The Tar Heels players cracked up. But his experience has been met by his teammates’ teasing, none more so than from Marcus Paige.
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“Those are ones that you burn, you don’t go back to”, Brey said. In the win over IN, all five starters scored IN double figures, led by seniors Marcus Paige with 21 points and Brice Johnson with 20. The only thing that slowed him down was fouls he picked up his second midway through the first half and spent the rest of it on the bench. About 2½ minutes later he made his second one, and then his third came about 90 seconds after that, and his fourth 18 seconds after his third.
Paige, who spent an extended portion of his senior season mired in an uncharacteristic shooting slump, had experienced similar bursts. Both did it in nine attempts. Four wins, guaranteeing two spots for the conference in the Final Four and also a spot in the national championship game, with the way the pairings are set. “That’s more what my focus has been. And to have beaten a great IN to get there, it feels really good”. “So they’ve got a great overall game”.
The two teams squared off twice this season, and while UVa emerged victorious only after the regular-season date in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers were in it until the end in the ACC title game in Washington, D.C.
He’d long broken out of that slump that affected his confidence and left him waiting, hoping, for better days that finally arrived.
“Hopefully they can say that about me”, Ferrell said. Johnson collected his 22nd double-double of the season, tying him with Billy Cunningham for the most in a season at Carolina. “And that’s what I did”. In some ways what Paige did seemed to be contagious. “He’s very aggressive. (Assistant) Coach (C.B.) McGrath mentioned this morning that he’s averaging more rebounds than Brice, and Brice has been playing better than anybody else, I think”.
When Ferrell and Bielfeldt came out of the game for the final time, Crean hugged his players and said thank you for all that they have done for Indiana. This is a similar situation for the Irish, only this time around, they know their opponent a lot better.
Once again, they look like a team very much capable of taking home the program’s sixth national championship.
If you’ve followed the Tar Heels at all this season you would know how entertaining Pinson is. And yet it felt like the lead was significantly larger.
“I told my doc ‘I don’t really want to do this, ‘” Brey said.
Tar Heel goalie Caylee Waters (8-1) and the Carolina defense held the Eagles scoreless in the final 8:23 to preserve the victory.
RALEIGH, NC – MARCH 19: Justin Jackson #44 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against the Providence Friars in the first half during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PNC Arena on March 19, 2016 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Paige was on fire early, helping North Carolina out to a 52-41 halftime lead.
“I can’t speak for [Indiana coach Tom Crean’s] guys, but nobody’s beating down the door for our guys to go to the NBA Draft”, North Carolina coach Roy Williams said earlier this week in Philadelphia. Paige’s message was simple, to the point.
Last year, Duke won the whole thing. Our season’s on the line. The Tar Heels blew open the game with a 24-0 run in posting a record margin of victory in a ACCT semifinal. Those, though, did have people questioning his on-the-court contributions. “And we shot the ball better than we have been shooting the ball, so that always helps against a team that can really score”.
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Sophomore guard Matt Farrell, who has started every game this NCAA tournament, takes a 3-pointer during Notre Dame’s 78-47 loss against North Carolina on March 11.
