UNC 80, Miami 70
UNC jumped out to its best start of the year on the way to a 10 point win at Miami. With the win, Carolina improves to 4-1 on the road in the ACC. They are playing better on the road than at home!
The Tar Heels had an 8-0 early lead on some torrid shooting. We were 9 for 9 at the 15 minute mark and had a 22-13 lead. Then we cooled dramatically and could only muster 9 points over the next 10 minutes. Miami crawled back throughout the half and was only down 1 going into halftime.
Tyler Hansbrough was a monster all game. He was getting banged around (and didn't get many calls) but still found a way to make several tough shots in the post. He scored 25 points to lead all scorers with 16 of those coming in the first half. Reyshawn Terry had 10 points in the first half, all of those coming in the first 10 minutes. He got into a little foul trouble and cooled off a bit, but he was aggressive on offense (yes, he got his obligatory offensive foul during the game) and excellent on defense.
For the second straight game, we didn't come out of halftime playing that well. This contrasts most of the season in which we've played our best ball during the first 10 minutes of the second half. In this case, the defensive intensity wasn't there and Miami got a few easy baskets (much to Coach Williams' chagrin).
We got a couple of three pointers in a row around the 8 minute mark and started to build a lead. We jumped out to an 11 point lead with 7 minutes to go and Miami was not able to come back. Our Tar Heels played very well over the last 5 minutes of the game including some clutch shots by Bobby Frasor.
I'm glad we were able to avenge our loss to Miami at home this year. We are tied for third in the ACC now with Boston College. Things are still so close in the league that we could finish second if everything went our way or as bad as eighth if we have a meltdown.
Other key stats:
+ UNC FG: 31-56 (55%)
- UNC FT: 10-17: (59%)
+ UNC Turnovers: 13 !!!
+ Rebounds: 33 (UNC), 22 (Miami)
