UNC 83, Virginia 63
Boxscore |
RecapWhere was this team against BC and Wake? The contrast is startling and again, it comes down to how much we run the floor. I don't understand how our running game completely disappeared during our two losses. Tonight against Virginia, even after UVA made a basket we were charging up the floor as fast as possible. So even if a team is packing it in and slowing the clock down, we can still push the ball. But that didn't happen against Wake and BC.
Tyler Hansbrough was unstoppable, scoring 28 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Ty Lawson also had a big night. 9 assists and zero turnovers. However, I remember one turnover at the beginning of the game where Ty threw the ball out of bounds (intended for Danny). He should have been credited with a turnover for that, but I guess not. 9-0 will definitely help his A/T ratio! He also scored 19 points going 3-3 from three point range. Glad to see him return after his mysterious absence during the BC and Wake games.
Across the board we played well as a team, although our shooting percentage is still down. I thought Danny Green had another good game, but he only shot 38% from the floor. We shot 42% as a team (our season average is 49%). Wayne Ellington shot 40% including 0-2 from three.
Last year our season average was 48% from the floor, so its not like we should expect a big drop off now that we are playing conference games.
I thought we were much more aggressive on the defensive end. UVA didn't have nearly as many open shots as some of our previous opponents. Virginia still had 24 offensive rebounds (compared to our 14). They got a lot of second chance looks. Fortunately, they were having an off night shooting (a measly 30% from the floor).
So it was a nice bounce back for the Heels, but a much better test will come on
Saturday against Miami. Onward and upward!
