University of North Carolina Athletics
Today In History: March 11, 2007
March 12, 2014 | Men's Basketball
NOTE: This article originally appeared in the March 11 issue of CAROLINA.
by Robbi Pickeral
With about four minutes left in the 2007 ACC tournament title game, North Carolina coach Roy Williams had a message for his top-seeded team: 'Hey," he told his Tar Heels, "I'm not concerned about State making a run. Winning championships is not supposed to be easy.'"
The 10th-seeded Wolfpack certainly didn't make it easy at St. Pete Times Forum. But in the end, UNC, with an 89-80 victory, accomplished what Marcus Ginyard called "Phase 2" of its three-phase plan: winning its first ACC championship since 1998.
Surviving a second-half push by NC State-which, led by first-year coach Sidney Lowe, made a surprising run through the tourney reminiscent of its 1983 "Cardiac Pack" days-the Tar Heels earned the top seed in the NCAA tournament.
"For Coach Williams, he hasn't won this since he's been here so it's another jewel to go in his jewelry box,'' senior Reyshawn Terry said.
Terry helped secure the ring.
Using waves of 11 different players, the Tar Heels built as much as a 16-point lead. But State-fueled by a red-jacket wearing Lowe and confidence garnered by winning three games in three days-chipped back to 70-69 with 5:02 left.
Terry countered by scoring eight straight for Carolina, pushing the pedal with a jumper, a 3-point play and a 3-point shot while the Pack finally ran out of gas.
"They made some big shots down the stretch," said Lowe, who was disappointed by the outcome but proud of his team's perseverance. "[UNC] is tough inside, they're tough outside and obviously they play hard."
Entering that game, the Tar Heels' stretch of eight consecutive years without an ACC tournament title had been their longest since they went nine seasons without one from 1958-66.
What made this one impressive was how many players made key contributions.
Brandan Wright (the tournament's MVP) and Wayne Ellington scored 16 points apiece. Tyler Hansbrough, playing with a faceguard to protect his broken nose, chipped in 15, including 11 from the foul line. Reserve Wes Miller hit two big 3-pointers at the end of the first half. Terry finished with 13, and Ty Lawson's dunk with a second left in the game emphasized his 13-point effort.
The tournament punctuated a key momentum swing for the Tar Heels, who had lost two of their last three regular-season games-but would go on to advance to the NCAA regional final.
The victory secured UNC's 16th ACC tournament title.
"I hope they enjoyed the feeling of cutting down the nets and getting those trophies,'' Williams said. "Winning championships is not easy."
