Washington DC-harrison ingram It seems like years ago, but that was true in the Bahamas.
and harrison ingram I said that Friday night in Washington, D.C., and it was true even then.
What he said after the Tar Heels beat Arkansas in Nassau four months ago was, “We've got some big players. We can bully.”
Here's what he said on Tar Heel Sports Network Friday night after the Tar Heels beat Pittsburgh: “We're not going to beat ourselves. It's going to be hard to beat us. They try to blow us out, but we're not that clean.”
It was exactly the game needed to defeat the Panthers 72-65 and advance to the program's first ACC Tournament championship game since 2018. It's ridiculous that Pitt isn't considered an NCAA Tournament team. Not only are they talented; Hubert Davis Place NBA players in multiple spots on the depth chart.
And they played an NBA-style game in the semifinals, reducing the second half to a one-on-one battle and trying to take advantage of a bad matchup to extend Pitt's two-goal lead at halftime. They were so one-on-one oriented that they recorded just five assists in the final 28 minutes of play.
Therein lies the question of strategy against Carolina. The Heels' versatility makes bad matchups very difficult. Switch each screen, Hubert Davis He was willing to force the extremely talented Carlton Carrington and Jaland Lowe to hit tough shots beyond his outstretched hands.
Sometimes they made it. Carrington finished with 24 points and Rowe finished with 17 points, scoring 19 of the team's 30 points in the second half.
But more often than not, this was not the case. The duo took 17 shots and converted seven in the second half. Pitt shot 33.3 percent as a team in the first half.Primarily protected by third-team All-ACC selection harrison ingramFirst-team All-ACC selection Blake Hinson went 2-of-12 for the game, but ultimately got very frustrated and missed a 27-foot 3-pointer early in the second half. I decided (failed).
But this kind of defensive performance isn't necessarily surprising. Ask for the following credentials.
It was 35th This is the first time this season that Carolina's opponents have shot less than 40 percent in the first 66 games.
The Tar Heels entered the game ranked No. 1 in the ACC in defensive efficiency in league play, based on statistics from kenpom.com. He is not number one outside of Virginia, which has a strong defense. Number one in the league…second only to Virginia.
Carolina has two of the top four rebounders in the league. Armando Bacot And Ingram. Bacot leads the league in every game. Ingram leads the league in conference games.
Along with the ACC Player of the Year Award. RJ Davis, poured in 25 points against Pitt, including clutch three-point shooting, and these are the headliners. But as Pittsburgh discovered Friday night, headliners alone can't win in March.
Top Sanctuaries in the Carolinas, Seth Trimble, played 24 minutes and led the team with four assists while tormenting Carrington defensively. The second reserve is Jaelyn Withersplayed 10 minutes and grabbed two offensive rebounds in that span, second on the team behind Bacot's five. Sometimes, toughness isn't just about playing physically, barking at officials, and making mean faces. A certain type of toughness, and Friday's winning type of toughness, has a limited role but knows exactly what to do within that role to help the team win.
“We always talk about making impactful plays.” Hubert Davis Said. “There's a lot of ways we can give our team a chance to win. I could list all the players that had an impact on our win tonight.”
So Carolina will play for the conference tournament championship on Saturday night and is in a very good position for seeding in the NCAA Tournament. On Friday, they defeated a team they probably had to beat to maintain their NCAA postseason chances. I'll have to do it again on Saturday.
But it's not wrong to think that Carolina, which already holds the league's regular season title, will have a hard time finding something to play for on Saturday. They were very often the same team for most of the season, from Ingram's interview in November to his interview in the nation's capital. Now they will have another chance to attract people's attention.
“Yeah, I have something to prove,” Ingram said. “We've always had a chip on our shoulders. We've been doubted. No matter what we've done, nobody's going to pick us and think we're good.” I won't give it to you.”
