The North Carolina Tarheels beat Louisville yesterday 70-60 to advance to the ACC semifinal round. The 'Heels will play #1 seed Virginia.
The game the 'Heels game played yesterday was maddeningly typical for this season. They play a bad half of basketball and they play a good half of basketball. Against Louisville, the first half was much worse than the second half but luckily for the Tarheels, the second half was much more important.
The Tarheels were down 37-32 at halftime and were down by as many as 10 points. It could have been and probably should have been much worse. Their shooting percentage was in the 30's while allowing Louisville to shoot about 50 percent. Head Coach Roy Williams had a jacket throwing fit and I don't know if that provided the inspiration or what but whatever works.
We also saw the worst of Brice Johnson in the first half (2 for 9 shooting, 4 points) and best of him in the second (6 for 8 shooting, 8 for 9 from the free throw line, and 6 of his 7 rebounds) for a total of 22 points. He rose to the occasion in the second half and carried the Tarheels to victory.
The Tarheels Defense was also vastly improved in the second half, holding Louisville to 23 points. The Tarheels went to a Zone defense in the second half and it seemed to take Louisville out of their game. They only hit 4 of 22 three pointers for the game and their shooting percentage plunged into the 30's.
It was a solid win for North Carolina over a higher ranked team but they only have about 24 hours to en joy this victory. A well coached Virginia team awaits them in the semifinals. The Tarheels neede to bring that intensity for another game.
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