North Carolina Tar Heels vs Maryland Terrapins Basketball Recap

North Carolina 87, Maryland 76

If the North Carolina Tar Heels ever decide to play focused basketball for a full 40 minutes, they can make real noise in the upcoming ACC and NCAA tournaments. Even though they let down their guard for portions of Sunday night’s ACC encounter with the Maryland Terrapins, the Tar Heels still flashed more than enough excellence to tuck away another win.

The resurgence of a college basketball powerhouse continued to unfold this weekend at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Coach Roy Williams is trying to whip his Tar Heels into shape as March dawns and the pressure of the season mounts. North Carolina still hasn’t hit its peak, but the Heels gave enough glimpses of their ability to show that they can become special if they put their minds to the effort.

The biggest thing to realize about this 11-point win over a Maryland team that’s now certain to go to the NIT (unless it wins the ACC Tournament, of course) is that North Carolina’s defense came and went. There were large stretches of play, particularly in the first half, when UNC allowed Maryland to score on the secondary break. The Terps pushed the ball furiously down the court after a Carolina miss and were able to outrun the Heels down the floor. North Carolina’s defensive rebounding was also noticeably lazy at times; UNC big man Tyler Zeller was an efficient offensive performer in this game, throwing down 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, but he didn’t crash the glass with much conviction in the first half. Maryland players such as Jordan Williams – who finished with 16 points and 19 rebounds – outfought Zeller on the backboard and gained enough second-chance points to keep Maryland competitive. If North Carolina continues to surrender offensive rebounds the way it did for parts of the first half, the Tar Heels won’t last very long in the NCAA Tournament.

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Then again, if UNC exhibits the level of offense it brought to the arena on Sunday night against Maryland, the Heels might be able to turn in a darkhorse run to the Final Four. Zeller’s 25 points highlighted the evening, but right behind the UNC big man was forward Harrison Barnes. The heralded freshman did need 23 shots to score his 21 points, but he hit three of his first four triples in the early stages of play to set a positive tone for Carolina. Williams couldn’t have been happy with his team’s defense, but the Tar Heels’ coach had to love the flow, pace and confidence of his team at the offensive end of the floor. The result was a high-possession performance that Williams likes. Carolina’s numbers weren’t efficient, but when UNC takes 80 shots and gets 22 free throws, it is creating a tempo that is suitable for its talents. North Carolina wants high-possession games, and that’s exactly what UNC received on Sunday. Now, if Carolina can win its next two games against Florida State and Duke, the Tar Heels can very possibly snag a No. 3 seed in the Big Dance, thereby increasing their chances of making a run deep into March Madness.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer