A 7 point victory... the Heels come to life again! What an effort by the "Men in Blue". Last night I predicted a 4 point victory. It easily could have been, or even closer. After the Heels were up as much as 24 points, Maryland used their pressure defense to make it interesting. Turtle soup never tasted so good!
Again the Heels played with heart and enthusiasm. This was a team victory that needed everyone's contribution. The #2 guards finally hit their shots... thanks Max and Jason. But the Ram Man's Player of the Game is Addie (#13). Our senior rises to the occasion.
OK CarolinaFans, are you ready for the game
of the season.... Carolina vs. Duke for the ACC
Championship? I think it will depend on Capel's health. Will he get a
good night's sleep? Will he be able to play and be effective? We need you
Jason. OK Heels, time to put the Dookies in
their place. I predict a Carolina victory...
margin unknown.
North Carolina earned a berth in the ACC Tournament championship game opposite arch-rival Duke by surviving a furious Maryland rally to claim an 86-79 win at the Charlotte Coliseum on Saturday.
Maryland trailed by 22 after Carolina senior forward Ademola Okulaja made a three-point play to put the Tar Heels ahead by 22 at 68-46 with just over 11:00 remaining. From there, Maryland outscored Carolina 30-12 but Kris Lang threw down a dunk off an inbounds play from Okulaja and Max Owens made four key free throws to seal the win.
Carolina followed up its near-perfect second-half against Georgia Tech on Friday night with an offensive exhibition just 19 hours after finishing off the Yellow Jackets.
UNC broke open a close game early in the second half with a 28-10 run to start the half. Max Owens, starting for Jason Capel, keyed the decisive run with 13 points, including a three-pointer as the shot-clock expired.
Capel, who sat out last night's win, did play and led his team with 11 first half points, but left early in the second half after he re-injured his back.
The win was Carolina's eighth straight in this tournament, enabling the Tar Heels to move to their third consecutive conference title game. It is the eighth time this decade Carolina has played for the ACC title and the 11th time in the last 13 seasons.
The win kept Carolina from losing to Maryland three times in one year for the first time.
It was the third time in five years that UNC eliminated the Terps in the semifinals.