The Tar Heels put up a heck of fight in tonight’s national championship game, but fell just short to the Kansas Jayhawks 72-69. The first half went well for Carolina, as they rushed out to a 40-25 lead at halftime. Kansas started the 2nd half strong, with a 31-10 run and from there the two teams went back and forth.
In the end Kansas made a few more plays than UNC. Here are 3 reasons why the Tar Heels push to win their 7th NCAA championship and 8th national title fell just short.
1. Guard Play
Guard play wins championships in March and the guards from Kansas played better than UNC’s. Caleb Love was 5-24 (4-18 in the second half) and RJ Davis was 5-17 for the game while combining for seven turnovers. Love was able to get to the basket several times throughout the game, but couldn’t get anything to fall. Remy Martin and Christian Braun fueled the rally for Kansas in the second half. Martin was 4-4 from the floor, including burying three 3s and Braun was 5-7 from the floor after halftime. Kansas’ guards were able to up the ball pressure and get out in transition more in the second half, especially during their 31-10 run. Kansas scored 14 points off of eight UNC turnovers in the second period.
2. Armando’s Ankle:
Armando tried to tough it out and gave a valiant effort, but against a physical player like David McCormack he just couldn’t get it going in the second half. After scoring 12 points in the first half, Bacot was 0-6 in the second half and then re-injured his ankle with under a minute to go. With Bacot off the floor Bill Self went to David McCormack in the post who was guarded by Brady Manek. McCormack was able to score over Manek in the paint to push Kansas up by 3.
3. Manek Wasn’t Involved in the 2nd Half Offense:
Brady Manek was UNC’s most efficient player on offense in the first half, going 3-5 from the floor for 9 points. Manek only made one basket in the second half and only shot the ball three times. UNC needed to get Manek involved in the second half more with their guards struggling and Bacot hobbled.
Quick notes:
- Leaky Black getting in foul trouble was big.
- Lack of front court depth may have finally caught up to UNC. Bacot gave a hell of an effort playing 38 minutes tonight on a bad ankle, but he just couldn’t get a basket to fall. Having someone to spell him for longer than the 2 minutes Justin McKoy relieved him could’ve kept him more fresh on that ankle.