With the clock running down, a defender in his face and the opposing crowd screaming, Larry Drew II drove down the lane and dropped a feather-soft layup through the hoop.
Game, North Carolina.
That was March 20. Three days later, Drew did the same thing.
In fact, during the NIT, the Tar Heels have shown a propensity for finishing close games.
The three games, all won by fewer than 10 points, have sent UNC to the final four of the NIT.
And while the Tar Heels aren’t closing games out in the NCAA Tournament, it is nonetheless a marked change from the regular season, where UNC was 1-6 in games decided by five points or fewer. “I agree we’ve gotten a lot better down the stretch,” coach Roy Williams said. “And we need to continue that improvement, too.”
The reason, according to Williams and his players, is defense. The Tar Heels gave up an average of 72.4 points per game in their 5-11 ACC campaign this year.
But in the NIT, UNC has held opponents to just 67 points per game.
“We’ve just figured out that defense is going to win games for us, and the offense will take care of itself,” freshman John Henson said.
Williams added that he’s “seen the guys buy into it more. They’re communicating better,” on the defensive end.
“We have been sharper mentally,” Williams said.
“We’ve been listening to the scouting report better. We’ve been giving better effort, even in the loss to Georgia Tech in the tournament. In the first half particularly, I thought defensively we were really good.”
It certainly helps that the Tar Heels are finishing in the post. Deon Thompson’s .594 shooting percentage in the NIT eclipses his .492 shooting for the season.
It helps also that Thompson, Henson and Tyler Zeller are combining for 33 points per game in the NIT.
The increase in point production is accompanied by a decrease in turnovers.
For the season, UNC is averaging 15.1 turnovers per game. But in the three NIT games, the Tar Heels are averaging only 12.3.
UNC gave the ball away 11 times in the first half against UAB last Tuesday, but only turned it over four times in the second half.
The statistics can give some indication of just how UNC managed to pull out three close victories in a season of close losses, but it’s important to note that sometimes the Tar Heels have found a little luck.
During North Carolina’s regular-season struggles, it dropped heartbreakers at College of Charleston and against Georgia Tech.
With UNC up by three points at Charleston, Thompson defended Andrew Goudelock’s last-second prayer perfectly, only to have it find the bottom of the net and send the game into overtime.
Against Georgia Tech, Will Graves’ 3-point shot at the buzzer clanged off the rim.
But as a contrast, in the NIT UNC and Drew have found luck. Against Mississippi State, Drew’s layup had to clear the outstretched hands of MSU’s Jarvis Varnado by inches — there was precious little room for error.
But Drew, driving at full speed and in traffic, managed to hit the difficult shot.
A few days later, with time running down, UAB defenders followed four Tar Heels clearing out of the lane. They left the bucket undefended and gave Drew a clear path for the game-sealing layup.
A good drive and a little bit of luck later, UNC had a game scheduled at Madison Square Garden.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
Tar Heels begin closing games successfully in NIT play
Larry Drew II has taken his game to another level this postseason. DTH/Phong Dinh
