NIT First Round Recap - North Carolina vs William & Mary

Defending national champion North Carolina (16-16, 5-11 ACC) entered the year hoping to compete for another ACC title and another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.  Yes, the Tar Heels lost four super-talented players to the NBA:  Tyler Hansbrough (Pick No. 13 – Indiana Pacers); Ty Lawson (No. 18 – Minnesota Timberwolves); Wayne Ellington (No. 28 – Minnesota); and Danny Green (No. 46 – Cleveland Cavaliers). However, the Tar Heels entered the season with their usual slew of highly recruited high school superstars, and the talent alone was enough to compel the media and coaches to tag the Heels with a preseason No. 4 ranking in the USA Today Coaches poll and a No. 6 ranking in the AP poll.

North Carolina, dressed in throwback uniforms and playing in Carmichael Auditorium instead of the Dean Dome, invoked an old-school feel, but this year, the Tar Heels did not have old-school talent to match.  Their opponent, William and Mary (22-10, 12-6 CAA), on the other hand, played an old-school- style game against the team with the old-school gear. The Tribe attempted plenty of 3-point jump shots and used numerous backdoor passes to get dunks
or layups.  The Tribe had the look of an NCAA Tournament team over the first half of the season, notching wins over big-time foes such as Richmond, Wake Forest, Virginia Commonwealth, and Maryland. However, Coach Tony Shaver’s team faltered in CAA play and lost out at a shot at an NCAA Tournament bid with a loss to Old Dominion in the CAA final. 
William and Mary’s season ended tonight in much the same way that it did for CAA member Northeastern: with a close loss to a traditional power coming off a Final Four season. (Northeastern lost by two at Connecticut.)

The teams played a high-scoring first half, with Carolina taking a 43-33 lead into the locker room.  The fireworks really started in the second half, though, when both teams seemingly made every shot and scored at a frantic pace.  The Tribe, in particular, hoisted three-point attempt after three- point attempt, making several and pulling down some crucial
offensive boards to capitalize on second-chance points as well.

> Browse a selection of Collegiate Snuggies & NC Tar Heels Merchandise online!

W&M’s David Schneider hit consecutive three-pointers within 32 seconds of one another to pull the Tribe within three after five minutes of second-half play. At that point (25 minutes into the contest), Schneider was 6-of-9 on 3-point field goal attempts for the game.  Schneider, who led all scorers with 21 points, hit his final 3-pointer with about five minutes to go, putting William and Mary up, 72-69.    Unfortunately for the Tribe, they seemingly ran out of gas at that point.  North Carolina ran off 11 unanswered points to end the game. UNC big man Tyler Zeller effectively sealed the win with a huge steal at the top of the key, followed
by an easy dunk to put UNC up by five points with 44 seconds left on the clock.

WHAT’S NEXT

North Carolina’s disappointing season will continue against the winner of the game between No. 1 seed Mississippi State (24-11, 9-7 SEC), which lost a heartbreaker to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament final, and a Jackson State team (19-13, 17-1 SWAC) which dominated the SWAC after struggling against out-of-conference foes.

By: John Cary
ACC Fans Guest Writer