University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
March 1, 2016 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
1. Well, that's the rare very close 75-70 win over a tough Syracuse team that you don't even remember twenty minutes later, because Carolina had the best senior day ceremony the program has had in the Roy Williams era. The speeches from Joel James, Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige were absolutely perfect, and then Roy Williams took the microphone and finished off the crowd with a heartfelt salute to a class he called "maybe my favorite senior class ever" for the way they have battled through significant adversity over these four years. Paige broke down on multiple occasions, and Williams, whose emotional nature is well-known, also had tears in his eyes. It was a very, very special night of Carolina basketball. GoHeels TV will have video, and you should find it and enjoy it.
2. Now, about the game. Somehow, the Tar Heels survived. There were multiple big plays late, including some terrific defensive help from Isaiah Hicks on a spinning Michael Gbinije when an Orange basket would've cut the Carolina lead to just one point with 15 seconds remaining. Just before that, Johnson had, as Williams put it in his speech, "a big-time freaking offensive rebound" and stickback with 1:15 left to give Carolina a five-point advantage.
3. Still, however, the Tar Heels have to do a better job of getting the ball to Johnson on critical possessions. Obviously, the opponent also knows that's where Carolina wants the ball to go, but UNC never let Johnson touch the ball on two straight possessions under four minutes to play in a five- and three-point game. That's been a problem in losses to Duke and Virginia, and Johnson has to demand the ball and the Carolina guards have to find him. To his credit, rather than shutting down when he couldn't get a pass, Johnson simply went and sought the ball, grabbing that big board and what might have been the deciding hoop.
4. Johnson had a terrific sequence when Syracuse closed the deficit to 62-59 with around seven minutes to play. First, he got the ball in the middle of the 'Cuse zone and scored. Then he grabbed a defensive rebound and threw a 50-foot outlet pass to Justin Jackson, who laid it up to make it a seven-point game. Johnson then got another defensive board, drew a foul on Tyler Roberson battling for an offensive rebound, and sank a couple of free throws.
Of course, that sequence is also what made it even more frustrating that Johnson didn't touch the ball late. But that was a game-altering series late in the game, and the Tar Heels probably don't win without it. Johnson notched yet another double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
5. Syracuse coaxes opponents into three-pointers, and the Tar Heels fell for it. They fired 25 three-pointers, hitting just six of them, for a 24 percent mark overall. Carolina went 0-for-8 in the second half from the three-point line. "Syracuse's zone was reallye effective tonight," Williams said.
6. Carolina's ability to occasionally run was a key part of the win. Syracuse is typically very tough in transition defense, but the Tar Heels managed to get 16 points on the break, to just nine for Syracuse, in a game the Heels won by five.
7. So now the ACC picture is pretty simple. Carolina has clinched a double bye in the ACC Tournament and will open play on Thursday in Washington, D.C. When will they play? We'll know after Saturday, when a Carolina win at Cameron Indoor Stadium would clinch a regular season championship.
