The game against Marquette last night really surprised me. I thought Marquette would come out ready to play. From the opening tap, Marquette looked out of sync, they had a hard time getting into their offense, and defensively they were not as active or play with as much intensity they had in their first two games. North Carolina took advantage of their size inside on offense and got into the passing lanes on defense and combined with Marquette's poor shooting, led to many easy baskets and a 40-15 halftime lead. It was pretty much over at that point.
Marquette cut it as close as 14 points with about 4 minutes to go in the second half but the game was never in doubt. The 'Heels had a little bit of a letdown in the second half with their defensive intensity and offensive execution but I believe they just wanted the game to be over.
Tyler Zeller has had a monster tournament. He had 27 points and 15 rebounds against Marquette and is playing the best basketball of his career by a long shot. UNC's "big three" of Zeller, Harrison Barnes, and John Henson combined for 61 of the 81 points and 36 rebounds. Henson has come alive in the tournament as well but I do not know why he thinks he needs to be shooting from the perimeter.
The 'Heels still cannot hit from the perimeter on a consistent basis and Barnes and Leslie McDonald are their only legitimate outside threats but McDonald has been in a shooting slump that has lasted for about 15 games. Dexter Strickland will never be a scoring threat from the outside but he is much better in a transition game and he even nailed a 15 foot jump shot in transition last night.
John Henson has turned into a multi-faceted defensive presence that has caused problems for every team they have played in the tournament. He might be the best shot blocker in the history of the North Carolina Tarheels but to watch him guard the inbounds pass is a thing of beauty. He defelected another one last night in which the 'Heels gained posession.
Charles Barkley described the Tarheel big men as "soft" last night in the pregame segment of the CBS telecast and I would have to disagree with that. It is no secret that they are not physical but Zeller and Henson are extremely effective in the college game. The officials chose to "let them play" last night and in almost any situation like that the 'Heels are not going to be as effective.
When I refer to let them play, the officials chose to let the big men on the inside beat and bang and that definitely gave Marquette an advantage that they probably didn't take enough advantage of in the first half. Zeller did do a good job of denying the entry pass in the middle, picking off several and deflecting several more.
When the officials do choose to let them play, the play is much more physical, and the play always seems to be on the verge of out of control. It came very close last night. The foul committed on John Henson right before the end of the first half when he had a breakaway and the Marquette player wrapped his arms around Henson and spun him around before he made an attempt on the ball was when the officials started to lose a little bit of control of the game. Even announcer Clark Kellogg said it should have been called an intentional foul.
The physical play only escalated in the second half and I believe the only reason that Jae Crowder of Marquette had a technical foul called on him was because he called Henson a "mother------" and it was plainly audible on the broadcast. I took great satisfaction when Henson later blocked one of his shots into the third row (although Crowder later hit a three-pointer with Henson guarding him) and Henson and Crowder were woofing at each other then. I noticed from that point on, anytime Marquette's players had the opportunity to get in an extra shove or an elbow, they took full advantage of it because the officials were not going to call any of it. I chalk it up to the big lead and the composure of North Carolina's players that it didn't get out of control then. The officials weren't about to make a stand.
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