Carolina cruises to 89-80 win over State

North Carolina

Carolina cruises to 89-80 win over State

By Sam Rosenthal

Feb 19, 2009

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In No. 3 North Carolina’s 89-80 victory against N.C. State on Wednesday evening in Chapel Hill, Tyler Hansbrough led the Tar Heels (and all scorers) with 27 points – no surprise there.

But Javier Gonzalez led the Wolfpack with 18 points – 16 of which came in the first half, when he went six-of-six from the field and four-of-four from 3-point land.

Major surprise there.

“He was the X-factor,” said Ty Lawson, who covered Gonzalez most of the night. “I mean, we really didn’t expect much out of him.”

Lawson said the Tar Heels’ game planned to double in the post when State (14-10, 4-7 ACC) made entry passes to its big men. UNC (24-2, 10-2) wanted to leave Gonzalez alone because he normally shoots threes like a blind person.

“He’s been shooting 24 percent (from behind the arc) the whole year,” Lawson said. “When they kicked it back out, he had an open shot, and I guess today he decided to get hot.”

Largely because of Gonzalez’s inspired play, the Wolfpack battled Carolina the entire first half. At one point, UNC appeared to be en route to a big lead – up by eight, 37-29, and on a seven-zero run in the final three minutes of the first half.

However, Gonzalez knocked down a two-pointer in the lane, a bucket that State needed to have. And on the Wolfpack’s next possession, Gonzalez netted a three to pull his team back within three – the halftime margin.

But in the second half, Lawson said he decided to stop doubling and concentrated on stopping Gonzalez instead. State’s X-factor hit only one shot in the second half, while UNC’s XXL-factor, Hansbrough, scored 20 points in the final 20 minutes of play.

As Hansbrough heated up, so did Carolina’s offense, which scored 11 more points in the second half than it did in the first. State scored at a proficient rate as well in the second period, but the Tar Heels – sharing the ball and getting offense from virtually every player on the court – proved too much for the Pack to keep pace with.

“I thought we had a good first half,” N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe said. “We came out with good energy and kept ourselves in the ball game. Second half, they made their run, we made a couple of turnovers, a couple of second shots for them, and they were able to pull away from us.”

Carolina scored 26 points off turnovers during the game, along with 11 points off offensive rebounds.

“I thought our guys gave a pretty good effort,” Lowe said, “but we turned it over a couple of times crucially and gave them an opportunity to get out and run on us.”

The Tar Heels received a big boost – a tall one, actually – as seven-footer Tyler Zeller returned from a 13-week hiatus. Zeller broke his left wrist at the end of a game against Kentucky on Nov. 18.

When the announcer called Zeller’s name with 8:28 remaining in the first half, the Smith Center fans gave him a standing ovation, and chants of “Ty-ler Zel-ler” rang out from the student section. Then Ben McCauley went right at Zeller on the latter’s first possession in three months, and the former scored. Welcome back, Kotter … er, Zeller.

Zeller looked a bit rusty – had a couple balls bounce off his legs – but he made his first shot, a smooth, turnaround jumper from the right block. He finished with two points, three rebounds, and four personal fouls.

But the other large guy named “Tyler” on UNC starred. Hansbrough went 10-for-15 from the field, seven-for-seven from the line, grabbed seven rebounds, and had four assists, two steals, and only one turnover – probably one of the more complete stat lines of his illustrious career.

Danny Green, Lawson and Wayne Ellington had 19, 17, and 16 points, respectively, for the Tar Heels.

For State, Brandon Costner played well, especially in the first half, but only took seven shots from the field. State had four players in double figures, as did Carolina – only, Carolina’s high scorers had a few more than State’s.

UNC used a 14-0 run in the first few minutes of the second half to take a 15-point lead, and the Wolfpack never really made it close afterward.

Lowe called Carolina’s ability to make game-changing runs after halftime “the mark of a good team … a team of guys that understand the importance of making a run those first five minutes. They’ve done it so often, they know, and they impose their will on other people.”

Lowe said the Tar Heels “know how to win. Once they get you down, now they’re going to execute.”

And in a game in which both teams executed well during both halves, the Tar Heels did it a bit better, a bit faster, and a bit more often. And that made all the difference.

Most Recent Comments

RE: Carolina cruises to 89-80 win over State

IMHO, there is nothing wrong with being a fan of a school that you did not attend. If only alums were fans, then there wouldn't be much of a fan base, so there wouldn't be TV/merchandising/ticket sales revenue, and the sports would not be thriving like they are today. Not much fun in that.

One thing that I have noticed in the 23 years since graduating from State is that the most acrimonious, hateful, taunting, smack-talking fans of a school usually didn't go there. I think some people glom onto a school and invest a little too much of their self-esteem into how that school performs on the athletic field. That includes the jerks fans of UNC, Duke, State, ECU, and so on - it isn't isolated to one school.

That is not to say that all non-alums are this type of fan; they aren't. Likewise, it is not to say that there aren't a lot of jerk alums as well - I know many - even from State, believe it or not ! Not being an alum of a school doesn't make you a bad or illegitimate fan, just like being an alum of a school doesn't make you a good fan.

RE: Carolina cruises to 89-80 win over State

Here we go again with the alumni/fans horsehockey. I never attended UNC. Am I not allowed to be a fan? Sorry folks but I am a UNC fan since before State became the "Wolfpack" I buy my clothes at Wal-Mart thank you. In this economy who can afford to buy them anywhere else except maybe Goodwill. Been a UNC fan all my life.
I pull for the Wolfpack when they play everyone else. that is probably not allowed either. State played much better than I expected Wednesday. They gave us a good game until they ran out of gas the second half. You could tell with about 10 minutes left that they were beat. You could see it in the players and their body language.If State starts to believe they can win then they will be a dangerous team.

ncguy

You discredited yourself before you gave us a chance to. If the Wulfies don't make it to the big dance (chances are very, very, very, slim), then your post has no merit.

RE: Carolina cruises to 89-80 win over State

Do you all really know why NC State was on probabtion? Because DT did not have a sports coat (I believe there was some sort of event he attened that required one, and DT could not afford one). He was given one to wear for that event. That is the reason NC State got probation. I recall that from his book. Ticky-tack. meanwhile, unc places their playes parents in jobs with boosters, but that's ok....

Every program bends the rules - EVERY program, even the scrubs, just some have the clout to get people to look the other way, which is why duke/unc will never have to worry about sanctions.

Jimmy V was the victim of a witch hunt, and while he made his mistakes, the punishment far outweighed the crimes.

I think Tyler will have a fine career in the NBA. I'm not sure where he'll fit in - seems to small to be a 4, and his outside shot needs development to be a 3. I think he was smart to come back, improve his jumper (which he has), most likely win a National Championship, then be a lottery pick. I cna't stand him, but you have to respect him. No way he's the best ever though....

readyfox - please don't lump dook fans with us State fans. Only thing we like about them is they hate unc as much as we do. Otherwise I can't stand dook.

All schools have bandwagon fans, and all have true loyal fans. You're right though - it is difficult to stand by your team as they struggle year over year, while your enemies succeed.

RE: Carolina cruises to 89-80 win over State

DT did really well in the NBA while he was there. It's easy to fly higher while doing drugs. Plus, Tyler never put his school on NCAA probation like DT did.

WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina