University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
March 20, 2016 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
1. Providence had two very, very good players in the game on Saturday night. Carolina had a much better team. The Friars largely leaned entirely on Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil, who scored the vast majority of their points in the second half. Carolina, meanwhile, spread it out and got contributions from across the rotation. Guess which approach worked better? Carolina's, as they moved on to the round of 16 with a 85-66 victory.
2. Carolina appeared to get a huge break when Kris Dunn picked up his second foul with 11:07 left in the first half. Dunn had made four of his five field goals at that point, most of which were on guarded long jumpers, and appeared to be on his way to a monster half. Unfortunately, the Tar Heels couldn't really capitalize on the Providence star's absence, as the Friars actually outscored Carolina by one point during Dunn's absence.
3. That was a chippy, physical, intense NCAA Tournament game. Providence very clearly came out with the intention of seeing if they could push the Tar Heels around, and there was a stretch during the first half when it looked like it might work. But around the time Brice Johnson rejected a Providence shot into approximately Fuquay-Varina, the Tar Heels seemed to regain some composure. Official Doug Sirmons gave Johnson a lecture during the ensuing timeout, and Johnson responded with, "My bad," and from there the Tar Heels appeared to play with more poise.
The attempt to outphysical the Tar Heels didn't work--Carolina absolutely dominated the glass in the second half and appeared to wear down the Friars. By the end of the game, Providence was providing very little resistance as the Tar Heels repeatedly sprinted down the court.
4. Is it time for Second-Half Justin Jackson? The Tar Heel sophomore has now scored 49 of his last 55 points in the second half, and put up 13 in the final period on Saturday night while scoring in a variety of ways. Jackson also played some decent defensive minutes on Dunn, who is a tough cover for anyone.
5. What an asset for Carolina to have Isaiah Hicks coming off the bench. The Oxford native was every bit the match for Providence's physical attack, and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Hicks never, ever backs down and has developed a real knack for scoring through contact.
6. The win gives Carolina thirty wins for the sixth time in the Roy Williams era. How impressive is that? Prior to Williams' arrival, the Tar Heels had 30 wins six times in the entire history of the program.
7. Carolina is 21-0 this season when Theo Pinson scores at least three points. Pinson had just two in Saturday night's game, but his defense on Ben Bentil was key during a first half stretch was important. With Dunn out, the Friars needed Bentil to contribute offensively, but Pinson's athleticism bothered Bentil and limited him to just 3-for-11 shooting in the first 20 minutes. The two were chirping at each other on many of those possessions, but it's fair to say Pinson got the better of it.
8. A couple of UNC seniors are sharing space with some impressive names in the Tar Heel record book. With his first basket, Marcus Paige moved past Mike O'Koren on the all-time scoring list. Paige now stands 13th on that list. The next player he would pass, with 12 more points: Michael Jordan.
Brice Johnson, meanwhile, grabbed ten rebounds on his way to yet another double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds in addition to helping foul out Bentil. That means his senior season now ranks fifth all-time on the single-season UNC rebounding list, with only Tyler Hansbrough, Sean May, Antawn Jamison and Billy Cunningham ahead of him.
9. Indiana beat Kentucky and will be the next opponent on next Friday night (game time to be announced tomorrow), so here's a game you're going to hear a lot about this week: March 30, 1981, when the Hoosiers beat the Tar Heels in the national title game in...Philadelphia. The two storied programs have met just once in the NCAA Tournament since then (a 1984 Indiana win that Dan Dakich has mentioned roughly eight million times in the 32 years since). The 1981 game was most memorable because it was marked by uncertainty--there was an attempt made on President Ronald Reagan's life earlier in the day, and no one was quite sure if the basketball game would be played. They played the game, and Indiana won, 63-50.
