Florida Gulf Coast’s Marc-Eddy Norelia shoots during practice for an NCAA college basketball men’s tournament first-round game in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, March 16, 2016.
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In the second half, UNC came out with a more determined approach.
North Carolina Tar Heels forward Brice Johnson (11) walks off the court with the ACC championship trophy after defeating Virginia Cavaliers 61-57 at Verizon Center.
“I think now he has the mindset of, if we’re not doing that, he’s going to be pretty upset”, Berry said.
Sophomore center Jakob Poeltl is the focal point of the offensive attack for Midwest No. 3 Utah, but the Runnin’ Utes are at their best when they receive contributions from multiple players. UNC shouldn’t have any problem with them, but they still could make things a little interesting as they have taken down a team as high as the number two seed in the tournament.
The Tar Heels struggled to cover consistently throughout the season, but seemed to find their stride over the last few weeks.
The Eagles (21-14) were more than happy to take advantage before the East Region’s top seed dominated the opening 10 minutes of the second half, running off a 20-3 burst by controlling the boards and locking down defensively to build a 20-point lead.
Everyone keeps blabbering about FGCU (21-13) becoming the first No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 seed.
“Put it this way we’d love to play (FGCU) in the second round”, Enfield said.
The Tar Heels are a No. 1 seed for the 15th time and for the sixth time under Williams. But by the end, this one looked a lot like those other 1-vs-16 matchups, with the Tar Heels just too big, deep and athletic for the Atlantic Sun champions.
Ah, the rub. NCAA underdogs can play on adrenaline for a half against No. 1 seeds but no 16th seed has yet to pull off the NCAA stunner. You allow a team like that to shoot 60 percent in the first half, you can’t help but be mad about that.
If seeds were stripped from the equation, it would have been impossible to guess Florida Gulf Coast trotted into PNC Arena as a First Four victor that was playing on just one day of rest after beating Fairleigh Dickinson in Dayton, Ohio, Tuesday night.
The Tomball, Texas native has started all but two games while averaging 12.1 points, and stepped up to average 14.3 points on 51-percent shooting over the final eight games as UNC (28-6) closed out the ACC regular-season title.
Jackson ended previous year by reaching double figures in 11 of 12 games as UNC reached the NCAA Sweet 16. Coach Roy Williams earned his 65th career NCAA win, snapping a tie with late mentor Dean Smith for second on the all-time list to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski….
UNC: The 60-percent shooting in the first half was the best in a half against UNC all year.
“He was probably turning pink more than any time I had ever seen him”, Johnson said.
The preseason No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, the Tar Heels have lately looked every bit a dominant team not only worthy of that ranking, but a team that can storm through Philly on its way to a third national title under Williams.
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UNC advances to Saturday’s second round to face the Providence-Southern California victor.
