: Carolina traveled to Louisville and was defeated soundly, 97-80, on December 23, 1999. That team would go on to reach the Final Four but lost 14 games that season. The Cardinals shot 51.4% for the game and 59.3% in the second half. Carolina shot 50.8% for the game but was out-scored 50-35 in the first half alone. Carolina committed 20 turnovers compared to six by Louisville. Max Owens led Carolina with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting (4-of-6 from beyond the arc). Joe Forte had 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Jason Capel had 13 points and eight rebounds. Brendan Haywood added ten points and ten rebounds. Nate Johnson led the Cardinals with 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting and Marques Maybin added 20 points.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 8:00 PM.
Injury Report: Ty Lawson is still recovering from a sprained ankle. Marcus Ginyard is playing through a stress reaction in his left foot. Bobby Frasor tore his left ACL and is out for the season.
Storylines
Rebounding: The Tar Heels are the No. 1 rebounding team in the country, out-rebounding its opponents by 11.7 rebounds per game. In the NCAA Tournament, Carolina has out-rebounded opponents by a +15.0 margin. The Tar Heels have nearly as many offensive rebounds (43) as its opponents have had defensive rebounds (49). Louisville's rebounding margin is not significant (+3.1 per game), but the Cardinals have five members out of an eight-man rotation who are 6-6 or taller; four who are 6-8 or taller. Six of their top eight players average 3.6 rebounds or more; five average at least four and two average 7.3 or more.
Carolina has held opponents to fewer second-chance points than offensive rebounds in 23 of 35 games this season. In the ACC Tournament, Carolina had its first three-game stretch in which it allowed opponents to score more second-chance points (37) than they did pull down offensive rebounds (32). In its first three NCAA Tournament games, Carolina has held opponents to 32 offensive rebounds and just 23 second-chance points (-9). The four second-chance points scored by Washington State were tied for the fewest Carolina has allowed all season and the -5 differential between offensive rebounds (nine) and second-chance points (four) was the biggest since the win at Duke, when the Blue Devils had 19 offensive rebounds and just 14 second-chance points.
The Washington State game marked the first time in the last 11 games when Carolina had fewer second-chance points (7) than offensive rebounds (14). In fact, it was Carolina's biggest differential (-7) since the loss to Duke at home when Carolina pulled down 20 offensive rebounds and scored just 11 second-chance points. "I thought we were really good on the backboards. When you look down and they only had four points after second-shot opportunities, and we usually make a better living in there than the seven that we made," Williams said. "It was a huge emphasis for us as well to try to keep them off the backboards and not allow them to get second-shot opportunities. We want to do a better job on the offensive boards than we really did."
Louisville has out-rebounded its NCAA opponents by an average of +3.0 rebounds per game, including +10.0 in the last two games. The Cardinals out-rebounded a tough Oklahoma team by five (33 to 28) and absolutely walloped a good Tennessee team on the boards, 43-28. Louisville has rebounded 79.4% of its opponents' misses from the field (77 defensive rebounds on 97 missed shots) and allowed just 29 offensive rebounds. Louisville has allowed opponents to out-rebound them on the offensive glass (499 to 497 this season) but the Cardinals have held opponents to just 325 second-chance points. Carolina will need to take advantage of each opportunity they get in order to beat Louisville.
Attacking the Louisville zone: Use the word `zone' in reference to Carolina and most pundits assume that the Tar Heels are in trouble. The word `zone' evokes images of last year's Tar Heel team getting impatient at times to their detriment down the stretch of games, jacking up three-pointers too quickly. This year's team has been much more disciplined offensively in the halfcourt, in a zone offense, running the primary and secondary breaks.
Everyone thought that Washington State's slow-down style and staunch halfcourt defense would give Carolina fits. But the Tar Heels were able to combine halfcourt patience and the willingness to assert themselves when the opportunities presented themselves in order to do what they wanted to do. Obviously, Washington State plays a man-to-man instead of a zone that Louisville employs and the Cardinals are significantly deeper, taller and more athletic overall than the Cougars. But Washington State was still respected as a very good defensive team and Carolina managed to beat them by 21 points, the Cougars' worst loss of the season.
"We were struggling getting the ball in the basket, but I felt like that we were okay. We were getting pretty good shots. We just weren't making them or we were rushing the shots we had. I do feel good about our offense, there's no question there. I think we have great balance, but you look down and Ty is 5-for-11, Wayne is 4-for-13, Tyler is 6-for-15. We don't have those kinds of shooting nights very often. But I do think in the NCAA Tournament, we've got to relax a little bit more," Williams said. "The first thing I put (on the board) was `Attack.' We want to be aggressive. We don't want to say, `Well, it's going to be a low-scoring game,' and not play the way we like to play. We did attack; we just didn't finish the play at the end by making shot. But I do think that offensively we have a chance at times to really put pressure on people."
In Louisville's 27 wins this season, the Cardinals are holding teams to 36.1% shooting from the floor, 28.3% from beyond the arc and just 58.0 points per game. Teams are attempting 35.5 two-point baskets, 20.4 three-pointers and 18.0 free throws in Louisville's 27 wins. In the eight losses, teams have shot 46.3% from the field, 39.7% from beyond the arc and averaged 70.6 points per game. Teams have defeated Louisville eight times by attempting 37.4 two-point baskets, 16.4 three-pointers (and making 6.5 of them) and 21.0 free throws. Teams have also averaged 27.3 points in the paint against Louisville in the eight losses compared to just 22.6 in Louisville's 27 wins. In the NCAA Tournament so far, the Louisville defense has disrupted quite a few offenses, holding them to a combined 38.2% shooting, 25.5% from beyond the arc and 56.3 points per game. Over one-third of the shot attempts by Louisville's NCAA Tournament opponents have been three-pointers. The teams are also averaging 17.3 turnovers. Tennessee shot 33.9% from the floor against Louisville and 25% from beyond the arc, scoring just 60 points and adding 17 turnovers.
Zone or no zone, stingy defense or no, Carolina cannot be intimidated by the Cardinals. After all, the Tar Heels can play a little defense themselves. However, Carolina cannot panic and must stick to its plan offensively. Georgetown has always been known as a very stingy defense nationally and Carolina, for the first 30 minutes of the game, had essentially torched it in last year's Elite Eight game. But the Tar Heels couldn't maintain their game plan. "We want to play inside-out, regardless of if they're playing zone or not. We want to get our bigs touches and make that zone collapse. They have to worry about Tyler down there. He's going to get a lot of attention. If not, you're going to have a one-on-one matchup and that's exactly what we want. So we're going to get the ball inside and play inside-out. Our guards are going to be well-prepared to knock down the jumpshot if we have to," Wayne Ellington said.
The Georgetown albatross: All season long, this team has been asked questions about Georgetown. How is this team different since Georgetown? How has this team matured since Georgetown? What has this team learned from the Georgetown game? How did Georgetown motivate this team in the off-season? Yes, it has driven this team. No, they won't forget it. But this game presents a chance for Carolina to move past the Georgetown game and put it behind them. This team wants to get to that next step so badly that it could either be a driving force or a destructive one, one that causes the Tar Heels to play tight instead of the way that got them to this point - fast, loose, but under control; poised, confident and tough.
"This team's mindset is totally different, this workmanlike attitude - this is a business trip for us. We've really got to dig down deep tomorrow night and just come through this together as a team and really just pull through it, give 100 percent of our effort tomorrow night and leave everything out there on the court," Marcus Ginyard said. "We definitely came back in the locker room last year and felt like there were some things that we could have done and should have done. Coach always talks about that that's no good. After the game, all those things you feel like you could have done, that's no good. You have to leave it all out there on the court. I think that this team is very prepared to do that."
Sure, things like rebounding, good shots and defense will be important. But in the end, in games like these, fundamentals are not as important as intangibles that this Tar Heel team has had all year long. But this is the moment that Carolina has been expecting to get to all season long. Now that it is finally here, facing off against the best team it has faced this season, the Tar Heels will need to remember to continue doing what got it here - the little things.
Carolina was so close to the Final Four last year that it was almost as if they were thinking about it before the game was over. They got tight, they lost control, they lost their poise and they lost the game. But one of the bigger differences between last year's team and this year's team is the ability to get stops down the stretch. When the other team makes a run, Carolina has the ability to step up and stop it. It could be through a scoring response; it could be through holding the other team defensively if Carolina is struggling offensively. Whatever it is, this team has had the answer all season long. Against a team that is incredibly efficient on offense and very tough on defense, this Carolina team needs to continue to do the little things that got it here. "That's what is going to be big-time is all the little things and defense. In that Georgetown game, that's what really hurt is in that stretch at the end of the game. We weren't able to make shots, but also we weren't able to stop anybody and play defense. So even if we don't make shots tomorrow, we're still going to have to play defense," Deon Thompson said.
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium feed in Charlotte Bobcats Arena will be on or around FM 87.9.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
CBS coverage: The game will be available on CBS.
Names To Know
Wayne Ellington: This season in three NCAA Tournament games, Ellington has shot 51.4% from the floor and 41.7% from beyond the arc, averaging 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 26.0 minutes. Last season in four NCAA Tournament games, Ellington shot 13-of-39 from the floor (33.3%), 4-of-16 from beyond the arc (25%), averaging 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 24.5 minutes. He had a 12-point game, a five-point game, a 12-point game against USC and then a five-point game against Georgetown, hitting just 2-of-11 shots from the field and 1-of-6 three-pointers. He has missed five or more three-pointers in a game just three times this season since that loss, and Carolina is 1-2 in those games. The only win was a squeaker at Virginia when he still managed to score 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting (3-of-9 from beyond the arc). In the Duke and Maryland losses, he combined to make just 2-of-13 three's (2-of-7 against Maryland and 0-of-6 against Duke).
He had one of his worst halves of basketball in the second half of the Washington State game on the offensive end, hitting just 1-of-7 shots from the floor and scoring four points, adding three fouls and three turnovers. It was his worst first half since shooting 0-of-4 in the first half against Florida State in the home finale. However, Ellington did have six second-half rebounds (to go along with his two first-half rebounds) and played a very good all-around defensive game. He ended the game with 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting (1-of-4 from beyond the arc). It was the first time he failed to make at least two three-pointers in a game since the ACC Tournament opener against Florida State.
If anyone has been haunted more by "the Georgetown question" this season, I'm not sure who it would be. Even though Carolina's collapse was a team effort, Ellington was somehow pointed at for missing the last shot. He has diversified his game so much that the thought of a team completely shutting him down seems unlikely, given the way he can now slash to the basket and run the floor in transition. Ellington is Carolina's best - and most reliable - zone-busting threat and the Tar Heels may need him.
Ty Lawson: In his first six games back from injury, Lawson shot 16-of-42 from the field (38.1%), 3-of-13 from beyond the arc (23.1%) and 14-of-18 from the free-throw line, averaging 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 2.2 fouls in 22.8 minutes. He also shot 13-of-29 from two-point range (44.8%) and had 23 assists (3.8 per game) to 13 turnovers (2.2 per game). In his last three games, all in the NCAA Tournament, Lawson has shot 18-of-29 from the field (62.1%), 5-of-10 from beyond the arc (50%) and 11-of-13 from the foul line, averaging 17.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.3 fouls and 22.7 minutes. He has shot 13-of-19 from two-point range (68.4%) and had 11 assists (3.7 per game) to two turnovers (0.7 per game).
Against Washington State, Lawson was the only Tar Heel able to use his sheer speed and savvy to maneuver through the Cougar defense. But he was held without an assist for the first time this year (in a game in which he did not leave early with injury) and the first time in his career. His two-game stretch without a steal is his longest of the season. But Lawson has shown the ability to absolutely take over and change games when Carolina needs him to. The Tar Heels will need Lawson to effectively maneuver around and underneath the tall Louisville zone. It also couldn't hurt if he could knock down a few three-pointers; he has knocked down the same number (five) and a better percentage (50%) than Wayne Ellington in the NCAA Tournament so far.
Danny Green: Danny Green had been the one thing not going right for the Carolina offense in the first two NCAA Tournament games. But against Washington State, particularly in the first half, he was the only thing going right. He had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting (3-of-5 from beyond the arc), adding five rebounds, one assist, three steals, a block, one foul and two turnovers in 23 minutes. Twelve of his points and three of his steals came in 12 first-half minutes.
Green has had a knack for coming up big when Carolina needs him. In Carolina's 12 close wins this season (or at least wins that they struggled in, like Ohio State), Danny Green has averaged 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.6 blocks and 24.5 minutes. In the other 25 games, Green has averaged 10.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks in 21.2 minutes. He has also averaged 1.8 three-pointers in the close wins and 1.2 in the other games. Green has been huge in all of Carolina's close wins, hitting huge three's in both Clemson wins in the regular-season, coming up huge in the Florida State game down the stretch (the overtime win on the road) and keying Carolina's comeback at Boston College by scoring 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting (4-of-8 from beyond the arc). He was also huge at Duke, scoring 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting and adding seven blocks. In Carolina's two losses, he has shot 21.7% from the field, 11.1% from beyond the arc and averaged 6.0 points.
In last year's NCAA Tournament in four games, Green averaged 11.0 minutes and shot 4-of-16 from the field (0-of-8 from beyond the arc), 3.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, one foul and one turnover. This year, in three NCAA Tournament games, despite his struggles he has shot 10-of-24 from the field (5-of-13 from the three-point line) and averaged 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 21.3 minutes. Green struggled in the ACC Tournament this season as well, shooting 9-of-21 from the field and 3-of-10 from beyond the arc, averaging 8.0 points and 2.0 rebounds. Green ended last season against Georgetown going 0-of-6 from the field (0-of-4 from beyond the arc), scoring three points and adding one rebound, no assists, two steals, one block, two fouls and no turnovers in just nine minutes.
David Padgett: His statistics aren't eye-popping, but like him, they are solid - 11.4 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, 1.8 assists per game, 1.1 steals per game in 23.1 minutes. But the 6-11 senior center has been through a lot in his career and he is the leader of this team on and off the court. He broke his kneecap just two games into the season and his team went on to lose three games without him and his first game back. The Cardinals have had a 19-4 record ever since. He is the team's point guard on the floor, in a way, on both ends, and his contribution is not one that can be measured statistically. "In the clips that we watched this morning, it showed on film that he's a great passer. It seems like they run through their offense a lot through him and he really runs the floor well," Tyler Hansbrough said.
Padgett had shot 68.1% from the floor this season and in the NCAA Tournament so far, he is shooting a blistering 73.3% (11-of-15) from the floor. He is averaging 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 21.7 minutes. Against Tennessee, he shot 4-of-5 from the field, 2-of-4 from the foul line and scored ten points, adding eight rebounds (his most since a loss in the Big East Tournament to Pitt), three assists, and 25 minutes.
Earl Clark: The 6-9 sophomore forward does not start for the Cardinals but is able to come into the game and provide great play on both ends of the court. He averages 11.1 points (second on the team), 8.1 rebounds (first on the team) and 1.7 blocks (first on the team) this year. In Louisville's wins this season, Clark has shot 49.1% from the field and made 14-of-49 three's, averaging 11.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.7 fouls and 28.3 minutes. In the Cardinals' eight losses, he has shot 41% from the field, 5.9% from beyond the arc (1-of-17) and averaged 9.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, one assist, 2.1 fouls and 29.1 minutes. "I think Earl is one of the big-time players in our game. You've got a guy 6-8 who can play inside, play outside, shoot, put the ball on the floor, block shots, rebound. He truly is one of the elite players," Williams said. "He's a terrible matchup for almost anyone. If we try to play him with post players, he takes you outside. If we try to play him with little guys, he takes you inside. So he's a matchup nightmare for you."
In the NCAA Tournament so far, Clark has averaged 15.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, one assist and one steal in just 26 minutes per game. He has shot 60% from the floor, 2-of-5 from beyond the arc and 8-of-10 from the foul line (80%). It will be a challenge for Carolina's bigs to be able to slide their feet and guard the versatile Clark all over the court when he is in the game.
Terrence Williams: The 6-6 junior forward is one of the more versatile players in the country from a statistical perspective, averaging 11.1 points, 7.3 rebounds (second on the team), 4.5 assists (first on the team), 1.3 steals (second on the team) and 26 blocks (fourth on the team). Williams has posted two triple-doubles this year; those two make up half of the all-time number of triple-doubles in Louisville history (four). He had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists in Louisville's season-opener against Hartford and in a loss to Seton Hall, he had ten points, ten boards and ten assists.
Williams has finally shaken himself out of a bit of a shooting slump. After shooting 7-of-28 in his first three postseason games (including the Big East Tournament), he shot 4-of-7 from the floor against Tennessee to score 12 points, his most in a Louisville win in the last seven games. He added eight rebounds, three assists, one steal, two blocks and just two turnovers in 38 minutes. In three NCAA Tournament games, Williams has averaged 9.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.7 blocks and just 1.3 turnovers in 35.3 minutes.
Quotables
"I hit it - I didn't even look where it went and then I heard some girl scream. I'll leave it at that." -Alex Stepheson on what happened to his volleyball-esque block
"If it's working, I'm going to stay with it, regardless of how it looks. If I'm going to make a free throw by shooting it between my legs, I'll do that every time. I'm not concerned about looks or style." -Tyler Hansbrough
"I was thinking about it last night and I even had a dream about it, us having like 20 points with like five minutes left in the game." -Ty Lawson on fears of being forced into a slowdown game with Washington State
"Bill Guthridge had a great line, `Do not condemn thy neighbor unless you've walked in his moccasins for two full moons,' which means you shouldn't criticize somebody unless you've been in their shoes for a long, long time." -Roy Williams
"Quentin (Thomas) said in the locker room the other day, the common denominator is how close the teams are, the fact that everybody wanted to win and the old gray-haired guy. I told him I didn't like the `old gray-haired guy' part of it - but then I started thinking about it and I do like that part of it. It's something that's been pretty fortunate for me. It's two different years, who knows what the outcome is going to be. We're all sitting here thinking, `Boy, Roy, you're doing great, things are so smooth,' and that's what was thought last year after we came back from 16 down in the second half to beat USC. Great game. And two days later, we were finished." -Roy Williams
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
