Tar Heels meet preseason expectations
North Carolina was the preseason number one pick by most experts before the start of the campaign. The Tar Heels showed why everyone loved them with an impressive offensive effort against a Villanova team that kept battling.
There was great offensive execution, tremendous inside-outside play as the Tar Heels built up a 17-point lead in the first half. But Jay Wright's Wildcats would not quit and cut the lead to five in the second half and had the opportunity to pull within three. Villanova missed 11 straight shots from the floor and Roy Williams' club hung on.
The offensive efficiency led to great shot selection. It seemed fitting that the trio of Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson combined for 38 of the Tar Heels' 49 first-half points. Ellington hit three-of-four trifectas before intermission. North Carolina shot over 50 percent in the first half from three-point range and that set the tone.
I was also impressed with the way the Tar Heels played on the defensive end. Villanova struggled from long range in the first half and the North Carolina defense contributed to those problems.
Corey Fisher and Dwayne Anderson did not shoot well in the first half, combining to hit four-of-15 from the field before intermission. The lack of success on threes continued to haunt 'Nova in the second half.
This was a super run for Wright's team, beating UCLA, Duke and Pittsburgh. In the end, North Carolina dominated on three-pointers and got to within one game of the championship.
Hansbrough, Lawson, Ellington and Danny Green came back to school with one purpose in mind. The simple goal was to cut down the nets in the title game. Williams got his first championship against a Big Ten foe, Illinois, in Saint Louis. Now the Tar Heels get another challenge.
It will not come easily against a fired-up Michigan State team that will have the crowd behind them.
