Anyone seen Dook?
Makhtar N'Diaye having a little fun at the NCAA Tournament game with his buddies Vince Carter, Julius Peppers and Antawn Jamison:
Photo by
Zeke Smith. Great job Zeke!
Michigan State 72, UNC 89
Boxscore |
RecapVindication! After starting the season with such lofty expectations, the boys in blue were vindicated with a dominating performance in the National Championship game against Michigan State. Where do I begin? The first half was by far our BEST half of the season, and there couldn't have been a better time for it. No other school in country could have stayed with us in the first half. It was a thing of beauty. We set NCAA tourney records for most points in the first half and largest halftime lead.
The usual suspects played really well. Heck, the whole team contributed at a high level. Wayne Ellington (Finals MVP), Ty Lawson (set the NCAA Championship record for steals in a game), and Tyler Hansbrough (in the top 4 all time scorers in NCAA Tourney history) all had really good games. They all complimented each other so nicely. Deon Thompson came out on fire in the first half. Danny Green was playing through a strained muscle in his stomach and had some nice plays.
MSU was just outmatched (for the second time this season against us). Everyone liked to say how MSU was on a mission. They were trying to save the state of Michigan (or something like that). UNC was the team on a mission. No one on the team forgot the stinging loss to Kansas last year. That's why were won by double digits in each game in the tournament!
I couldn't be happier. Especially to see one of the greatest players in UNC history, Mr. Hansbrough, go out with a national championship in his last game. What a fitting end to a historic career.
I don't like seasons where UNC is preseason #1. There is only one way to go. Well not quite. There are two ways to go. Down or sideways (ie, win the national championship). It is so difficult to make it through the whole season and pull off 6 straight wins in the tourney, but our Heels did it (again)!!
The next couple of weeks will be a bit of a shock to the system as I come down off the NCAA Tournament high. To go from the National Championship game to nothing for 7 months is tough. And of course we'll have to bear through all the NBA Draft talk.
But none of that matters right now. I'm happy :-)
Villanova 69, UNC 83
Boxscore |
RecapUNC continues to play its best ball of the season as we rolled over Villanova on our way to the championship game against MSU on Monday. After just a couple minutes into the game, UNC established a lead it never lost. The game got as close at 5 points at the 17 minute mark in the second half, but we had an answer every time Nova made a little spurt.
We were hitting on all cylinders with the exception of free throw shooting. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green were knocking down their shots. When they are hitting, no one can beat us. We just need one more game. Wayne continues to be in a zone. It's a thing of beauty.
I thought the officiating was pretty bad. A bunch of little touch fouls in the first half followed by inconsistency throughout the second half. Just let the kids play! After watching Hansbrough get mauled this season I'm all for reducing hard contact, but touch fouls are a drain on a game.
Over the last few games, we've shown a great amount of poise by not letting leads slip through our fingers. Earlier in the season we'd let a 10 or 15 point lead evaporate. Recently we've done a good job of stopping our opponents' runs before they climb all the way back.
Yes,
we beat MSU by 35 points back in December, but they were coming off a long road trip and didn't have their big man, Goran Suton. MSU is a different team now. They've looked very impressive in the tournament. We'll definitely need to bring our A-game on Monday!
I'm a little concerned about our legs. MSU is a deep team and while we go 9 deep (only 7 played double digit minutes on Saturday), our starters have played a lot of minutes lately. In the post-game press conference, Ty Lawson looked completely wiped out. Our free throws were off as well, which is sometimes an indication of players being tired. Let's hope they get a lot of rest on Sunday.
