The Tarheels have shown a knack for being able to win the close ones this year and Game One of the ACC Tournament against Miami was no exception. You also have to be able to win the games in which you do not play your best and, once again, this game was no exception.
This was the worst game the 'Heels had played in quite a while. They were so careless with the ball in the first half, Roy Williams put 5 walk-ons into the game only down 13-8 so he could reem out the 5 that were on the court. I don't know if it was because of a "Duke hangover" or what but that was a very bad stretch of basketball. As a consequence they were down 31-22 at the half after allowing Miami to outscore them 11-2 down the stretch in the first half.
The second half didn't start out much better as Miami built up a 53-34 lead with a little under 8 minutes to play. Its no secret that Roy Willaims is not a big fan of the ACC Tournament and it looked like his team was going to get plenty of rest going into the NCAA's. Leslie McDonald provided a huge spark off the bench, hitting three 3's down the stretch and Kendall Marshall hit a couple of 3's as well and Miami turned ice cold from the field.
UNC got the ball back with 18.6 seconds left, Kendall marshall drove the lane and dished it to Tyler Zeller under the basket and he banged a left-handed layup off the glass right as time expired to win it 61-59. The ball left his hand with 0.2 seconds to go. Game Over.
It was not a pretty win and a game they probably did not deserve to win, but it still counts and Clemson is up next. The 'Heels had 20 turnovers in that game and they had better not have a repeat performance tomorrow or they probably will not win.
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