Game Blog: Carolina downs Maryland, 108-91
Feb 3, 2009
9:59 p.m. - Final Score from Chapel Hill is UNC 108, Md 91
I'm off to the media room for interviews with the coaches and players
9:50 p.m. - Dunk after dunk after steal after big play - Carolina is not playing any defense, but they haven't had to in the 2nd half. The crowd has gotten quite the treat late in the game after a so-so beginning to the 2nd half. Danny Green, Wayne Ellington, and even Mike Copeland have had breakaway baskets to bring the crowd to its feet. Hansbrough has just left the game, his final line will be 24 points and 6 rebounds. Ellington is also done for the night, he'll end up with 34 points and 9 rebounds, including 7-of-9 from three point range. Wow again.
3:54 to play - UNC 105, Md 81
9:42 p.m. - Hansbrough gets his three-pointer too. It seems that at least once a game recently Tyler Hansbrough attempts a three point shot. The big fella just got one to fall from the top of the key. Drained it. Carolina is now 15-of-22 for the game from behind the arc. As much as Carolina is scoring, Maryland's points total is also impressive. Both teams may break the century mark tonight
6:57 to play - UNC 94, Md 73
9:35 p.m. - There's the play of the game. Danny Green just blocked a shot on the baseline. The ball was saved from going out of bounds near the Terrapins' bench by Ty Lawson. Lawson then sprinted up the floor to send an alley-oop pass to Deon Thompson who finished the play with a thunderous two-hand jam. You'll see that one on ESPN's top plays. WOW! As I'm typing this Wayne Ellington hits another three-pointer to get him up to 27 points, including 6-of-8 from three point range. Then Danny Green just prompted another Gary Williams timeout with a breakaway dunk.
8:12 to play - UNC 89, Md 67
9:31 p.m. - Ellington's 24 points pace the Tar Heels as the score is 80-61. Carolina's been fouled constantly in the 2nd half by Maryland, which has made this a slow and ugly game since the break. The Terps are already in the double bonues with 10 team fouls. Not much to get excited about here in the 2nd half, but Carolina's prowess from behind the arc has continued. Lawson and Ellington have both hit a deep ball since the break.
11:17 to play - UNC 80, Md 61
9:17 p.m. - Carolina's lead has built to 20 points - The 2nd half has been a bit lackluster compared to the 1st. Maryland is having trouble getting any offense going, and Gary Williams is getting frustrated. Williams must have called three 30 second timeouts before four minutes were played in the 2nd half. The Tar Heels are taking advantage of Maryland's struggles, but aren't doing much themselves.
15:41 to play - UNC 66, Md 46
9 p.m - Heels handling the ball well... But, the defensive shooting percentage is NOT good. Despite the great shooting performance from behind the arc, Carolina's most impressive stat might be 13 assists to only 2 turnovers. The Heels' 13 helpers on 21 scored field goals is an amazing ratio.
One stat that's not so impressive for Carolina - Maryland is shooting 55.6% from the field. There... That's something for Roy to light up the Heels about during the halftime speech. He'll be more ornery than a vagabond at Crowley's trying to get a refill on a Friday night.
Interesting notes from the crowd: Senator John Edwards is not in attendance tonight. At least he's not in his seats. Instead, a woman with some futuristic blue specs is where Edwards is normally sitting. Also, if you haven't heard yet, Tyler Hansbrough may or may not be engaged. A UNC student (part of the working mediat) is sitting next to me on press row and says the big rumor on campus today is that Hansbrough's "Facebook" page says he's proposed to his girlfriend. My guess? A prank played on Tyler by his roommate and known jokester Bobby Frasor.
Enjoy the second half.
8:50 p.m. - Carolina didn't hit another three-pointer after my last post. But if they don't shoot another one tonight, it's already an impressive mark as the Tar Heels are unofficially 11-of-15 from three point range.
The Heels are led by Wayne Ellington with 21 points. Ellington is 4-of-5 from behind the arc, as is Danny Green. Green and Lawson both have 12 points at the half. Hansbrough has 11. No Maryland player is in double figures.
Carolina's rebounding numbers are interesting. The Heels have 18 rebounds, 9 of them are offensive boards. UNC has scored 12 points off of those 9 offensive rebounds. Impressive. That's where that advantage on the interior we were talking about is showing.
Halftime score - UNC 60, Md 44
8:35 p.m. - Carolina is now a combined 10-of-13 from behind the arc - Carolina continues to drain three's. This is getting ridiculous. After the last media timeout the Heels came out with three's from Ty Lawson and Danny Green on back-to-back possessions. Since that time, Wayne Ellington has hit two long balls, Danny Green another. Gary Williams just called a 30 second timeout to stop the bleeding. Didn't do much good, as Ellington swished another deep shot.
3:55 to play in the 1st half - UNC 52, Md 33
8:28 p.m. - Heels shooting 6-of-9 from behind the arc - My pre-game prediction of an interior focused Tar Heels team isn't proving to be true thus far. Danny Green is 2-of-3 from three point range, Wayne Ellington also 2-of-3 and Ty Lawson is a perfect 2-of-2. Carolina's 18 points from deep are the most from a Carolina team this early in the game that I can remember all season. Hansbrough does lead the way for Carolina with 9 points.
7:55 to play in the 1st half - UNC 35, Md 25
8:21 p.m. - A flagrant foul sends Hansbrough to the line, crowd into frenzy - Tyler Hansbrough was going up for a dunk when Terps sophomore forward Dino Gregory wrapped two arms around him from behind and brought Hansbrough to the ground. The crowd flipped out instantly. To the referees' credit, an immediate flagrant was called on Gregory, and Hansbrough went to the line. When the Heels inbouned the ball under the basket after the foul shots, Hansbrough went right back up for one of his patented side arm shots that bounced off the glass and in for two more.
11:36 to play in the 1st half - UNC 23, Md 15
8:13p.m. - Two big three's and a Hansbrough dunk puncuate the Heels' first four minutes - Danny Green and Wayne Ellington each drained their first three-point attempts of the night. Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough both have steals turned into easy fast break points; Hansbrough's was a monster two-hand dunk. Carolina is playing aggressive defense early on, already forcing three turnovers. However, Maryland has missed a couple of easy looks after splitting defensive traps.
15:32 to play in the 1st half - UNC 14, Md 8
7:49 p.m - We're under twenty minutes from tip off here at the Dean Dome. Both teams are out on the floor warming up. I'm sure you remember last year's top-ranked Tar Heels losing their first game of the 2007-08 season to the Terrapins in this building. But, you may not recall that Carolina hasn't beaten Maryland since February 26, 2006.
The two game winning streak the Terps have over the Heels should be snapped tonight. Maryland doesn't have much of an answer for UNC's post players. While Tyler Hansbrough, Deon Thompson and Ed Davis average a combined 41 points per game, the Terps' regular forwards and centers combine for only 23 ppg. Carolina should focus on getting the ball inside and scoring in the paint as often as possible. That's not unusual for any Tar Heels team, but should especially be a focus tonight.
Maryland does play well in the Smith Center, however. The Terps have won eight times at the Dean Dome. That's second only to Duke's ten wins in this building.
Enjoy the game. I'll post again after a few minutes of action.
