University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
February 19, 2015 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
1. That felt like an absolute gut punch of a loss. For about 39 minutes, Carolina was everything we'd heard the Tar Heels weren't lately. They were tough, they had a sense of urgency, they made big shots, and they defended. And then...they didn't.
2. When you think about it, it's pretty miraculous that Duke made ten three-pointers to Carolina's two, the Blue Devils took 31 free throws to Carolina's 20, and the Tar Heels had the ball with a chance to win in regulation. For most of the evening, Carolina did a good job taking care of the basketball, finishing with just 11 turnovers, and also picked up nine steals. The UNC big men also generated some second shot opportunities, with Carolina grabbing 19 offensive rebounds.
3. Duke did to Carolina exactly what the Tar Heels typically do to opponents. On too many occasions late in the second half and in overtime, the Blue Devils sprinted downcourt before the UNC defense could react, getting easy baskets in transition.
4. Joel James was big in the first half, both scoring an unexpected six points and using his big body to create some traffic in the lane.
5. Nate Britt has made a boatload of free throws late in the game in his Carolina career. It's unfortunate he had to stand around waiting to shoot while the officials sorted out yet another clock misfunction at a key point in the game.
6. Carolina's execution at the end of regulation wasn't great, as the play seemed to break down and there were a couple frenetic looking Tar Heels as the clock approached zero. Shot selection was also an issue at times; with possessions so valuable and the lead so precious, there were occasions when the wrong player might have had the ball in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But then they almost made up for it with brilliant execution at the end of overtime, as instead of missing a free throw too hard--the normal play--Nate Britt missed it off to the side, and Marcus Paige very nearly swooped in and picked off the rebound.
7. Paige was extremely hard on himself in the locker room. "I didn't give my team anything," he said of his 2-for-11, five-point, three-assist performance.
8. It was evident by the tone of the stone silent locker room exactly how much emotion went into the game. It's going to be very interesting to see how the Tar Heels pull it back together for two straight home games--Saturday against Georgia Tech at noon, and Tuesday against what will be a hungry NC State squad.
Just one of either the Louisville or Duke losses in a season would have been tough. To have both of them within three weeks, both in what felt like very winnable games...it will be a challenge to make sure those don't define the season.
