Third slow start for Heels is one too many

GREENSBORO — North Carolina won a couple of battles in the ACC Tournament after starting slow. But the Tar Heels could not win the war with the same tactic.

UNC sputtered at the beginning of its first two games but staged big comebacks to advance to the ACC Tournament championship game. Against Duke though, the Tar Heels could not conjure another second-half thriller.

It did not take a five-star general to tell the Tar Heels they could not start so sluggishly in a war against a fierce rival like the Blue Devils.

“I loved how tough my guys were the first two days,” Williams said. “I didn’t like the way we played, but we had some great feelings with the comebacks. We couldn’t spot Duke those kinds of things and come back because they’re too effective.

“When we crossed the city limits into Greensboro, we just didn’t realize the starting time of the game.”

The Blue Devils opened with an 8-0 run which had everything to do with Nolan Smith.

The ACC Player of the Year forced a turnover and dished an assist in the first three minutes of play, locking down UNC point guard Kendall Marshall.

“Nolan’s aggressiveness on the defensive end of the floor made us start our offense out 45 feet from the basket,” Williams said. “Kendall did not feel like he could get past him and that is an uncomfortable feeling for a point guard.”

With Marshall bothered, first-team All-Tournament Harrison Barnes received fewer touches. Duke senior Kyle Singler contested every one of Barnes’ six first-half shots, inducing five misses. UNC went to halftime down 14.

UNC overcame a 19-point deficit against Miami with less than 10 minutes in the game. Against Clemson, the Tar Heels clawed back from 11 early in the second half. In both games, the Greensboro Coliseum crowd burst into applause when a Barnes 3-pointer fell against Miami or a Henson block rocked Clemson.

The time for cheer never came for the Tar Heels in the second half, though, as Duke kept its energy up and its foot on the gas.

“Once you let up that’s when they make the push,” Singler said. “I thought our guys did a great job of staying focused and playing 40 minutes of basketball.”

UNC forward Tyler Zeller has played in more ACC Tournament games than anyone on the Tar Heel roster. He knew playing catch-up with Duke would not result in a win Sunday.

“In the first half we were usually terrible, and second half we were always trying to come back,” Zeller said. “It’s one of those things where we have to put 40 minutes together. In the tournament you can’t afford to get behind like that.”

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Blue Devils won the war, and they did so by attacking the opponent early with suffocating defense from Smith and Singler. It’s no coincidence he studied at West Point and spent time in the Army.

“When you study leadership, you never see a leader of a winning team that’s not enthusiastic, that’s not brave, that’s not courageous, that’s not outgoing,” he said. “I just reminded them, ‘Remember that’s who you are, and the other guys will follow that.’”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.