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Carolina will see the other side of the spectrum versus Miami.
The Tar Heels are in the driver’s seat to win the ACC regular season and maybe get No. 1 seeds in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. With three home games left against Miami, N.C. State and Notre Dame on Senior Night, they will be favored to at least take that one-game lead to Durham on March 9.
If that happened, and the Heels lose to the Blue Devils, it would be a tie for first place with UNC earning the tiebreaker for wins over Virginia and Wake Forest while Duke has already lost to Wake and still has to play UVa in Cameron.
The key is sustaining momentum the Heels built in their last two wins over Old Dominion State rivals Virginia Tech and Virginia. Miami is a dangerous, yet familiar, team. Carolina seems to have everyone healthy and playing at a high level. The Heels will have to be as determined to play as fast as possible against the athletic Hurricanes as they were to dig in on both ends of the court in Charlottesville.
Why can’t the opponent speed Virginia up by pressing to create turnovers and fastbreaks? Well, as Dean Smith liked to say, “The other team has coaches, too.” So when players with good coaches meet, the winners usually show the best effort, energy and execution to get their way.
When two teams play at the same pace, like Miami and Carolina do, that outcome will be determined by shooting the ball well, owning the glass and not giving up easy baskets. The Tar Heels dominated the Hurricanes for most of their first meeting in Coral Gables but barely won the game in the last minutes.
Miami is a free-shooting, running team that can be very hard to beat if it makes shots early and then builds momentum and confidence from the fast start. We’ve seen that from past Miami teams in the Smith Center.
The Heels know exactly what the Canes do and vice versa. So for the “The U,” it is a no-pressure spoiler game because winning the ACC Tournament is the only path to an NCAA bid. Otherwise, it’s the NIT for Miami.
That could be dangerous for Carolina if not ready and motivated to jump on them early and show why they are so far apart in the ACC standings. And, despite early leads, Miami is a team that we know keeps shooting. You don’t want to be in a battle like that, when the underdog compounds no pressure, an early lead on the favorite and confidence down the stretch of a close game.
Look at how many upsets of ranked teams have occurred this season. In other words, they need to keep their eyes on the ball every minute they are out there.
Featured image via Associated Press/Rebecca Blackwell
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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