Game Blog: Hansbrough leads Carolina past State 89-80
Feb 18, 2009
9:52 p.m. - Carolina was led by a huge 2nd half from Tyler Hansbrough. The Heels extend their winning streak to ten games, and six in a row versus NC State. The ACC standings will see UNC 10-2 at the top, protecting a two-game lead over the rest of the conference.
Hansbrough finishes with 27 points (20 in the 2nd half) and 7 rebounds.
Final Score - UNC 89, NCSU 80
9:42 p.m. - This one's pretty much done. Barring an incredible comeback by the Pack, they'll lose their sixth in a row to the Heels. Hansbrough has owned the 2nd half... Is that sounding repetitive? If so, it's for good reason. He's only been doing this for four years, right?
Hansbrough has 25 points. The lead is 19, the fans are hitting the exits at the Dean Dome. It should be noted a number of those heading home are donning red, but a good bit of Carolina blue can be seen in exodus as well.
Both teams are still shooting better than 50%, and both teams have four players in double figures. Don't see either of those too often, this really has been an efficient offenisve night for both teams.
If you're looking for a reason other than "Psycho T" as to why UNC has run away in the 2nd half you can point to the great ball control of the Tar Heels. Carolina has only turned the ball over once since the break.
3:26 to play - UNC 87, NCSU 68
9:32 p.m. - Crowd now back to chanting for the Tyler they've known for four years - Hansbrough has been his dominant self in the 2nd half, with 10 points thus far. We've also just learned that upon the completion of his last three-point play, Hansbrough passed Pete Marovich on the NCAA's all-time list of free throws made. Hansbrough is now 2nd all-time, Pistol Pete is 3rd.
2nd half points - Hansbrough has 12, 19 for the game.
The game is much faster paced in the 2nd half, especially for the home team. Carolina's nearing their first half points total already, with 77 on the night.
Over the last five minutes of play, the Heels are on a 14-2 run.
6:09 to play - UNC 77, NCSU 59
9:22 p.m. - State closed the gap a bit with Hansbrough on the bench, but not by much. The Pack are still shooting well, 6-of-9 from the field so far in the 2nd half. It looks like the post players are waking up a bit, as McCauley and Smith have been scoring in the paint for State.
Hansbrough sat down, Zeller came in and immediately picked up his 3rd foul. Hansbrough will most likely be right back after the media timeout, and he'll likely keep getting fed by the UNC guards. #50 has yet to miss a shot this half, a perfect 4-for-4.
11:50 to play - UNC 61, NCSU 51
9:13 p.m. - Tyler Hansbrough has already matched his first half production with 7 more points, now with 14 for the game. There hasn't been a double-team on #50 all night that I can recall. Maybe it's time the Pack start doing so.
The Pack offense has been all Tracy Smith in the 2nd half, as the Carolina defense seems to have temporarily shifted their focus to Gonzalez on the perimeter. Can't say I blame them.
14:58 to play - UNC 57, NCSU 44
9:07 p.m. - Carolina has come out quickly with an 8-2 run, building their largest lead of the game. Back to back old fashioned three point plays from Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green, followed by a Green dunk-looking lay up has the Heels up 47-38. State's offense looks timid, unlike the 1st half when the Pack looked deliberate with the ball.
By the way - Javi's path to perfection just hit a speedbump - a missed jumper now sees his numbers down to a measly 6-of-7 for the night.
17:59 to play - UNC 47, NCSU 38
9 p.m. - Offensive rebounding big for Carolina. With 9 extra possessions from the offensive glass, the Heels scored 11 points. Meanwhile NC State has no second chance points after one half. Another stat that jumps out - neither team is dominating the turnover margin, as the Pack have 7 and the Heels have 8.
The second half is set to begin. I'll be back with more after a couple minutes of action.
8:48 p.m. - After putting up only 29 points in the first half against Miami, Carolina's probably feeling good about their 39 so far tonight. However, I doubt Ol' Roy is praising his team for the 36 points scored by NC State, the Pack's 56% three-point shooting, or State's 46% from the field.
State fans would have probably told you someone needs a career night if the Pack were going to win this one. So far, Javi Gonzalez is cleary that guy. 16 points, 4-of-4 from behind the arc, and a perfect 6-of-6 from the field. Wow. I guess that's the payoff for joining The Insiders on 99.9 FM The Fan before the game!
Back with some analysis of the 1st half stats in a moment
Halftime - UNC 39, NCSU 36
8:39 p.m. - 4-for-4, 11 points & one three-pointer away from tying his career high - I'd say Sidney Lowe made the right decision by starting Javi Gonzalez tonight. He leads all scorers with 11, and has scored 9 points on a 3-for-3 performance from three-point range. His career high for 3's is four, and this game still has 24 minutes to play. Again, Gonzalez and Costner are the impact guys so far for NC State. The two are a combined 7-of-8 from the field for 19 of the Pack's 29 points.
One negative for Costner, however. After a missed three pointer from the corner, Costner paused and looked at the ref with a shrug asking for a contact foul. Meanwhile, Danny Green was getting a head start to the other end of the floor and finished the fast break with a SportsCenter-worthy one-hand slam. Costner should know the Heels don't need any help scoring in transition; and he certainly made that one easier on Green & Co.
3:26 remaining in the 1st half - UNC 32, NCSU 29
8:27 p.m. - Normally "Tyler" chants at the Smith Center are for #50 - Tonight, they've been for #44 Tyler Zeller. In his first action since the Kentucky game in Chapel Hill in November, Zeller has played less than one minute. He checked into the game just before the media timeout, and was met with a standing ovation and a long chant of his name from the crowd. Ben McCauley welcomed Zeller to the game as well; by scoring over top of the seven-footer on the next Pack possession.
7:41 remaining in the 1st half - UNC 24, NCSU 24
8:24 p.m. - Ben McCauley may be regretting his hard foul on Mike Copeland right now. The Wolfpack senior is having a tough night. He's 1-of-4 from the floor, and the Dean Dome crowd is booing him loudly each time he touches the ball. McCauely has had a number of open looks and missed. Right beforet the media timeout he got his own rebound after missing a cupcake shot, just to miss another easy one on the put-back.
State is hanging with the Heels, no question that Costner and Gonzalez are going to be factors, neither has missed a shot yet. Maybe the red blazer is returning to it's magical form. Man, is that thing loud. But, the thing seems to be working tonight for the Pack.
11:25 remaining in the 1st half - UNC 17, NCSU 17
8:10 p.m. - The Pack came to play. Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley scored on early jumpshots to give the Pack a 4-0 lead, but then a three-pointer and a three point play from Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough, respectively, tied it up. Hansbrough's old fashioned three point play capped off a sensational fast break Tar Heels possession.
NC State has had a couple of transition opportunities themselves, and they've finished them. State's players don't look intimidated at all. With Smith in the line-up, you've got to feel confident in the paint if you're the Pack. Smith has 2 points and has made his presence felt in on the interior on offense and defense, but Javi Gonzalez has been the best player on the court for NC State. His 5 points lead the team, but his deliberate ball control on the Pack's fast break has been the most impressive aspect thus far for State.
A Danny Green dunk followed by a Wayne Ellington three-pointer have the Heels back on top after trailing 11-6 a moment ago.
15:13 remaining in the 1st half - UNC 11, NCSU 11
7:47 p.m. - Seven feet, Six feet & eleven inches; who's counting? - Argue his exact height all you want, Tyler Zeller is the biggest guy on the floor tonight. UNC confirmed today that Zeller is available tonight, forgoing his red-shirt and playing the rest of the season for the Tar Heels if he's able. How much will he play? What kind of impact will he have on the UNC line-up? Will he break up the team chemistry that's been built to this point in the season for Carolina? All of these questions will be solved with time.
But, tonight we'll begin to see the answer to at least one of them. Zeller's size should help the Heels against a team that starts three players taller than 6'8" in Brandon Costner, Ben McCauley and (recently) Tracy Smith. Zeller's speed was proven in the early part of the season, scoring 18 points for the Heels against Penn.
We're curious to see the new line-ups and rotations Roy Williams chooses for tonight's game against the Pack.
State's riding high on a two-game winning streak. Confidence is key when facing the Heels in their building. If the Pack want to break their five-game skid against the Heels (and snap UNC's current nine game winning streak this season) they'll need production from their back court. With the recent increase in Tracy Smith's production, plus the reliable post presence of Costner and McCauley, the Pack can expect their bigs to compete with Carolina's. But, the guard play has been the issue for NC State all year. Will Javi Gonzalez, Farnold Degand or freshman James Mays be able to keep pace with Ty Lawson? Doubtful. But, hey, this isn't a "rivalry" game for nothing.
Enjoy the game. We'll post again after the tip-off.
7:30 p.m. - The band is playing James Taylor's "Going to Carolina in My Mind." The Wolfpack must hate going to Carolina. The last win at UNC for NC State was in 2003, and NCSU had to play overtime to get that victory. The Tar Heels will look to make it six straight home wins over the Pack tonight.
With a win tonight, not only will UNC maintain a two-game lead over the rest of the ACC, but they'll also have won six in a row over NCSU overall. Sidney Lowe has beaten Carolina just once since taking over for Herb Sendek as the Wolfpack's head coach. While Lowe is 1-5 against his team's biggest rival, Tar Heels coach Roy Williams is 11-1 vs. NC State while the head coach at UNC.
We'll have some more pre-game thoughts in a bit.
