How it happened: I’m not sure. It was one of the stranger games I can remember, even for mid-March. North Carolina found a way to win in the face of serious adversity. NC State had the Tar Heels on the ropes with 15 minutes to play leading 46-39, but Carolina responded with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes. State regained the lead at 52-50 on a C.J. Leslie three-point play with 10 minutes left, but Carolina scored the next seven points and never trailed again.
Both teams dealt with crippling foul trouble. Kendall Marshall missed the final five minutes of the first half with two fouls, leaving backup forward Justin Watts to run the point for the Tar Heels. C.J. Leslie, who was the best player on the court for the third straight day, fouled out with 8:03 left when no one on Mark Gottfried’s staff informed him that Leslie was playing with four. Tyler Zeller fouled out with 1:09 to play with the score tied at 66.
There were 42 fouls called which made for an extremely choppy game, especially down the stretch. After Leslie’s fifth foul, Lorenzo Brown and Richard Howell gave the Wolfpack a fighting chance. Brown and Howell scored 13 of State’s final 15 points, including five straight from Brown that tied the game at 66 with 1:30 to play.
Kendall Marshall sealed the game with his game-winning 10-foot leaner with 10 seconds left. Fans and experts alike will argue whether or not Marshall got away with a charge before lifting up for the jumper. It was extremely close. My take: by the book, it should have been called an offensive foul. State’s Alex Johnson didn’t help his case by embellishing the contact, though. Johnson made it look like a flop, which almost never gets called in last-second situations. However, the officials were very quick on the whistle all game long. There were many fouls called for less contact earlier in the game. For that, I understand NC State’s beef with the no-call. Was it the right or wrong call? Maybe, maybe not. But that’s what happened and we all have to live with it now.
Player of the Game: Leslie and Zeller were both fantastic, but neither made it to the final buzzer because of foul trouble. Marshall’s double-double (12 points, 10 assists) coupled with his game-winner give him the nod in this department. He made two huge three’s off of kick-outs when State doubled down on Zeller. If he continues to do that, Carolina is almost unstoppable offensively.
What it means: North Carolina was playing with a short stack, but NC State proved once and for all it belongs in the NCAA Tournament by giving the Heels all they could handle. It seems like everything is finally clicking for Leslie, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. The Wolfpack will be a dangerous team if they make the field of 68.
The Tar Heels move on to the championship where they likely will be without John Henson again as he nurses his sprained left wrist. James Michael McAdoo played well as Henson’s replacement Saturday with the glaring exception of committing silly fouls. McAdoo finished with nine points and two rebounds, but picked up three fouls in the first half and then earned his fourth less than three minutes after halftime. Without Henson, Carolina has virtually no depth. None. The Tar Heels’ bench scored four points against NC State.
It’s also worth mentioning that Harrison Barnes played absolutely awful for about 29 of his 33 minutes on the court. He finished with 16 points on 3-of-12 shooting (8-of-12 from the foul line). He can’t be so invisible if the Heels are to cut down any nets this season.
Carolina got away with one Saturday, but if Roy Williams has to resort to extended minutes for Desmond Hubert and any time at all for Justin Watts as a point guard, they won’t be so lucky again.
