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University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
November 24, 2016 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
1. That was the most impressive of any of Roy Williams' three Maui Invitational titles at Carolina. The Tar Heels obliterated a solid field at the Lahaina Civic Center, capping it with a 71-56 victory over a quality and veteran Wisconsin club in the final. Of course, those previous two Maui titles (in November of 2004 and 2008) ended in national championship seasons.
2. That was an incredible defensive rebounding performance by the Tar Heels. Wisconsin is a team that uses second chances as a primary part of its offense. Carolina completely cut that off in the first half, allowing the Badgers zero offensive rebounds in 35 possessions. Wisconsin finally got its first offensive rebound off an errant three-pointer with twelve minutes left in the game. The Badgers finished with four offensive rebounds total, and one second chance point (the Tar Heels won that category, 10-1). You don't post those kind of stats without a complete team commitment to the backboards.
3. Ballots were collected with eight minutes left for the Maui Invitational MVP, at a time when you still could have made a strong case for either Joel Berry or Kennedy Meeks. Berry, who was serenaded with a late "MVP" chant at the free throw line and won the award, was pretty obviously the best player on the court in the title game, but Meeks, who was named to the All-Tournament team, had a key 15 points and 16 rebounds in the final.
4. One byproduct of playing at the deliberate pace Wisconsin prefers is it leaves the Badgers especially susceptible to a quick spurt from the opponent. Joel Berry went on a mini seven-point run late in the first half that propelled the Tar Heels to a nine-point halftime advantage. Wisconsin's tempo makes it tough for them to equal that kind of blitz.
5. It was interesting to see how a differently officiated game changed the tenor of the championship game. Wednesday's game had some of the same officials the Tar Heels had seen already in Maui, but the combination of Ted Valentine, Earl Walton and Chris Rastatter allowed the teams to play more physically. That's not a negative comment on the officiating--because they called it consistently throughout the game--but it definitely led to a different flow of the game. The two teams combined for just eight free throw attempts in the first half; they entered the game averaging a combined 44 charity tosses per contest. For the game, the teams combined to shoot 20 free throws.
6. A night after Seventh Woods had a rough game against Oklahoma State, he rebounded with a solid performance against Wisconsin. The stat line just shows one assist and one block for the freshman, but the block was an explosive swat on a Bronson Koenig transition opportunity (that, granted, came after a Woods turnover). The assist was a nice penetration and kick out to Justin Jackson for a three-pointer late in the shot clock.
7. An indication of how well the Tar Heels are playing right now: the razor-sharp execution when inbounding the ball with two seconds on the shot clock late in the second half. The Tar Heels set multiple screens in the paint, creating a size advantage for Isaiah Hicks. Berry found Hicks with a perfect pass for the score.
8. Roy Williams said on Sunday one of the biggest things he likes about coming to Maui is you don't leave the islands with many questions about your team. If that's the case, Williams should leave Maui a very happy man. The Tar Heels never trailed in the event and found a lot more answers than questions in these three games.
