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Tar Heels Get Final Crack at Duke in Tourney Opener
After losing twice to the
Blue Devils this year, UNC
must shrug off the season's
demons to win tonight.
Bv Mike Ogle
Senior Writer
Duke’s Jason Williams held a micro
phone after Sunday’s win and concluded
his goodbyes to the Cameron Indoor
Stadium crowd by pointing to the nation
al championship banners over the basket.
“You know, I still think you can move
those three banners to the left ...
Williams said as the fans drowned out
the end of his speech.
Fifth-year senior reserve Orlando
Melendez, whose North Carolina team
had just lost by 25 points, stood in a dark
corner of the gym and watched before
he boarded the bus back to Chapel Hill
to prepare for the ACC Tournament.
The Blue Devils have grander things
in mind.
But tonight, on a glitzier stage than any
this season, the Tar Heels have a renewed
opportunity. UNC has a last chance to set
right a season full of wrongs.
The mission starts at 7 p.m. at the
Charlotte Coliseum, and most people
expect it to end at about 9 p.m. - just in
time for the Tar Heels to start Spring
Break with the rest of their classmates.
By winning against Clemson and
Florida State’s losing to Georgia Tech,
UNC weaseled out of Thursday’s play
in game. That slick maneuvering slid
them into a less-than-desirable reward.
“I’m glad to have a straight path to
the quarterfinals and not have to go
through the play-in game,” said UNC
coach Matt Doherty, “but the consola
BREAK INTO SPRING
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tion is you get to play Duke again.”
An unenviable task. No. 3 Duke
(26-3,13-3) and UNC (8-19,4-12) meet for
the first time ever in the ACC quarters.
The only way the Tar Heels could length
en their postseason trip beyond Charlotte
is to win the whole thing. All they can
afford to worry about, though, are visions
of Blue Devils draining 3s in their heads.
In two meetings, Duke has outscored
rival UNC 180-126. Sunday, frustrations
translated into a couple shoving match
es and five technical fouls. A third meet
ing looms. The question is, does a third
drubbing, also?
Turnover of the Guard
Powder and royal blue alike empha
sized that the Tar Heels’ turnovers have
to stop to give them a chance. Against
Duke, UNC has forgone an offensive
play 50 times to Blue Devils’ 20.
“It’s easier said than done,” Doherty
said. “You guys sit there and you watch
it, and you say, ‘How come you can’t
pass it from Point A to Point B?’”
By now, one lesson should be certain:
Duke is quick and UNC must anticipate
their defenders’ anticipation and not be
lazy with the ball. Boone and Melvin Scott
said the Tar Heels feel more prepared for
the pressure this time because they’ve
experienced it twice and just five days ago.
“You have to have an understanding
of what your offense is trying to accom
plish before you can really attack it,"
Boone said. “Beyond that, you just have
to attack it aggressively. You can’t be
passive because their team feeds off of
teams being passive and on their heels."
The Tar Heels will have to think like
a football team offensively because the
Blue Devils play defense like corner
backs. The guards have to be quarter
backs, throwing the ball in the right spot
and leading their receivers.
“We learned that they get into the
passing lanes, so we’re going to have to
cut harder and run to passes,” Scott said.
UNC hasn’t shot that dreadfully (46.2
percent) against Duke, but the turnovers
negate that positive. The Tar Heels have
countered the Blue Devils’ 137 shots with
just 91 chucks of their own.
“It’d be like giving them the ball 25
times before the game starts and saying,
‘Here’s 25 possessions, now let’s play,’”
Doherty said.
And the turnovers have only been the
icing of Duke’s guard advantages. In the
two games, Boone and Scott have com
bined for 16 points, seven assists and 15
turnovers. Williams and Chris Duhon:
75 points, 26 assists and four turnovers.
Some Aggressiveness Required
The huge disparity in turnovers and
possessions against the Blue Devils lends
heavily to the scoring problems. Still,
fewer Tar Heels need to be scared to
make a move, take a shot, post some
body up, drive, etc. At the Smith Center,
only Brian Morrison, off the bench,
reached double figures, and Capel and
Jawad Williams were alone at Cameron.
Conspicuously absent has been Kris
Lang - 14 points on 7-for-17 shooting
and 0-for-5 from the free-throw line, five
rebounds and seven turnovers in the two
games. Much of the problem has been
UNC’s ineffective offensive execution.
With Lang as the only inside threat,
teams, including Duke, have locked
down on Lang. If Lang’s teammates get
him more into the flow, the rest of the
offense will open up.
Co-senior Capel, however, has oozed
aggressiveness in the last two games. He
only took four shots in Round One, but
tied his career-high of 28, which he had
Sports
THE LOWDOWN ON THE ACC TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Today Saturday Sunday
No. 8 Ftorida State 1:30 p.m.
Ha. 4 State
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No. 5 Virginia
ACC
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No. 2 Duke *
No. 7 North Carolina 4:30 p.m.
No. 3 Waits forest
9p- m -
No 6 Georgia Tech
set the previous game, on Sunday.
“I think a lot of times I haven’t been
aggressive,” Capel said. “I’ve had some
personal problems in my life, and it
kind of took my mind off of basketball
for a while. But these are my last couple
of games, so if I’m going out I’m going
out swinging.”
Considering the task that faces the
Tar Heels and the missions left unac
complished behind them, it could be
hard to imagine that hope exists. They
say not to look for them to take a dive.
“It’s my job to make sure we believe,”
Doherty said. “Otherwise, we shouldn't
get on the bus to go down to Charlotte.”
The bus left Wednesday.
The Sports Editor can be reached at
sports@email. unc.edu.
Friday, March 8,5*002
Keeping the Faith: Seventh-seeded Siena headed into the
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament with a 12-18
record. The Saints won four games, including three against
opponents that had beaten them twice during the regular
season, to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. Sound eerily
familiar? "It gives you a little bit of inspiration," Adam
Boone said. "But at the same time, it doesn't put any points
on the board for us." It also doesn’t change the fact that
North Carolina has to get through the likes of Duke; Siena
did not And the Blue Devils, despite their loftier aspirations,
aren’t likely to underestimate the Tar Heels after losing to
Florida State and Virginia already. "We don’t look at the
record," said Jason Williams. “You can’t look at their record,
because when you look at their record that’s when they beat
you." Mike Krzyzewski, who said his team will value the
competition the ACC Tournament provides more than in years
past, was still leery of complacency in a second-straight
game against UNC. “Sometimes a team that’s just won
thinks we should be able to do that again," he said. "You
assume. You have to be careful that you don’t assume that
it’s just going to happen." For the Tar Heels to extend their
streak of 27 NCAA bids, they'll have to go all the way, start
ing with Duke. “We have nothing to lose," said Jason Capel.
“Y'all don't expect us to win, so we'll go out there and play
loose and hopefully anything can happen. We can pull a mir
acle or something." Miracle Max already left for Spring
Break.
Prediction: Duke 86, UNC 67
COMPILED BY MIKE OGLE
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