The battle for the ACC tournament title was on Saturday between University of North Carolina and Virginia. I wrote here about Virginia’s chances of coming out on top in the ACC tournament, describing the various matchups they would possibly face and the advantages they had.
North Carolina was one of the possibilities, and Virginia is perfectly built to disrupt what many believe to be the best team in the nation. Coach William’s Tar Heel squad is big up front and play at a breakneck pace. The Cavaliers on the other hand grind the game to a sometimes painfully slow pace, and have the size in Anthony Gill, Mike Toby and Isaiah Wilkins in the frontcourt to match UNC’s size shot for shot.
On the outset it seemed like Virginia would, if not cruise, crawl to an inevitable victory. Although he was able to register 5 assists and demonstrated impressive court vision, Virginia all but neutralized Carolina’s best player Brice Johnson.
It wasn’t UNC’s impressive front court that kept them in the game, it was the stellar play of their backcourt. Joel Barry II and Marcus Paige are both undersized guards who, it would seem at first glance, would not be able to contend with the size and strength of Virginia. Aside from the diminutive London Perrantes, Virginia can play Brogden, Shayok and Hall, who all are bigger, stronger and more athletic than the Tar Heel backcourt. Nevertheless Barry’s fantastic shooting and Paige’s relentless defence helped Carolina enter the break all tied at 28 points apiece.
In the second half Virginia came out still in control of the game, regaining the lead and holding UNC at bay but never throwing that knockout punch. It was in that second half that the wear of playing 3 games in 3 days seemed to have taken its toll on the Cavaliers star guards Perrantes and Brogden. The two had an abysmal shooting night, connecting on only 9 of 36 attempts. It was this lack of offensive production from Virginia’s best players that allowed Carolina to stay in the game, and with 7:15 left UNC finally took the lead. They didn’t look back on root to their 18th ACC tournament win 61 to 57.
In the past years Duke and UNC have dominated the ACC tournament, but neither had won in 4 years. Carolina themselves hadn’t won since 2008. It seems like balance has finally been restored in the land of champions and the Tar Heels now enter the NCAA Tournament flying high.
