This will be a battle of wills. Carolina prefers the fast tempo game, while Wisconsin is more methodical and sharper with their execution. Carolina will have to get out to a good start, and get a comfortable lead early. Wisconsin will have to frustrate Sean May down low like Villanova did and hit some threes behind the arc. Of course, I'm a Tarheel, so I got Carolina winning this one.
Tipoff is about to begin...
2:42: Carolina is starting precisely the way they're supposed to: using their talent and imposing their presence in the paint. Sean May is starting up already, and if Wisconsin doesn't start getting physical with him, they're going to have problems throughout this game. Only bad spot is that the Heels give up their first three of the game. 10-5 Carolina.
2:52: Wisconsin is following the same mantra, and they have some big forwards in order to do it with on the offensive end. Only problem is, they aren't finishing the shot. Carolina is 9-10 from the field and leads it by seven.
2:56: May is on a roll and doesn't look like he is going to go cold anytime soon. Wisconsin has started picking up the pace however, and they are starting to score more often and are making their possessions count. They're still a little shaky on the arc, but they are having some success in the paint.
They called the charge on Felton while Wisconsin was reaching in. Bad call. McCants hits a three, 25-18 UNC.
3:07: Somebody better get a hold of May. Dunks, jumpers just in front of the line, he's doing everything right now. Wisconsin seems as if they don't know what to do with him. They do hit a three however to get out of being behind by double digits. 30-22 UNC.
3:18: Carolina and Wisconsin are starting to trade threes. Carolina needs to contest that shot a little better. May is continuing to beast in the paint, as they are lobbing the ball over Wisconsin's defenders and they're getting the baskets in the paint. 42-33 UNC with 3 mins left.
3:24: Carolina blew a double digit lead THAT QUICK. Ridiculous. It's as if they fell asleep on defense and simply stepped aside to give them open baskets. Wisconsin's defense came through in the last two minutes and are battling for rebounds. 44 a piece at halftime.
Williams will probably be hoarse once he comes out of the locker room at halftime.
3:45: Second half starts. Let's see how both teams react. Wisconsin starts it off with a turnover.
3:49: Wisconsin comes out continuing their run from the last half. Carolina is a little more aggressive for this half, and after Wisconsin gets a five point lead, Carolina goes on a 8-0 run to lead 52-49 with 16:41 left.
3:57: Wisconsin seems a little off right now. Missing some good looks inside, and missing the chance for an open look outside. They don't seem too sure of themselves after that Carolina run. However, Carolina can't take advantage of it, and it's still 52-49.
4:05: Sean May has now turned into a point guard, with three straight assists in the paint. Felton is out of the game with what looks like an ankle injury, so someone has to take his spot. But Wisconsin is starting to get their offensive groove back, and are attacking the basket more often making some pretty tough shots. 64-58 UNC with 11:34 left in the game.
4:12: Wisconsin is having some success with the fast break, which is fooling carolina to converge inside for the feed outside and hitting the trey. Carolina is still battling for rebounds, as they have 11 offensive rebs for the game. This is a chess match. 70-67 Carolina.
4:18: All of a sudden, the refs want to call those little fouls. Bill Raftery calls them "nickel/dimers". I call them "penny/nickels". Anyway, Carolina needs to stop trying to collaspe on the ballhandler, because he's able to get it out on the perimeter to the open three. Carolina leads by one, but they've gone cold.
4:25: May will have to place this team on his back, because everyone else is cold. And they need to stop shooting threes, as they've gone for a three 3 times in their last four attempts, and haven't made one yet. Carolina goes to the line leading by one, 73-74 with 2:40 left.
4:30: McCants comes up with a HUGE block on the perimeter. And they do exactly what they should do: feed it to May, draw the foul. May hits both and it's a five pt lead, 78-73 with 1:46 left. Carolina's D is starting to lock Wisconsin down.
4:32: God; not another one of these. It looked as if Carolina was ready to close this one out with a huge three by McCants but Tucker comes down the other end and answers it. Carolina up 78-81 and the ball with 55 seconds left.
4:34: Wisconsin is starting to foul, as they're trying to get them in the bonus. Whoaaa Felton stopped short of poppin dude with the elbow. May goes and calms him down, like the leader that he is. Felton hits....both fts....Carolina's up by five.
4:36: Carolina's finishing this game at the line, as you're supposed to with this kind of lead. Carolina's perfect from there in their last six attempts, and they're up 85-78 with 34.5 seconds left.
- Carolina closed out this game the way they should have against Villanova on Friday and how Arizona should have yesterday. Good job by the refs too for not swallowing their whistles too. Other than a couple of calls, it was well called.
This game helped Carolina in more ways than one. Wisconsin was one of the smartest and methodical teams in the country; in fact, no one had scored over 75 points on them this season until today. Sean May showed he is a COMPLETE player; pounding the paint, making jumpers, completing great passes, and just showing he is a great leader and motivated this team. McCants and Felton played great on both ends of the court. It's amazing to see him mature as a player. Whether it's Kentucky or Michigan State, I'm confident they can get to the national championship game.
I'll have Kentucky/Michigan State in a few minutes on another thread. Click "home" below.
Yeaaaaahhhh North Carolina's headed to the Final Four!