Sometimes it is hard to reconcile a box score and how the game actually flows. Since I was not able to watch yesterday’s game in real time and had to DVR it, I decided to keep a possession chart like I did many times in my 14 years as a high school and college basketball coach. Hopefully this will give some context as to what actually goes into the box score.
If you don’t want all the “inside baseball” talk, here is the executive summary: UNC scored 71 points on 77 possessions, for 0.92 points per possession. Not horrible, particularly given the poor shooting, but decent teams usually hover around 1.0 or better. More telling was the 17 misses in the lane or within 8 feet of the basket. I was also discouraged in looking at the transition opportunities in that the Heels appear to want to shoot more than drive – 9 drives vs. 13 jump shot attempts.
After UNC takes an early 6-5 lead, the Heels only score on two of their next nine possessions, with three turnovers and three missed shots in the paint. After falling behind 32-16, UNC scores on 6 of 8 possessions with only one turnover to cap a 14-2 run and cut the score to 34-30. The the Heels only connect on 2 of their final nine possessions of the first half, with three misses in the paint, two turnovers, and two transition misses to go into the break trailing by 10.
In the second half, after withstanding the Maryland run and cutting the lead to 4 points at 58-54, Carolina only scratched on 5 of its next 23 possessions and was outscored 34-13.
In any case, maybe this shows the how and why behind the numbers. Bold signifies scoring possessions:
| 1st half:
Possession |
1st half:
Result |
| 1 | Drew jacks up 18 ft jumper 1 on 3 in transition |
| 2 | Ginyard misses open 3 from right corner |
| 3 | Ginyard makes layup in transition |
| 4 | Davis shot blocked on pick and roll; Ginyard feeds Thompson for baseline turnaround jumper |
| 5 | Thompson hits 15 ft jumper (6-5 lead – UNC’s only lead of the game) |
| 6 | Ginyard bad pass on 2-on-1 break – TURNOVER |
| 7 | Davis forces contested jumper; Graves gets offensive rebound and misses putback |
| 8 | Graves hits open 3 six seconds into shot clock |
| 9 | Strickland forces jumper in 1-on-2 transition |
| 10 | Thompson attempts baseline shot from under the backboard |
| 11 | Strickland TURNOVER in transition |
| 12 | Thompson fouled going to basket in transition – 1-2 FT |
| 13 | T. Wear misses 8 ft baseline turnaround jumper |
| 14 | D. Wear commits charge – TURNOVER – UNC calls time out |
| 15 | D. Wear makes 18 ft jumper in transition |
| 16 | Davis makes turnaround jumper in lane |
| 17 | Henson shoots ugly baseline hook shot |
| 18 | Ginyard fouled in transition – 1-2 FT |
| 19 | Thompson trapped on baseline – TURNOVER |
| 20 | Drew quick 15 ft jumper in transition – Graves rebound slam dunk |
| 21 | Drew drives – misses layup; Henson misses stickback in lane (UMD goes up 32-16) |
| 22 | Graves makes NBA 3 from left wing |
| 23 | Thompson makes layup in transition |
| 24 | T. Wear misses 18 ft baseline jumper |
| 25 |
