The Technical That Inspired

Notre Dame was near the end of an 11-0 run when Brice Johnson committed a cardinal sin for Tarheel players, past and present; he was called for a technical foul. Notre Dame hit the two free throws and then hit a jumper to take a one point lead. North Carolina responded with an 11-0 run of their own highlighted by a Theo Pinson to Isaiah Hicks alley oop and the Tarheels were on their way to an 88-74 win. Johnson did have 25 points and 12 rebounds in the game, his Tarheel record 23rd double-double of the season, breaking a record held by Tarheel great Billy Cunningham and John Henson. The Tarheels also moved on to their 19th Final Four, an NCAA record.

On To The Elite Eight

The North Carolina Tarheels took it to the Indiana Hoosiers in their 101-86 Sweet Sixteen victory. The Tarheels hit a season high eleven three pointers, held Indiana to 41% shooting, and outrebounded Indiana 37-32. All five Tarheels starters scored in double figures led by Marcus Paige's 21 points and Brice Johnson's 20 points and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Hicks had the strangest stat line of the night with four points and four rebounds in seven minutes but he also fouled out of the game.

Indiana was probably the toughest five seed in the tournament. I said Marcus Paige was the key to North Carolina winning it all and he broke out of his slump in a big way going six for nine from the three point line and the Tarheels hit 11 for 20 overall.

The Tarheel Party Moves To Philly

The Brice Johnson block party moves to Philadelphia Friday night when the North Carolina Tarheels go up against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Providence Friars were the latest guests that were invited to leave and sometimes in a rather rude fashion. Johnson sent one Providence shot into about the third row. He also had his 21st double-double on the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Tarheels place five players in double figures. The Tarheels outrebounded the Friars 42-24 and had 16 second chance points to Providence's one in the Tarheels 85-66 victory.

Block Party

Brice Johnson had an old fashioned block party last night and Florida Gulf Coast University were the guests of honor. Johnson blocked six FGCU shots in the second half and eight for the game. A nickname that was used by FGCU a few years ago, "Dunk City", was referenced early in the game and Johnson had a party at the rim on the offensive end as well. FGCU was only down by a point at halftime but the Tarheels were able to turn up the defensive pressure in the second half and were able to secure the 83-67 win.

I was listening to the Tarheel radio show before the game with Jones Angell and Eric Monross and a statement that was made by Roy Williams was brought up where he said that this season's team was one of the most criticized and under appreciated teams that he had ever had. The press has really gone after the Tarheels this season whether they win or lose. The Tarheels have been the popular punching bag in college basketball by the sports media. No matter the upsets that occurred yesterday the Tarheel win was greeted with a ho hum attitude.

March Madness Begins

March Madness begins for the North Carolina Tarheels against Florida Gulf Coast University who already has one game in the tournament under their belt, a victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, in a "First Four" game. I never did like these first round games. Florida Gulf Coast will come into the game inspired at the possibility of knocking off the #1 seed and if North Carolina doesn't win by 30 points, the questions about their toughness and their ability to put away smaller division teams will begin anew, if they ever really stopped. North Carolina is coming off their best three game stretch of the season and it just happened to come in the ACC Tournament. The Tarheels have great senior leadership in the low key Marcus Paige and an emotional leader in Brice Johnson. They are primed for a long run into the NCAA Tournament.

ACC Champs

North Carolina won the Acc Tournament Championship with a 61-57 win over Virginia, their first tournament championship since 2008. It was a gutsy performance and North Carolina beat Virginia on Virginia's terms- half court offensive basketball with tough man-to-man defense. It was the type of game that many in the sports media doubted they could win as North Carolina's toughness has been questioned all season long.

Joel Berry II led the scoring with 19 points with a perfect three for three from the three point line and six for six from the free throw line and he was named the Tournament MVP. Marcus Paige had a tough shooting night going zero for seven from the three point line but scored eight of his 13 points during a stretch in the latter stages of the second half by driving to the basket for layups or trips to the free throw line. Brice Johnson had 12 points and nine rebounds and led the team with five assists passing out of the high post.

A Complete Game

As a former high school coach, I know there is no such thing as a perfect basketball game especially when you are playing in the ACC. In the ACC Semifinals, the North Carolina Tarheels 77-48 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish may not have been a perfect game but it was the most complete game the Tarheels have played all season long. The 'Heels went on a 24-0 run that was spread over the end of the first half and the beginning of the second and lasted over 11 minutes of game time to build a 25 point lead and coasted the rest of the way.

The Tarheels defense was the key as they held Notre Dame to 30% shooting for the game and outrebounded the Irish 49-31. Marcus Paige led the way with 16 points and seven assists as the Tarheels had five players in double figures. Leading scorer Brice Johnson had 12 points in spite only playing 15 minutes because of foul trouble but ACC Sixth Man Of The Year Isaiah Hicks came off the bench to score 11 points and grab a career high 15 rebounds.

A Wide Open Tournament

This year's ACC Basketball Tournament is what the ACC seemed to be striving for. The ACC consistently had six teams in the top 25 and there were many upsets along the way. The Tarheels earned the #1 seed by finishing 14-4 in the conference but the Tarheels did not earn that seed until the final weekend of the regular season. A case can be made for any of the top four seeds- North Carolina, Miami, Virginia, or Notre Dame- to win the tournament.

The Tarheels took down Pittsburgh in the opening game 88-71 but it wasn't as easy as the final score indicated. Brice Johnson Had his usual double-double- 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots- and Joel Berry II led the way with 20 points and four steals. Theo Pinson came off the bench and only scored two pints but had seven assists. The Tarheels take on Notre Dame next as Notre Dame came back from 16 points down to beat Duke in Overtime. Notre Dame won in Chapel Hill earlier this season so it is a chance for a little bit of payback. Notre Dame presents matchup problems for North Carolina and the Tarheels ability to guard the perimeter is a key to the game.

Regular Season Champions

Seniors Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige finished off their final regular season at North Carolina in style as they accomplished a first in their careers- beating Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium and winning the ACC regular season championship. It did not come easy. North Carolina built up an eight point halftime lead and had to hold on to win 76-72. At one point, North Carolina missed 11 shots in a row and Duke got hot from the three point line and tied the game at 49. The Tarheels were able to maintain a sleep lead after that and Paige sealed the win at the free throw line.

North Carolina owned the boards against Duke. They held a 64-29 advantage with 27 offensive rebounds. Johnson had 21 rebounds and Kennedy Meeks had 14. There were plenty of missed shots to rebound. The Tarheels only shot 28.2% in the second half. Duke hit more three pointers than they did regular field goals and shot better from the three point line. All of North Carolina's starters scored in double figures led by Johnson's 18 points. Grayson "Trip" Allen led Duke with 29. North Carolina beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Period. North Carolina won the ACC regular season championship. Period.

Nothing Is Easy

The North Carolina Tarheels had Senior Night against Syracuse and all of the seniors on North Carolina's roster got their traditional start on Senior Night and the Tarheels were no worse for wear after the non-traditional starters left the game after the first timeout. It was also Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson's final home game. It was a tough battle. Syracuse has played much better since coach Jim Boeheim returned from his nine game suspension at the beginning of the season.

Paige's shooting slump that he has had for the last half of the season carried through his final home game and Johnson posted his usual double-double in his final appearance at the Dean E. Smith Center. The Tarheels pulled out a 75-70 win after building a 13 point lead early in the second half. The #1 seed in the ACC will still be up for grabs when the Tarheels travel to Duke for their final regular season game.

Nervous

As a North Carolina Tarheels fan, playing the North Carolina State Wolpack last night made me nervous. Cat Barber is the best pure scorer in the ACC and State has some serious size in the middle with BeeJay Anya and Abdul-Malik Abu and a three point threat in Maverick Rowan. It is usually combinations like this that give the North Carolina Tarheels fits. Cat Barber did his part by scoring a game high 32 points and he scored 16 of their first 27 and NC State raced out to a 23-10 lead.

Luckily for North Carolina, Justin Jackson has rediscovered his game and his scoring touch that has been missing for the better part of the season. He scored 17 points on a variety of jump shots and drives to the basket. Brice Johnson had his standard double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds and North Carolina pulled away at the end to win 80-68. State's inside duo of Anya and Abu only combined for 17 points and Maverick Rowan went 2 for 12 from the field and was held to eight points. State has had a tough season but they are very capable of putting it all together for an ACC tournament run.

The Roller Coaster Ride

The North Carolina Tarheels basketball teams roller coaster ride of a season continued with a 96-71 victory over second place Miami. It was a game that really wasn't as close as the final score indicated. The Tarheels end of the first half run was punctuated by an 85 foot two handed heave by Brice Johnson that went through the basket softer than a lay up but didn't count as the ball left his hands after the buzzer sounded. The Tarheels were up by as many as 38 points late in the second half.

The loss against Duke was deflating but the Tarheels bounced back with authority. After the Duke loss, many had written the Tarheels off for the rest of the season. The North Carolina Tarheels are probably the most overanalyzed team in college basketball. One night they look unbeatable. The next night, they look like they can barely beat the local community college team. The Tarheels biggest critic, Jay Williams, questions the Tarheels toughness and he does have a valid point.

As soon as he makes these comments, the Tarheels came out to play. Brice Johnson had 16 points and 15 rebounds and he paced six Tarheels in double figures. They also outrebounded Miami 46-29. The Tarheels have four more tough games ahead. They need to show up to play every night.

Living On The Edge

The North Carolina Tarheels continue to live on the edge. They have not been playing their best basketball but remain undefeated. They built up a 20 point lead in the first half against Virginia Tech and had to hold on at the end to win 75-70. A shooting slump has infested the entire Tarheels team like a bad case of the flu. The team shot 3 for 23 from the three point line and only hit 37.8% of its shots for the game. Marcus Paige's shooting slump stretched into his fourth game as he only hit 2 of his 10 and 0 for 5 from the three point line. Brice Johnson has been the most consistent scorer among the Tarheels this season and he posted 19 points and 17 rebounds and blocked three Hokies shots.

The Tarheels defense was worthy of note against the Hokies with 11 steals and they forced 14 Hokies turnovers and blocked seven shots. They also held the Hokies to 40% shooting and outrebounded them 48-33. The schedule for the Tarheels turns much tougher after the game Saturday against Boston College and the Tarheels depth and talent may not be able to overcome the poor shooting they have suffered from of late against the likes of Louisville and Duke.

Beatable

Wake Forest basketball head coach Danny Manning is right when he said that the North Carolina Tarheels are "beatable". The North Carolina Tarheels are winning in spite of the fact that their perimeter game has gone on an early spring break. Guard Marcus Paige has only scored eight points in his past three games on 3 for 25 shooting and 1 of 17 from the three point line and all three of those games the Tarheels won by double digits.

The Tarheels have won all six of their ACC games thanks in large part to their inside game. Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, and Isaiah Hicks have all had career games since the ACC season started. Joel Berry II has been the only consistent perimeter threat because of Paige's season long slump. Paige's slump is concerning but the Tarheels keep winning. Justin Jackson is also in the throes of a slump. For the Tarheels to keep winning and to go deep into the NCAA tournament, the Tarheels will have to get over their team wide case of the "yips" from the three point line. In today's game you have to be able to hit the three with something better than 25 percent consistency.

The Man In The Middle

Kennedy Meeks was the latest North Carolina Tarheel post player to have a big game and it happened in his return to the starting lineup against North Carolina State. Pound for pound, the Wolfpack has more size in the middle. Meeks athleticism got the State big men in foul trouble and they both fouled out of the game, Meeks scored 18 of the Tarheels 38 points in the second half and Meeks totaled 23 for the game.

Since the start of ACC conference play, the Tarheels post players have come up big because the North Carolina perimeter game has gone colder than a January day in the North Carolina mountains. The Tarheels are only shooting a little over 25 percent from the three point line in ACC play but Brice Johnson, Isaiah Hicks, and now Kennedy Meeks have all had career games during the Tarheels 5-0 ACC start.

A Little Magic

Brice Johnson showed he had a little bit of magic to his game with a career high eight assists against Syracuse and most of those assists were passes to Isaiah Hicks against the Syracuse zone for dunks or layups. Hicks tied a career high in points with 21 and set a career high in rebounds with eight. Johnson and Hicks games offset the Marcus Paige's lowest point total of the season with three.

Johnson's career high is assists comes the game after his career best 39 points and 23 rebounds against Florida State and for his efforts for the week, Johnson was named the ACC player of the Week for the second time this season. The Tarheels improved to 4-0 in the ACC for the first time in Roy Williams 13 seasons as the North Carolina head coach.

Oh For Chapel Hill

The Clemson Tigers came into Chapel Hill and they left the same way they always do and that is with a loss. The Clemson Tigers are 0-58 in Chapel Hill. The Tigers stayed within striking distance the whole game and even cut the Tarheel lead to about six points on two different occasions in the second half.

The Tarheels put together a good defensive effort in this game and they needed it at the end. Brice Johnson was held to three points on one for eight shooting but the Tarheels bench provided some scoring punch. Isaiah Hicks tied his season with 14 points and Theo Pinson had a career high 13. Marcus Paige lead the way with 18 points and finished the Tarheels scoring with a two handed dunk. I did not realize Paige had that kind of jumping ability.

Bringing Down The Mountaineers

North Carolina played my alma mater Appalachian State and won fairly easily 94-70. This was one of those games that probably never should have been scheduled but they play anyway but as a fan, I really never come out of these games with a good feeling. The Tarheels won by 24 points but it feels like they should have won by 40. The Tarheels ended up being two starters short because Kennedy Meeks is still out and Marcus Paige tweaked his ankle and missed almost the entire second half.

Brice Johnson led the way with 22 points but it seemed like he could have scored 40 if the Tarheels would have force fed it to him inside. Justin Jackson had a double-double as did Joel Berry II. Luke Maye got some valuable playing time off the bench and he has been doing some nice things on the offensive boards. Maye turned that effort into a career high seven points against Appalachian State to go along with five rebounds. As Tarheel alum Rasheed Wallace kept imploring the Tarheel big men from behind the bench last night to "finish at the rim."

Balling In Brooklyn

The North Carolina Tarheels had their first big test without Kennedy Meeks when they took on UCLA in Brooklyn. Joel James got the start again in his place and rebounding and blocking shots are the biggest parts of his game. He normally doesn't contribute to much offensively.

The Tarheels were down by as much as 11 points in the first half, Brice Johnson had been pulled from the game by Coach Roy Williams, and UCLA was hitting their shots and North Carolina wasn't. Marcus Paige was even ice cold and he stayed that way pretty much the entire game except for a late three that was the dagger in the heart of UCLA.

North Carolina went to a small lineup when they put Theo Pinson in, turned up the defensive pressure, and managed to tie it at 38 at halftime. The Tarheels, lead by Brice Johnson's career high 27 points, pulled away late in the second half to win 89-76. Johnson missed his first shot of the game and went to hit his next eleven shots. Isaiah Hicks went six for eight. Joel James went one for three, slamming one home steaming down the middle on a secondary break, was fouled, and hit the free throw. Luke Maye had three points and three rebounds in 12 minutes of playing time. Joel Berry II had a career high 17 points and, to this point, is the Tarheels most improved player.

The Tarheels were favored to win and went out and won while four out of the top ten were losing, including Duke's second loss of the season. All I heard was Dickie V talking about Duke's injuries. Has he even looked at the Tarheels bench this season?

Not Going Meekly

With the news that Kennedy Meeks would miss at least two weeks with a bone bruise that he has been suffering from for quite a while now, the guessing game has begun as to what combination the Tarheels will use to take up Meeks' minutes on the court. Go small with a three guard offense or use Justin Jackson at the four position and slide Brice Johnson to the five or use a combination of Joel James and Isaiah Hicks to man five. James got the start against Tulane and had four points and seven rebounds and Hicks came in and scored a quick eight points in the first half and finished with eleven.

Where does Theo Pinson fit into the mix? After starting in Marcus Paige's place the first six games of the season, he has gotten lost in the shuffle in the past three games. He scored ten points against Tulane including two three pointers but I believe the strength of his game is attacking the basket.

Freshman Lucas Maye got some important minutes off the bench against Tulane and he had one point, five rebounds, two assists, and one blocked shot. Maye looked pretty good rebounding and passing the ball but he needs to work on finishing on the offensive end.