UNC's winning margins impressive
Jan 1, 2009
You can’t help but be impressed by the torrent of points from the North Carolina men’s basketball team.
The Tar Heels are averaging 94.8 points and winning by 26.4 points per game.
Last season, Carolina averaged 88.6 points per game and won by a margin of 16.1.
UNC’s numbers should decline once conference play starts and the competition stiffens. The Tar Heels have Boston College at home on Sunday and play a huge game next Sunday at Wake Forest.
While the massive wins are impressive, there is a downside. Longtime ACC fans remember how Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski convinced his 1991 team that powerful UNLV wasn’t ready for a close game in the national semifinals – and he was right.
Duke was on the other side of that equation in 1999, when the Blue Devils relentlessly clobbered foes. The 1999 Devils won by 24.6 points per game. But Duke was just 1-2 in games decided by five points or less – and one of those losses was in the national championship game to Connecticut.
One advantage for Carolina this year is it has a veteran team that has won close games before. The Tar Heels were 7-1 last season in games decided either in overtime or by five points or less.
So you wouldn’t expect Carolina to be shaky once a close game arrives.
Still, defense will determine the Tar Heels’ ultimate fate. Carolina is quick and deep but not burly or physical. The Heels weren’t a great defensive team last year, as Boston College’s Tyrese Rice reminded them with a 46-point effort in Chestnut Hill on March 1.
UNC trailed by 18 points in the second half before rallying to win, 90-80. Coach Roy Williams was so irate he had all five starters on the bench at one point.
That game marked Ty Lawson’s return to the lineup after missing six games with a sprained left ankle, and he spent some of the game guarding Rice. This year, Lawson is a vastly better player, and he looks even faster on the floor.
His play has had a significant impact on Carolina’s offensive production.
Sunday’s game also will measure where Heels are defensively as well.
