The difference between this year’s men’s basketball team and last year’s was readily apparent in the last six minutes of North Carolina’s 74-69 win against College of Charleston on Sunday.
Armed with a 62-56 lead, UNC got stops and continued scoring to put away the Cougars. Sometimes it is that simple.
Last year, the Tar Heels would have allowed the Cougars back into the game by allowing just enough scores on defense and faltering offensively. This year’s team instead held College of Charleston to 4-for-13 shooting for the final six minutes as it pulled away.
“I thought that our team came together in the second half as a team, more emotion, more enthusiasm,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “They lost themselves in the game more than we have at any point this year. I think that’s the way you grow and mature as a team.”
While North Carolina didn’t look very comfortable in the halfcourt, its suffocating defense caused the Cougars to turn the ball over and hurry to shoot deep 3- pointers, both of which gave UNC more transition opportunities than it had previously seen.
“We buckled down on defense,” forward John Henson said. “Whenever there is a steal, or there’s a long rebound, that’s how we get to run. I think in the second half we had a couple plays where we got to run and threw it out. Stops and rebounds.”
In the first half, the Tar Heels looked to pound the ball inside and exploit their height advantage over the Charleston defense. Charleston made it a point to stifle the Tar Heels’ transition by getting back on defense.
Instead, UNC struggled to get any movement and ended up shooting 39.3 percent for the half.
Luckily for UNC, Charleston didn’t scorch the nets either, shooting 36.7 percent on its end on the way to a 28-27 halftime deficit.
