Lucas: Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Painful way for the Carolina season to end. Auburn did everything you knew they were capable of given their success in the last ten games, and Carolina never made the patented second half run.

2. A devastating stretch at the end of the first half and start of the second half was too much to overcome. Auburn went on a quick 6-0 run at the end of the first stanza, then started equally hot in the second half in what was eventually a 14-0 run that forced a Roy Williams timeout less than two minutes into the first half. But the timeout didn't matter, as the Tigers were blazing hot from the three-point line throughout the second half. That stretch, unfortunately, started when Carolina got a steal up by four in the first half, but then missed three shots on the ensuing possession. The game was never the same after that.

3. Eight different Tigers made three-point shots in the second half, when Bruce Pearl's team went 12-for-18 from three. While it was an impressive shooting display, one of the biggest problems was Carolina's inability to stop Auburn's dribble penetration. When the Tigers got into the lane, they had plenty of success pitching it out for perimeter jumpers.

4. Auburn entered the game having finished 12th in the SEC in offensive rebound percentage, but the Tigers grabbed eight offensive boards in the first 20 minutes and turned those rebounds into eight second chance points. On a couple of those offensive boards, the Tar Heels simply stood flat-footed and watched the ball fall into Auburn hands. The Tigers used the offensive glass to stay in the game long enough for the three-pointers to start falling.

5. Cameron Johnson was quite visibly limited by the illness that has worked its way through the Tar Heel locker room in recent days. As soon as four minutes into the game, Johnson was already bent over with his hands on his shorts. His struggles were so evident that Roy Williams looked out at him and asked, "Are you OK?" Johnson gave him the affirmative. The graduate student did have a team-high four rebounds and a team-high three steals in the first half, although he made just one of five field goal attempts. He scored 13 points in his final game for the Tar Heels.

6. But don't make the mistake of assigning this loss to Carolina's struggles with illness, including Johnson and Nassir Little. Auburn simply shot too well for Carolina to win the game.

7. Carolina's failure to take care of the ball was a major story in the first half. The Tar Heels coughed it up nine times, and Auburn led the points off turnovers category 11-3. Carolina had been plagued by turnover issues early in the season but had gotten it under control in the last month. The Tar Heels finished with 14 turnovers in the game, and Auburn had 17 points off those 14 miscues.

8. Auburn's efforts to deny Coby White the basketball in the backcourt caused some problems for Carolina in initiating the offense. The Tigers harassed the UNC point guard everywhere he went. That led to a frustrating day for the very talented freshman, who shot 4-for-14 and did not make a three-point shot.

9. The Tar Heels wasted a significant portion of the first half firing away with wild abandon from the three-point line. During one nearly ten-minute stretch, they went 2-for-9 from three while making 5-of-6 from two-point range.

10. With Johnson struggling with his health, Kenny Williams' offense was a necessity. The senior nailed a pair of three-pointers and scored eight first-half points.

11. Dewey Burke, Bobby Frasor and Tyler Hansbrough were in the stands behind the Carolina bench.

12. The Tar Heels quietly got five good first half minutes from Seventh Woods, who was +3 in that span. Those minutes included a nice drive to the rim for a bucket and an assist. Woods was not as successful in the second half when the Tar Heels had to get White some rest late in the game.

13. The Sprint Center struggled through some technical difficulties. The center hung scoreboard malfunctioned for several minutes in the first half and the courtside internet that put the Tar Heel Sports Network on the air flaked out at halftime.

14. Luke Maye finishes tenth all-time in Carolina rebounding, something that might matter to him down the road but doesn't matter tonight.

15. You certainly hope for the best for Auburn's Chuma Okeke, who left with what looked like a serious injury.

16. Emotional scene with two minutes left, as Roy Williams substituted out Kenny Williams, who went straight to the bench and was visibly crushed. Seventh Woods and Cameron Johnson tried to console him. Just a heartbreaking way for a fantastic senior class, including Maye, to end their careers. But they achieved an incredible amount for Carolina, including a national title and two Final Fours.

Players Mentioned

Cameron Johnson

Nassir Little

Luke Maye

Coby White

Kenny Williams

Seventh Woods

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