UNC 70, Miami 81
Marred by 17 turnovers and another slow start, Carolina wasn't able to pull out a victory against Miami in the Dean Dome. This game looked like a continuation from the Virginia Tech game except in this one, Miami got hot in the final 2 minutes to pull away from the Tar Heels.
We started off cold again, going 1-9 from the field but somehow were able to stay in there. If we do that against a better team (like Duke), we could get blown out early. The team went 4-15 from the field in the first 12 minutes but were never more than a half dozen points down. Miami used the zone on defense, which slowed the game down and kept UNC from getting in a rhythm most of the game. The Hurricanes packed it down low on Tyler Hansbrough often double and sometimes triple teaming the freshman. Tyler was 8-8 from the free throw line in the first half and he was able to lead the team in scoring with 25 despite not getting the ball near enough in the last 10 minutes of the game.
UNC went on a little run with 6 minutes to go in the first half to take their first lead of the game, 23-22. Wes Miller had his best game of the year scoring 2 threes in the first half and playing excellent defense. On the negative side, David Noel (5 turnovers) and Reyshawn Terry (3 turnovers) did not play well. Surprisingly, reserve Dewey Burke came in during the final minute of half, I assume because Coach wasn't happy with Terry's play. Byron Sanders scored the final basket of the half on a Wes Miller entry pass to put us up 31-30.
We came out firing to start the second half. In the first 7 minutes, Hansbrough was huge for us scoring 10 points. He'd only score 5 points over the remaining 13 minutes. Terry picked up the pace scoring 2 three pointers in a row (he tried for a third but missed badly). He ended up scoring 18 for the game. We were up 39-32, but Miami roared back to take the lead 39-44. Throughout the game we had several opportunities to get a comfortable lead, but we weren't able to capitalize.
Miami killed us on the boards collecting 43 rebounds (21 offensive) to our 34. There were a couple of trips where they got 3 or more offensive rebounds in a row.
We were only down 62-65 with 3:25 to go, but on the back of Miami's star guards Diaz and Hite, Miami pulled away. Overall it was a good effort from the Tar Heels, but we didn't look very sound. Obviously, we made way too many turnovers. Many of our entry passes down low weren't crisp.
We were lucky to pull out the last game against Va Tech, but our luck ran out today. We need to start playing better soon or we may end up in the bottom half of the ACC as everyone predicted. Reyshawn Terry needs to start playing smarter and more aggressive on offense (but not get hit with charges as he seems prone to do). David Noel has made a lot of turnovers in recent games and needs to be more careful with the ball. The only thing we can count on so far is Tyler. We need to keep getting him the ball.
Other Key Stats:
- Steals: 1 (UNC), 8 (Miami)
+ Assists: 17 (UNC), 8 (Miami)
+ UNC Free Throws: 18-20 (90%)
+ Tyler Free Throws: 13-14 (93%)
- UNC Field Goals: 22-55 (40%)
