Off the cuff: That was as good an attack on the zone defense as I've seen a Carolina team accomplish. The Heels moved the ball crisply and found big guys in the lane, who either passed to an open shooter or shot themselves. And when the Huskies missed, Carolina rebounded. The Heels outrebounded the Huskies 48-24. Washington shot just 38 percent compared to 51 percent for the Tar Heels. Each team hit nine three-pointers but Carolina did it with 21 shots while it took 29 shots for Washington. But the big difference came when Maye, Little and, to a lesser extent, Brooks got the ball in the lane. Little, a yes-sir no-sir kind of guy who made straight As in high school, was not only confident when he got the ball but he was a tad cocky after the game. "I think that I was really dominating the middle," he said. "Their big men were dropping back in the paint." That allowed the big men to cleanly get the ball and do something positive with it, fairly close to the hoop. Coach Roy Williams was encouraging the players to continue to attack the middle of the zone. It kept working. North Caroina lost out in the NCAAs last year in just the second round. They were determined not to lose time time around. "We talked about it all summer," UNC's Cam Johnson said. "To lose the way we did and have Joel and Theo go out that way," he added while shaking his head. He said they worked hard to get past this point. How much further will the Heels go? Every game is different and every opponent is so different but the Heels are playing well right now, heading into a game against speedy Auburn where the winner will advance to the Elite Eight. |
|