All season long, UNC made its living as the best rebounding team in America.
As it turns out, the Tar Heels needed every last rebound they could get during Saturday night’s NCAA Semifinal in Phoenix.
Theo Pinson and Kennedy Meeks came up with two critical offensive boards in the final seconds, which helped UNC close out a 77-76 victory over No. 3 seed Oregon.
Both teams struggled to make shots all game long, with the exception of the 6-foot-10, 260-pound Meeks—who ate up the undersized Ducks with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
Eight of Meeks’ rebounds came on the offensive end, as he continually bailed out an offense that struggled to find much consistency with second chance buckets and easy finishes around the rim.
Kennedy Meeks played perhaps the best game of his four-year career in a Tar Heel uniform, scoring 25 points and grabbing 14 rebounds vs. Oregon. (Todd Melet)
His most important rebound, however, came after he nearly gave the Ducks a chance to win the game with a pair of missed free throws and only five seconds on the clock.
Pinson then burst into the lane for his big rebound, tipping it out to point guard Joel Berry—who was then put on the foul line himself.
Berry—who struggled all night while nursing two bum ankles–missed both of his free throws as well, but Meeks slipped in for the board and sent head coach Roy Williams and the Tar Heels to the National Championship Game against fellow top seed Gonzaga.
“We missed a bunch of free throws,” Williams said. “We talk and work on little things all the time. I tell them, ‘If you line up on the rebound spot, once your teammate’s shooting the free throw you’re trying to rebound. You’re either trying to tip it out or get a rebound.
“We do work on those things,” the coach re-emphasized. “We do talk about those things.”
ACC Player of the Year Justin Jackson chipped in 22 points for the Tar Heels, as he and Meeks combined for the large majority of the team’s scoring.
On multiple occasions, UNC went through stretches of nearly five minutes without making a basket. During another span covering the end of the first half and early portion of the second, Meeks and Jackson combined to score 21 straight points for the Tar Heels.
Oregon helped UNC stay afloat throughout these long dry spells by turning the ball over a whopping 16 times.
The Ducks were led by guards Tyler Dorsey and Dylan Ennis, who scored 21 and 18 points, respectively.
Justin Jackson complemented Meeks’ heroic effort with 22 points of his own against Oregon. (Todd Melet)
Dorsey converted on all 12 of his free throw attempts in the game and sank a miracle three-pointer that brought Oregon within three points in the final minute.
“I’m standing almost on line with that three [by Dorsey], and there was no way that ball was going in the basket,” Williams told reporters. “It bounced around, bounced around. It went below the rim, and it crawled back over top and went back in. So that was pretty weird.”
In the end, UNC’s size advantage simply proved to be too much against the Ducks, who used a plethora of different zone defenses and full court presses to try and slow down the Tar Heel attack.
Even with Berry and Isaiah Hicks combining to shoot just 3-for-26 from the field, UNC still found a way to win.
Piling up 17 offensive rebounds—and a few clutch plays from Meeks, Pinson and Jackson—proved to be just enough to earn the Tar Heels a shot at redemption on Monday night.
“We really don’t talk about that all the time,” Williams said, of last season’s loss to Villanova in the NCAA Finals. “The only thing I’ve said about it is when I asked them ‘What’s the most fun in your life you ever had playing basketball?’ And everyone said ‘Last year.’
“I said, ‘Well let’s remember that. Lets do the work. Let’s put in the time, the work, the sacrifices to make sure we get there.’
“It’s an amazing thing,” Williams added. “Three hundred fifty-one teams start playing, and this is the second year in a row we’re one of two left.”
Up Next:
UNC will take on Gonzaga for all the marbles Monday night, with tip-off scheduled for approximately 9 p.m.
Game Notes:
- The Tar Heels made just three of their first 18 shots in the game, while Oregon turned the ball over 12 times before halftime.
- Meeks’ 25 points tied a career high. He also joined a short list of players who have scored at Least 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a Final Four game over the last 40 Years, which includes only: Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse, 2003), Ed O’Bannon (UCLA, 1995), Danny Manning (Kansas, 1988) and Larry Bird (Indiana State, 1979)
- Both teams shot under 38 percent from the floor (UNC- 36.8%, Oregon- 37.9%), but the Ducks made 25 of their 28 free throws–compared to just 19 of 27 for the Tar Heels.
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