North Carolina coach Roy Williams isn’t in the business of sugar coating. When asked about his team’s performance in its 73-65 Sweet 16 overtime win against Ohio, Williams told it like he saw it.
“We were damn ugly. That’s what we were,” Williams said. “We were ugly because we didn’t have Kendall. And hopefully one game under our belt will help us not be as ugly tomorrow.”
With a season high 24 turnovers and their leading scorer shooting less than 20 percent from the field in regulation, the Tar Heels squeaked by No. 13-seeded Ohio and survived.
For North Carolina, the win didn’t seem to taste as sweet as it could have.
“I think we feel like we got away with one,” forward Tyler Zeller said Friday. “Ohio played the better game.”
But with a 4:05 p.m. matchup with No. 2-seeded Kansas still separating the Tar Heels from a trip to the Final Four, can they get away with another?
Even though Barnes did acknowledge his poor offensive performance Friday, the sophomore forward said he usually judges his efforts by looking at wins and losses, not just individual stats. So in Barnes’ mind, maybe Friday’s contest wasn’t so bad after all.
He might be their leading scorer, but Barnes said it doesn’t always have to be him who carries the weight.
“I think that every night, it could be somebody else,” Barnes said. “Reggie stepped up big last night, gave us some big things. Z stepped up big, 20 and 22 rebounds. Even Stilman with six assists. You know that if somebody is going to be off of if somebody doesn’t play their best game, the other guys are willing to step up.”
