University of North Carolina Athletics
Quick Start Keyed Win Over NCSU
February 3, 2014 | Men's Basketball
by Emily Fedewa, GoHeels.com
CHAPEL HILL—Most of the wins for this year's North Carolina basketball team have been a tale of two halves.
In half of Carolina's wins this season, the team has finished the first half either tied or leading by less than six before stronger second half performances led to victories by eight or more points.
UNC's 84-70 win over NC State on Saturday was both the same and different.
While the Tar Heels did perform distinctly better in one half than the other, this time they were switched. UNC came out ready to play from the tip, scoring 40 points while holding the Wolfpack to just 25 percent shooting in the first half.
Junior James Michael McAdoo said that was the plan all along for going up against the Wolfpack.
"Getting that lead early was emphasized coming into the game, that we had to hit them in the mouth really quick," McAdoo said. "We definitely wanted to take as much confidence away from them as possible."
Although the solid first half allowed the Tar Heels to maintain a lead throughout the game and finish with a victory, sloppier play in the second half let NC State shoot 65 percent and go on a 16-5 run late in the half to cut UNC's once-22 point lead to just 10.
Despite the team's struggle to play 40 consistent minutes, there have been improvements in a few key areas over the current three-game winning streak.
The most noticeable one on Saturday came from the free throw line. After spending most of the season with a free throw percentage that rarely crept above 50, the Tar Heels shot 75.8 percent from the line against the Wolfpack.
They also dominated the boards, outrebounding NC State 52-36 with 20 second-chance points.
The players and coaches all agree though that the biggest improvement is still the increased effort and intensity the team has shown in the last couple of games, which can help offset a bipolar game.
"I think we've struggled to execute a little bit, especially in the second half, but the urgency is obviously the biggest part," sophomore Marcus Paige said. "Your effort can make up for some of the small lapses in execution, so I think that's what we've been relying on."
That improvement will need to continue in both energy and execution for Carolina to get where head coach Roy Williams believes it can be.
Williams said he thinks this team has what it takes to be great, and he has been emphasizing the need for a stronger sense of urgency to help them get there—but they must be able to maintain it.
"I think we're really close to really becoming a good basketball team," Williams said. "But we've got to take some more steps and got to maintain that intensity level for a longer period of time."
While UNC has clawed its way back in conference play from 1-4 to 4-4, it's not satisfied with being an average ACC team.
But in order to contend with the top teams, the Tar Heels will need more than just a good first or second half; they'll need to put together an entire game.
"You see stretches like in the first half (against NC State) where our defense is great and our offense is good enough," Paige said. "But then we had some lapses in the second half, some complacency and really good teams don't have that. So just putting a full 40 minutes together, I think we're getting close."
