ACC Semis Wrap and Finals Preview

One thing was clear from the two semifinal games today in Atlanta - don't expect an easy whistle. Officials in both games let guys maul each other in the paint - lots of contact on layups went uncalled, and lots of leaps over the back on rebounds went uncalled. From what I saw, each team suffered equally - everyone simply got beat up with near impunity. Part of me was yelling at the TV, watching things that were fouls all season go uncalled. Another part of me was thankful, knowing that the NCAA tournament tends to involve swallowed whistles, and thinking that it was good for the ACC's elite teams to get a preview for that kind of officiating. And, finally, part of me was disappointed that, on semifinal Saturday, I knew the first thing I was going to be writing about was the style of officiating.

But enough of that. Today's attendees at the Georgia Dome saw two extremely hard fought games. Toney Douglas was again exceptional for the Noles, leading the way with 27 points and a 132 offensive rating while using 30.5% of FSU's possessions. In case you're counting at home, that's 17 straight games of greater than 23% usage and an offensive rating of 108 or higher. In short, he's really, really good. Chris Singleton struggled with fouls and turnovers, but hit a couple of huge jumpers (the almost 3 to put them up 66-62, and then the actual three shortly thereafter), and Solomon Alabi showed how much he's developed since the start of the year. He's averaged 11, 6, and 2.5 blocks over the last 6, and consistently gives them positive minutes.

For Carolina, one set of numbers told me how much they missed Lawson - pace. In ACC play, UNC averaged 74.7 possessions per game. In two games in Atlanta, they let Virginia Tech and FSU hold them to 65 and 64 possessions, respectively. Carolina's offense was still strong - 149 points in 129 possessions. But they never showed the kind of speed they have when Lawson is in the game, and it cost them the easier transition opportunities they feast on when he's running the show. Tyler Hansbrough did pretty much everything he could (it's to his great credit that I was shocked when he failed to convert after given the ball with the Heels down 1 in the last minute - those are plays he always seems to make), but it proved to be not quite enough without UNC's motor in the game. Also, Danny Green never wants to see Atlanta again - 3 of 25 from the field, for his two worst offensive games of the entire season.

Here's the +/- from the early game. Drew's numbers surprised me, but Davis's didn't. He played much better than Deon Thompson. He's going to be a serious defensive force next season (if still a little raw offensively).