Well, if the pattern continues, Duke will be in big trouble.
After the Tar Heels lost to Marquette last week, Roy Williams said his team can’t seem to stand prosperity. He was talking about how the stinker followed the 45-point win over Louisville.
The season has to be maddening for Williams, who must know what he’s doing since he’s won 900 games. But this team has a good game, bad game, good, bad — an up-and-down tendency since it won six of seven in January. Then the inconsistency took hold with a loss at Clemson, much like the loss at Syracuse Monday night.
Carolina followed the defeat in Death Valley with a big win at Duke, then a bad loss at Virginia, then an easy win over Northeastern and the blowout of Louisville before losing to Marquette and pulling off the great comeback against Florida State Saturday.
Yes, it was a quick, 48-hour turnaround, but Williams knows how to play the Orange zone as well as anyone, winning 10 of the last 14 match-ups. The Heels beat the ‘Cuse last year in one of the worst seasons in their storied history.
Look, it’s any easy strategy to figure out. Build an early lead with your superior size against the zone, then use your always-rugged rebounding to keep or pad that advantage. They got the lead by nine points, but then did not do what was necessary to protect it. Carolina turned the ball over 20 times, off which Syracuse scored 28 points. That makes 60 turnovers in the last three games.
You’ve got to at least take a shot on most possessions, allowing your offensive rebounding to be a factor in the game. It did in that respect, doubling up the Orange 26-13 for 25 second-chance points.
You also have to make some shots from outside the zone; not go crazy but better than 0-for-10 in the first half and 4-for-10 in the second while trying to rally from another double-digit deficit. While the Heels’ effort can’t be faulted, their execution was terrible during the middle minutes of the game.
It was a must win for Syracuse for its NCAA tournament hopes, just as it was for Carolina against FSU. Senior Night against Duke shapes up as a must-win for the Blue Devils, but if the maddening pattern continues the Tar Heels will play well enough to win.
Let’s hope so.
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