“I expect we’ll see a lot (of zone) unless it’s a stubborn coach like me”, Williams said. “With him out, everybody has different roles”.
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Temple was going toe-to-toe with the much bigger Tar Heels when North Carolina ended the first half on a 13-2 surge.
With Atlantic Coast Conference preseason co-player of the year Marcus Paige sidelined for the first few weeks of the season with a broken right hand, the Tar Heels (2-0) need Britt and sophomore Joel Berry II both to provide more scoring and outside shooting.
“He apologized to me and the team”, said coach Roy Williams, adding that the team would wear coats and ties on the trip home instead of warmups because of Britt’s actions.
IL 80, North Dakota State 74: Mike Thorne Jr. scored 21 points to help IL (1-1) rally in the second half and defeat North Dakota State (1-1) in Springfield, Ill.
North Carolina won the only previous meeting between the teams in a first-round game of the 1997 NCAA Tournament.
“It’s your fault we’re wearing suits home”, UNC junior Kennedy Meeks playfully said in the general direction of teammate Nate Britt.
Freshman Maite Cazorla had a dazzling debut, finishing with nine points, nine assists, four steals and just two turnovers.
It was another close loss for a Tar Heels squad that is short on players and experience, but not on talent. However with a success over Miami & a Pittsburgh loss to Duke on Saturday, North Carolina will clinch a spot beside Clemson within the ACC title game.
Britt, who switched shooting hands from left to right before last season, scored 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting in Friday’s 24-point win over Temple in the opener.
“We weren’t as good as we needed to be rebounding the basketball against that size and athleticism”, Dunphy said.
The Tar Heels led by just eight points at halftime, and were still ahead by the same single-digit margin with just 12 minutes to play-before turning up the intensity down the stretch. However, it’s football and as we know the niceties and politeness usually take place after the final whistle, not during play. But the Tar Heels were too tall, and their roster was too deep for a team that just two years ago went 9-22. North Carolina also dominated the glass, totaling 49 rebounds on the night, including ten offensive rebounds. Heading into the final points, Pitt and UNC exchanged back and forth points, but the Tar Heels notched three final points to take the set.
Oregon’s defense played an aggressive zone that made it hard for North Carolina to penetrate.
And even though Dunphy needed to play three freshmen double-digit minutes, and even though one of the team’s potential breakout stars was unavailable due to injury, the Owls hung tough for long stretches of what should be their toughest game all year along.
Minutes later, North Carolina made its move.
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The Owls were led by senior guard Devin Coleman, who scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half. The Hurricanes are going to have to be sound with the football against Carolina and not give the Tar Heels added possessions.
