Off the cuff: You had to think North Carolina would put up a good effort after playing so poorly in an 83-70 loss to rather lowly Marquette, who has a losing record. But, it didn't look like it in the first half. "In the first half we were about as ugly as can be," Coach Williams said. He said the Carolina players allowed Florida State's pressure and the officials' perceived bad calls to get to them. A calmer, more focused (especially on the defensive end), more mature Carolina team quickly turned the game around. A 17-3 run, bolstered by 10 points from Walker Kessler, put the Tar Heels in front 46-44. It was a dogfight from then on. Kessler's dominating play, UNC's ability to force turnovers and the Carolina players hitting all their free throws in the second half led to the big win. Coach Williams mentioned that Kessler had a slow start to the season not because of talent but because he had two 14-day close contact quarantines just before the season. The officiating was pretty lousy in this game but even that was overshadowed by the poor production of the game by ESPN. The gurus of Bristol thought talking live to an NBA scout during play when the Seminoles were up by only two was a good idea. Instead of excitement of calling a Leaky Black jumper to tie it and crowd-pleasing Kessler dunk that put the Heels up (46-44) for the first time since the first minute or two of the game, the announcers were just having a conversation with the scout. I think I speak for the average UNC or FSU fan - and the majority of college basketball fans - I don't give a damn who you think is going to do well at the "next level." What made the situation worse was the announcers deadpanned the update of Carolina taking the lead but practically yelled when the Seminoles tied it at 46-all after the breaking news interview with an NBA scout. Call the game or just give viewers the option to simulcast the teams' radio announcers. |
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