Henson & Thompson (TarHeelBlue.com)
Today’s game sure didn’t start like any fan of the Heels would have liked and I am sure plenty of the fan base that has been up and down on the squad thought “oh no, here we go again” as the opponents opened the game with a 16 to 4 run. However it was the new and improved North Carolina (18-16) who showed up in Starkville and took care of Mississippi State (24-12) by a duece, with the final score being 76 to 74. And for what I saw of this game this team has matured in these two NIT games, ironically two games some of the fans that didn’t want them in. It was also a redemption game for sophomore point guard Larry Drew, who has been picked on by the fans for most of the season, had the game winner in this one as well as having six assists on the night in leading his team to victory. But this game was more than just about one player, it was about this team not giving up.
This team faced adversity in the final minutes of the game, overcame them, and was able to take home a win from a very hostile enviroment, something they were able to do only three times during the season. Watching them play today people might complain that they are still not as good as they could be, but you can not argue that they seemed to have gelled. Smiles on faces, players pointing to one another when a good pass turns into a score, working hard on defense and I can go on and on and on, but I think you get the picture. I have to stress this, some of the fans didn’t want the team to play in this tournament, look at what we would be missing? And by that I just don’t mean the wins, I mean a team that is gelling and playing as a team and not five individuals. It might have taken longer than it could/should have, but it’s here and now, and for whomever plays the Heels next (which should be UAB) it’s not going to be a gimme.
The way this team fought they took that 16-4 deficit and went into halftime up by 3, with the score being 36 to 33. The big man, no pun intended, of the first twenty minutes was John Henson, who scored 10 points, had six rebounds and a pair of blocks. He is becoming what everyone thought he was going to be coming out of high school, and that does not fare well for the next opponents of Carolina, be it in this tournament or next season. But as we all know there are two halves to each game and MSU came out with fresh legs and a willingness to shoot the three’s anytime they could. That got them the lead, which would extend to nine points, but as I said before this team (unlike the one that we saw play for most of the ACC part of the schedule) did not fold, did not give up, it united and played as a team. With about 10 minutes to go UNC lost Tyler Zeller to a concussion, and yet again I am sure more and more people thought “here we go again”, but not this squad, who down by seven didn’t fold, it played on. The fought on and with about a minute to go Will Graves (6 for 10 ~ 4 for 6 from 3) hit a high arching, very contested shot for three to put the Heels up by 2. Deon Thompson got called for a foul and with 12 seconds to go the Heels inbounded the ball which Drew, at 6′2″ took into the lane and beat MSU’s 6′9″ center known for his shot blocking ability. Mississippi State tried a desperation shot that didn’t go in and that was the ball game, with UNC winning it by a duece.
C’mon now, you don’t have to tell me, but tell yourself if you believed you would be saying “UNC beat MSU by a duece in Starkville” before this game started. It’s a great run that will continue for at least one more game, and if by any chance head coach Roy Williams’ team were to win that game they would be going back to Madison Square Garden, and I am sure this team would love to be able to get another shot at the Big Apple. However, as coach’s speak says “one game at a time”, and so we will wait to see what UNC vs UAB has in stored for this squad.
