Sunday, March 25, 2007

"That's why they're 'student-athletes' "


For about 33 minutes of its Elite Eight showdown with Georgetown Sunday evening, North Carolina's play belied its fundamental flaws.

The Tar Heels were a great team all season, but the two things you had to question about them were their toughness and their smarts. Both were on display during those 33 minutes, and as a result North Carolina led 75-65 after two Marcus Ginyard free throws with 7:19 to play.

The North Carolina faithful could feel the Heels' second Final Four appearance in three years on their fingertips.

But then those vices came back to sting North Carolina at the most inopportune time. The Heels rushed shots and - with the exception of four points from Tyler Hansbrough and a tip-in by Brandan Wright - were dominated down low. The large rebounding margin they had held for much of the game slowly dwindled until it was unrecognizable (North Carolina had a double-digit advantage in boards most of the second half, but ended up with just a 41-37 edge). There were no more second-chance opportunities despite the Hoyas playing a healthy dose of zone defense.

And with North Carolina taking quick shots and being limited to a single shot each possession, Georgetown had plenty of time to get back into the game. Unlike the Heels, there were no hurried shots by the Hoyas. Instead, they went to their bread and butter every time down the floor: Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, who scored five out of seven Georgetown points to get within 75-72 with 4:22 remaining on a thunderous dunk by Hibbert.

Then, with North Carolina's defense focused on Georgetown's Big Two, the other guys took advantage. Jessie Sapp, one of college basketball's most underrated players, scored a difficult layup to cut UNC's lead to one. Then, trailing by three with less than a minute remaining, Jonathan Wallace calmly stepped up and nailed a game-tying 3-pointer.

And the game was as good as over.

The overtime was more of the same. UNC impatiently settled for way too many 3-pointers and didn't score until a Ty Lawson 3-pointer with 8 seconds remaining. By that time, CBS had already inked the Hoyas for Atlanta and the final spot in the Final Four.

After the game, UNC coach Roy Williams didn't attribute his team's meltdown to youth - he simply said they missed shots. He's definitely got a point. They missed a lot of shots, making just three field goals in the final 12 minutes of regulation plus overtime. But a lot of those shots were from 3-point range, and the Tar Heels (outside of Wes Miller) aren't a very consistent outside shooting team. They were on the bad side of "streaky" Sunday afternoon.

Georgetown worked the ball offensively, making sure Green and Hibbert at least touched the ball on every possession.

It was very smart basketball, the kind of basketball that wins teams games this time of year.

And it was just barely enough against a more talented UNC squad.

It wasn't surprising, however. In fact, it was the theme of this past weekend. Of the teams still standing, all four have very astute players who don't get flustered in pressure situations. They may not be the most talented teams out of their regions (at least UNC in the East and Kansas in the West would claim that title), but talent doesn't reign supreme in March.

Experience, smarts and, of course, a little luck is what championship teams possess.

Florida and UCLA have plenty of experience. They, um, played in the national title game a year ago. 'Nuff said. Four of Georgetown's most key players - Green, Hibbert, Wallace and Patrick Ewing Jr. - are juniors, which, in this day and age, is considered very experienced. Ohio State is definitely the least experienced of the Final Four teams - with freshmen Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden its best players - but it wouldn't be here if not for the heroics of senior Ron Lewis, who has led the Buckeyes the last three games.

When the game is on the line, none of the four teams panic. They know what they want to do, and they do an excellent of job of executing this. For UCLA, it's getting the ball to Aaron Afflalo, the Bruins' junior shooting guard. When Kansas threatened UCLA's lead midway through the second half Saturday, Afflalo kept the Jayhawks at bay with seven consecutive points. He finished with 24 on 10-for-15 shooting from the field. Florida is smart enough to work off its big men - Al Horford and Joakim Noah - down low, knowing that this will open up the perimeter for sharp shooter Lee Humphrey. Against Oregon Humphrey was the key, making seven 3-pointers en route to a team-high 23 points.

But don't think that each of these teams didn't receive a little good fortune on their way to Atlanta. Ohio State's the most obvious case. If Xavier hadn't missed a free throw in the final seconds, Ron Lewis' game-tying 3-pointer wouldn't have been game-tying. As great as Georgetown was in the final minutes Sunday, North Carolina's Wayne Ellington had a wide-open 3-point attempt right before regulation expired. If that had fallen, we'd all be praising the Heels right now. While UCLA and Florida haven't needed last-second 3-pointers to get this far, they haven't exactly waltzed to the ATL either. In the second round, UCLA survived a last-minute comeback when Indiana threw away a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. Florida and Butler were tied 54-54 with 3 minutes left Friday before the Bulldogs missed three out of four free throws and three out of four layups as the Gators pulled away.

So don't say that luck doesn't play a role in March. It certainly does.

But it's not the difference. That would be smart play in the waning moments of tense games. Next year, North Carolina could have it. The Heels should return most of their nucleus - depending on draft departures - for another run at the title.
But for now they must sit at home and watch as four of college basketball's smartest teams - with textbooks in hand - clash for the ultimate prize.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Good article, but there is one very large stat you can not over emphasize: 1 for 23 from the floor in the last 10 minutes. This is not "hot versus cold" or ill advised threes. This is choking of heroic proportion; even one or two baskets during this stretch, or any 'd' at all, wins them the game.

Unfortunately for Roy Williams, this is a commond theme for his teams, deserved or not.