UNC rolled up its shirtsleeves after a huge UConn comeback to stage a fun, impressive 86-83 win over the then #1 Huskies. The Heels got 27 points from Rashad McCants and 11 rebounds from Sean May, but the real improvement was in Jawad Williams, who finished with 6-9 shooting and 18 points.

The Heels opened up a nice 14 point cushion at the end of the first half, but UConn smartly moved the ailing Ben Gordon over to the #1 spot and benched Taliek Brown. Brown concluded the first half by getting his 3rd foul with no time left in a silly scrap for the ball. UConn’s second half focus clearly was to get the ball inside to Okafor and Boone, which they did with worrisome ease.

The Huskies Ben Gordon was obviously suffering from his broken nose. Even without a facemask Gordon was just throwing up shots without consideration for timing or balance. Gordon shoots 49% from behind he arc usually, and only finished with 3-14 overall shooting. Had Gordon been in normal form the game would have been quite different.

The key to UNC’s late-game comeback was the adjustments made by Coach Roy Williams with Sean May on the bench with 4 fouls. Because the immobile Okafor had to play Jawad Williams, UNC’s small lineup was able to outquick the Huskies and take advantage of the mismatch of Anderson on Rashad McCants. UNC’s ability to pull the defensive big men away from the basket was the key to the game.

I said this week that McCants is, at this point, not as complete a player as Maryland’s Nik Caner-Medley. In that head-to-head matchup we saw that Caner-Medley is a better outside shooter, a better defender, and is scrappier than McCants. McCants must have been heard me because he sank 10 shots against UConn and was perfect from the line.

Still, if Rashad Anderson and Denham Brown were half the player that Nik Caner-Medley is, McCants wouldn’t have gotten open for all of those shots. McCants continued to refuse to scrap for loose balls, hid behind his man on the weak side too often, and doesn’t quite know when to offer help defense. McCants finished the game with a stunning 3-pointer to win the game, but is that REALLY the shot the coach wanted? McCants shoots 35% from behind the arc this season and has a woeful history of missing shots toward the end of games. UNC shoots 52% from inside the arc. So, while McCants deserves congratulations for hitting the shot, he should know that the odds were much better to pick up 2 inside. After the game McCants said that he has always wanted to be one of those players who hits big shots at the end of games. Well, that’s a far cry from “I just wanted to win for the team,” now isn’t it?

Some are talking about the atmosphere in the Dean Dome being unmatched, but I beg to differ. It was excellent, don’t get me wrong, but it was exactly like it was for last year’s UConn game, and was a step below the average UNC/Duke game. Roy Williams is a great coach, but let’s not give him credit for things he hasn’t done. And one thing he hasn’t done is directly inspired people to be louder fans.

Next up is Florida State, a potentially scary team. They lost to Clemson, but have some outstanding, aggressive athletes. Raymond Felton will be the key to this game.
Three Stars – Jawad Williams – Clearly the weak link in the Maryland game. Williams was outstanding in Saturday’s game. I saw Williams cross the lane to box out an opponent yesterday. That’s good fundamental stuff.
Two – Okafor – Given the refs inability to call a foul on the guy, Okafor was unstoppable.
One star – Rashad McCants – McCants hit shots against some weaker matchups today.