10:06: UNC and Villanova tips off. There are a lot of ACC critics that are hoping Villanova completes the ACC sweep. And as I talk they hit a three to make it 5-0.
10:12: Keep in mind Villanova is playing a virtual home game. After all, they are up north at a fellow Big East school, and this crowd is going nuts for them. Anyway, Randy Foye has come out blasting. That will of course subside, but UNC has got to work on their perimeter defense, the one thing that has hurt them all year. Villanova is up 13-5 early in the game.
10:25: Carolina seems as if they don't know what defense is. They are getting some calls on the offensive end, but are allowing Villanova to slash and aren't answering. Nova is up by 12 midway through the first.
Utah's Andrew Bogut is trying to place the whole team on his back. I don't know if he can, as Kentucky has a pretty talented frontcourt to keep him busy throughout the game. Kentucky has gone on a 6-0 run to lead 14-9.
10:36: The refs are calling it really tight. Actually, too tight. Any little contact will is being whistled, which makes it hard for Carolina to get any momentum going. Villanova's hitting their jumpers, and are keeping them at a distance. Nova's up by ten.
10:46: Heh. Noel goes down from a low blow. A couple of minutes later Lundquist makes sure they know that Nova didn't do a "Chris Paul". I'm sure that's what every ACC fan was thinking. Anyway, Noel was fine and it was no biggie. Carolina's cut it to eight with 3:30 to go in the half.
Meanwhile, Kentucky is still holding on to their lead. They're up by four.
Strong performance at the end of the first half by Carolina. They're starting to connect on the passes inside that they weren't able to get earlier in the game. On the defensive end they have forced Villanova to take some ugly shots and I don't think Villanova scored a field goal over the last four minutes of the half. Nova's shots behind the arc are missing too. 33-29 Nova at halftime.
Randy Foye's first half line: 5-10 fg, 4-8 from the arc, 17pts. Can he keep that going throughout the game? I don't think so.
11:19: Halftime's over, and Carolina comes out stiff again. They actually let that midget Marcus Austin leap up like Mario from Super Mario Bros and snatch a rebound in the paint. What's with that? Regardless, Carolina's still down by four as no one has scored since halftime. Meanwhile, Kentucky has extended their lead to eight.
11:26: Carolina made back to back three's, but then fell off and allowed Foye to hit another three. Great. And on top of that, May gets dunked on on the next Nova possession. Villanova is playing a very scrappy defense which is frustrating Carolina on the offensive end. And of course, the refs will let them play when Carolina has the ball, but lord knows if a small bump occurs on the opposite end, Nova's gonna get the blocking call. 40-37 with 15 mins left.
Meanwhile, Kentucky leads by five with 12 and a half left in the game. I can't watch that game, so I can't say much about it.
Meanwhile, Kentucky leads by five with 12 and a half left in the game. I can't watch that game, so I can't say much about it.
11:35: I am really frustrated at the refs for calling at the officiating in this game. Villanova literally mugged Noel on the other end, yet no call. Come back the other way, and they call a cheap block. Utterly ridiculous calls, and Roy Williams is starting to get on them for their inconsistency. But somehow, Carolina has fought back to tie the game at 42.
11:45: Carolina is finally starting to get a hold of this game. They are starting to use their talent to play Villanova hard, and are starting to work them on every possession. I also like how they are starting to slow down the game and feed it inside where they can't compete.
As soon as I say that, the defense laxed and they are about to allow Villanova to tie up the game. UNC's up 50-49 after being up by five.
12:00: Carolina is now starting to pull away, and their defense is making Villanova force shots. They're also starting to make the three pointer their first option, which is the wrong thing to do. Villanova shouldn't panic so early. Carolina up by nine after an 11-2 run with 4:14 to go.
12:05: Bill Raftery: "If you don't knock em down, you're in trouble."
Really Bill?
Foye is playing hard. You can tell he's a street baller, and that might help him get a couple of looks from the NBA. However, Villanova can't sink any shots, and against Carolina you got to be able to put up some points. Felton's fouled out, but Carolina's up by five with two minutes to go.
Really Bill?
Foye is playing hard. You can tell he's a street baller, and that might help him get a couple of looks from the NBA. However, Villanova can't sink any shots, and against Carolina you got to be able to put up some points. Felton's fouled out, but Carolina's up by five with two minutes to go.
Meanwhile, Kentucky has pretty much wrapped their game up with Utah, as they lead by nine with :42 to go.
12:11: Carolina has allowed them to get back into this game. Unbelievable. Held the ball, but continue to turn it over and now Villanova is getting some fast breaks. Nova is going to the line down by three with 40 seconds to go.
Foye hits one, but misses and tries to get his own rebound...behind the back called on Foye, so it's Carolina's ball with 40 seconds left and up by two.
12:16: I swear I'll be glad when the officiating crew is off the court. They better not call Sunday's game. Anyway, Nova is down by three, they miss the last ft, get the offensive rebound and call the timeout. They get one last shot at this with 11.6 seconds left in the game.
12:20: I was about to have a cow, because they blew the whistle before he was fouled. Fortunately, they called the walk, which he did do before the foul and was a surprising good call. Everyone is booing in Syracuse.
McCants has missed his first, but hit his second, and Carolina leads by four with 7.6 left.
McCants has missed his first, but hit his second, and Carolina leads by four with 7.6 left.
Tonight was way too close for comfort. Carolina looked like a different team than the one who dominated Oakland and Iowa State last weekend. If they come in there like that against Wisconsin the ACC won't have a spot in the Final Four.
Carolina wins, 67-66.
That's it for tonight. I'll probably liveblog the first Elite Eight game, but I'm not sure about the rest.
UPDATE: Clark Kellogg and the other guy don't know what they are talking about. The steps are counted once the ball leaves the hand, not when he grabs it. That's three steps, and that's a walk. Get over it.