ACC Country

Tell me, Jimmy Dykes: is Tyrese Rice still on pace to score 745 points? Is the building still burning down? Does he still have that look in his eye that he’s had since warmups? Because that’s all I heard about for the better part of two hours today. 34 first half points, 8-9 from downtown, and Rice was fanning himself down jogging back down court. The hoop must’ve looked like Cape Cod to the BC point guard, finishing with 46 points for the game. With a performance like that, the Eagles surely knocked off Carolina at the Conte Forum this afternoon, right?

Try again. And don’t feel bad, Tyrese. Sean Singletary went for 40+ in Miami today and lost, too.

The Tar Heels found themselves down as much as 18 early in the second half before answering Rice’s insane outburst with an 18-0 run to take the lead. After exchanging the lead a couple of times halfway thru the second half, Carolina then utilized a 16-3 run to put the game in the freezer and win fairly comfortably, 90-80. All in all, the Heels outscored BC 38-9 over the span of 13 minutes in the second half, as impressive a display of talent, determination, and will as I’ve seen from Carolina this season. This was also the blueprint and example of how you beat Carolina, and what happens when the gameplan fizzles. Shoot the three, hit the three, contain the Heels offense, you win. When the shots stop dropping, you’re in trouble.

The cold Boston weather, the late afternoon ABC telecast, the week long layoff… the game had all the makings of a classic Heels letdown. By the time I got home from the office, the eagles were already up 18-5 and it didn’t get any better til after the half. I thought if Carolina could get it to single digits by the half, the game would be within striking distance. They cut it to 11 on at least three separate occasions, but couldn’t pull closer. Rice stretched BC’s lead to 14 at halftime, then scored the first two buckets of the second half to make it 58-40. A couple of more uninspired minutes saw the Heels down 61-44, and it just didn’t look like Carolina’s day. Roy Williams answered by pulling the starting lineup off the floor. Down 17, in a hostile environment, with a guy on the other team sitting on 38 points, Roy sent a lineup of the healed up, yet still a half-step slow Ty Lawson, Danny Green, Alex Stepheson, redshirt freshman Will Graves, and personal favorite, Blue Team “captain” Mike Copeland.

Amazingly, this was the group that set up the incredible comeback Saturday afternoon. Two Green three pointers, sandwiched around a Copeland layup, made for a eight point spurt. They also set the tone on the defensive end. The starters (minus Q) came back in and finished the job. Lawson stayed in and played the majority of minutes down the stretch, looking fundamentally sound, finishing the game with 5 assists to just one turnover, and the NPOY to be Tyler Hansbrough had one of the quietest 25 point, 9 rebound efforts you’ll see, scoring only six second half points, but the primary reason the Heels weren’t down by 30 at the half. Incredible group effort by everyone – Ellington and Green were exceptional – and even the Blue Team got to close out the win in the final minute, a concept I would’ve bet the farm against with 17 minutes remaining in the contest. Senior Night on Tuesday against FSU, which should be a riot given the emergence of Q this season. And then, next Saturday night… no hype necessary.

Speaking of our opponents next Saturday, Duke needed all 40 minutes to beat State in Raleigh this afternoon. I didn’t see the game, but having not read anything about the game other thant he final score – 87-86 – I could’ve told you esactly how it went down. State plays over their heads, controls most of the game, Duke shoots a million threes, gets hot in the second half, rallies to take the lead, and gets the benefit of a bad call to get their nose out front. Of course, State pretty much gave the game away, too. Dumb turnovers, and despite shooting 86% from the line, missing three critical free throws in the final two minutes. Inexcusable. That is why State is State and bottom feeding in the conference. As for Duke, they’re still overrated and will be exposed. If not a week from tonight, in the ACC Tournament, and DEFINITELY in the NCAA.

That’s all for now.