One: Who were those Heels?
Coming off an unsurprising loss to Virginia and a largely inconsequential victory over Northeastern, lots of questions surrounded the Tar Heels coming into a Saturday matchup with Louisville that Carolina could scarcely afford to lose. But except for typically awful free throw shooting, nearly everything went right for the Tar Heels in an astonishing, 99-54 rout of the Cardinals. UNC’s four big men each registered in double figures (led by Day’Ron Sharpe’s 21 points as part of a dominant double-double), and the frontcourt combined to score 64 points, a figure that still would have comfortably beaten Louisville. It almost seemed like all of the bad luck from Carolina’s 2019-20 debacle of a season was repaid in one charmed night. UNC shot 61 percent from the field to easily surpass season-highs in that category along with points. The Tar Heels repeatedly made risky passes that somehow resulted in baskets (usually dunks). They also appeared to come out with more intensity in this game, feeding on their own success to build big runs, including a 30-11 stretch to end the first half and a 22-0 one late in the game. Each successive transition dunk made it feel more and more as if the Heels were playing in a packed Smith Center. UNC has been enigmatic throughout this season, but this was one of the Heels’ most impressive wins in years. For 40 minutes, Carolina showed us the team they could be. They likely won’t continue playing like that, but if the Tar Heels can hold on to a tournament berth, it’s doubtful that other 10th or 11th seeds will have such a jaw-dropping performance on film. High seeds won’t want to face the Heels.
Two: N.C. State building for next season
The bubble has already burst on the Wolfpack. While they could still reach March Madness with an epic run in Greensboro three weeks from now culminating in an ACC Tournament title, their chances of earning an at-large bid are miniscule. For the Wolfpack, it’s time to turn their attention to developing young players for next season. That went well this past week, as freshman guard Cam Hayes averaged 11 points and seven assists over N.C. State’s two road victories (a nail-biting 74-73 win versus Pittsburgh Wednesday and a more comfortable disposal of Wake Forest Saturday). Fellow first-year Dereon Seabron also chipped in career highs in points (14), rebounds (9) and steals (4) Saturday, and his large uptick in minutes over the past two games shows that Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts is smartly looking ahead to the future.
Three: Don’t count Duke out just yet
Initially, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim’s claim that Duke is a better team without Jalen Johnson seemed ridiculous. Irrational, even. Johnson was averaging double-digit points per game, had shown the ability to take over a game, and oozed with enough potential to be thought of as a consensus lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft. But since the freshman announced his decision to opt-out of the season Feb. 15, Duke is 3-0, and Saturday they managed to scratch out an enormous win over Virginia (which allowed more than 65 points for just the fourth time all season). It was hard to grasp how Duke was able to stay in this game. The Blue Devils had just three players in double figures (with Matthew Hurt their only player to tally more than 12 points), got just four points total from the group of Mark Williams, Wendell Moore Jr. and Joey Baker, and were outshot from three as well as outrebounded. However, Hurt was able to stay out of foul trouble, and he piled up 22 points in 38 minutes (the latter of which tied his season high). Jaemyn Brakefield also stepped up to help him, notching 11 points, five boards and four blocks, and driving to the rim for what proved to be the game-winning bucket. The fact that Clemson was Duke’s best win prior to Saturday underscores the impact of beating Virginia on the Blue Devils’ tournament resume. The Blue Devils (who also cruised to an impressive win over Syracuse Monday) still face several tests as the season comes to a close, but their quest for an at-large tourney bid just got an enormous boost. They’re one of the best 64 teams in the nation right now, and in a few weeks time, they could be even better. Maybe Boeheim was right after all.
Graphic by Shelby Swanson/The ECHO
