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Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
March 9, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the regular season finale against Duke.
By Adam Lucas
1. Wow. What an incredible ending to an improbable regular season. Carolina is the 2019 ACC regular season co-champion. Savor it.
2. It's almost impossible to single out one individual for praise after that 79-70 win over Duke. Starting to name names would risk leaving out someone. So just suffice it to say that everyone who played contributed in some big way.
3. After losing the rebounding battle in the first half, Carolina did better on the glass in the final 20 minutes. The Tar Heels had a four-board advantage in the final 20 minutes. Cam Johnson finished with another double-double (14 points and ten rebounds) and Luke Maye hauled in a game-high 16 boards.
4. And what about the other senior, Kenny Williams? All he did was draw three offensive fouls on Duke star R.J. Barrett, which put Barrett in foul trouble for most of the game, and also scored 18 points. Williams also nailed four three-pointers, grabbed six rebounds, and had four assists. What a senior day. We aren't going to appreciate Williams' contributions until they're absent next year.
5. Coby White didn't play well in the initial meeting between these two teams. That changed on Saturday night, as he scored 21 points and didn't have a turnover in a tremendous performance. White also had three assists, including what felt like the backbreaker when he fed Garrison Brooks for a dunk and a 12-point lead with seven minutes left.
6. Carolina played below average in the first half and trailed by two after a period in which R.J. Barrett picked up three fouls, Duke led the rebounding battle 22-18, and Luke Maye shot 1-for-6. That's about as good as you can possibly feel about a two-point deficit at halftime.
7. The Tar Heels' conditioning played a role in that game. As early as the first half, a couple of Blue Devils looked tired. Carolina stayed fresh and kept pushing the ball down the court for all 40 minutes, and it worked.
8. Credit to Johnson and to an unexpected source--Brooks, who struggled from the line early in the game--for stepping up and hitting one-and-one free throw opportunities in the final minutes of the game. As uncomfortable as it felt once Duke closed to five, it could have been much worse if the Tar Heels didn't convert from the line.
9. Carolina has now played Duke nine times under Roy Williams in the regular season finale with a share of the conference's regular season title or first place outright on the line. The Tar Heels are now 9-0 in those games (2005, 07, 08, 09, 11, 12, 16, 17 and 19). By the way, Carolina has also won three in a row over Duke and four of the last five.
10. As you would expect for the Carolina-Duke game, a host of former players were on hand. Those spotted include Rasheed Wallace, Ed Cota, Shammond Williams, Tyler Hansbrough, Lennie Rosenbluth and David Noel.
11. White hit four three-pointers and now holds the UNC freshman record for three-point field goals with 75.
12. No one is immune to the intensity of Carolina-Duke. When Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett walked into the Smith Center an hour and 45 minutes before tipoff and wandered past the student section, Garrett--who was wearing relatively neutral colors but with a large group of Duke fans and has been fairly open about his admiration for the Blue Devils--was greeted with hearty boos and shouts of, "Go Eagles!"
13. Catch your breath. It's entirely possible these two teams might do this again next Friday night in Charlotte.
1. Wow. What an incredible ending to an improbable regular season. Carolina is the 2019 ACC regular season co-champion. Savor it.
2. It's almost impossible to single out one individual for praise after that 79-70 win over Duke. Starting to name names would risk leaving out someone. So just suffice it to say that everyone who played contributed in some big way.
3. After losing the rebounding battle in the first half, Carolina did better on the glass in the final 20 minutes. The Tar Heels had a four-board advantage in the final 20 minutes. Cam Johnson finished with another double-double (14 points and ten rebounds) and Luke Maye hauled in a game-high 16 boards.
4. And what about the other senior, Kenny Williams? All he did was draw three offensive fouls on Duke star R.J. Barrett, which put Barrett in foul trouble for most of the game, and also scored 18 points. Williams also nailed four three-pointers, grabbed six rebounds, and had four assists. What a senior day. We aren't going to appreciate Williams' contributions until they're absent next year.
5. Coby White didn't play well in the initial meeting between these two teams. That changed on Saturday night, as he scored 21 points and didn't have a turnover in a tremendous performance. White also had three assists, including what felt like the backbreaker when he fed Garrison Brooks for a dunk and a 12-point lead with seven minutes left.
6. Carolina played below average in the first half and trailed by two after a period in which R.J. Barrett picked up three fouls, Duke led the rebounding battle 22-18, and Luke Maye shot 1-for-6. That's about as good as you can possibly feel about a two-point deficit at halftime.
7. The Tar Heels' conditioning played a role in that game. As early as the first half, a couple of Blue Devils looked tired. Carolina stayed fresh and kept pushing the ball down the court for all 40 minutes, and it worked.
8. Credit to Johnson and to an unexpected source--Brooks, who struggled from the line early in the game--for stepping up and hitting one-and-one free throw opportunities in the final minutes of the game. As uncomfortable as it felt once Duke closed to five, it could have been much worse if the Tar Heels didn't convert from the line.
9. Carolina has now played Duke nine times under Roy Williams in the regular season finale with a share of the conference's regular season title or first place outright on the line. The Tar Heels are now 9-0 in those games (2005, 07, 08, 09, 11, 12, 16, 17 and 19). By the way, Carolina has also won three in a row over Duke and four of the last five.
10. As you would expect for the Carolina-Duke game, a host of former players were on hand. Those spotted include Rasheed Wallace, Ed Cota, Shammond Williams, Tyler Hansbrough, Lennie Rosenbluth and David Noel.
11. White hit four three-pointers and now holds the UNC freshman record for three-point field goals with 75.
12. No one is immune to the intensity of Carolina-Duke. When Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett walked into the Smith Center an hour and 45 minutes before tipoff and wandered past the student section, Garrett--who was wearing relatively neutral colors but with a large group of Duke fans and has been fairly open about his admiration for the Blue Devils--was greeted with hearty boos and shouts of, "Go Eagles!"
13. Catch your breath. It's entirely possible these two teams might do this again next Friday night in Charlotte.
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