Brice Johnson's frustration fuels record-breaking performance, defensive turnaround in win over Florida Gulf Coast

RALEIGH — Much like it did in the first half, frustration painted Brice Johnson’s face as he stood outside North Carolina’s locker room on Thursday.

A little over an hour before, he and his teammates entered the locker room at halftime of their NCAA Tournament opener against Florida Gulf Coast, ahead by just one point over the 16th-seeded Eagles.

Coming off an impressive showing in the ACC Tournament, UNC’s defense had allowed Florida Gulf Coast to shoot 60 percent in the first half, leaving Johnson and the Tar Heels disappointed and wondering what happened.

“Ugly,” said Johnson of UNC’s locker room at halftime. “It was bad. We didn’t play worth anything in the first half.”

But in the second period of top-seeded North Carolina’s 83-67 win over the Eagles at PNC Arena, Johnson released some of his pent-up frustration, blocking six shots to help the Tar Heels revive the defensive intensity they displayed a week ago.

The senior forward finished the contest with a career-high eight blocks, the most ever by a UNC player in an NCAA Tournament game.

“Every time I looked, he got his hands on the ball,” said sophomore wing Theo Pinson. “I’m like, ‘Goodness gracious, he’s just going to beat everything today, huh?’”

But in the first half, the Eagles (21-14) had little trouble getting to the rim. Florida Gulf Coast scored 22 of its 40 first-half points in the paint, as the Tar Heels (29-6) struggled to defend the pick-and-roll.

UNC’s post players tried hedging off screens to push the ball-handler away from the basket, but the North Carolina big man away from the ball often left his man open for an easy layup after trying to help defend the player driving toward the rim.

After senior forward Joel James was whistled for a foul on a defensive breakdown, Johnson angrily hurled the ball against the basket stanchion.

“You don’t want to see guys getting layups,” Johnson said. “Essentially, their big men outworked us in the first half. You want to be a big-time team, and I want to be a big-time player. I can’t allow other guys to try to show me up like that and let them play the way they did.”

And in the second half, Johnson didn’t let the Eagles replicate their performance.

At halftime, Coach Roy Williams changed his team’s pick-and-roll defense, positioning his big men closer to the basket instead of having them hedge off screens. The decision paid immediate dividends, allowing Johnson to protect the paint.

The senior’s six second-half blocks energized the Tar Heels — who limited Florida Gulf Coast to 30.3 percent shooting in the second half — and helped them push the ball in transition.

“Whenever we had a lull, Brice would go and pin a shot up on the backboard or swat somebody’s shot and ignite the break,” said senior guard Marcus Paige. “Those are huge plays. Blocks, steals and diving on the floor to get 50-50 balls are probably the most exciting things that get people going and excited about defense.

“For him to get eight (blocks) is pretty darn impressive.”

Johnson’s final block was perhaps his most emphatic, as the forward sprinted from the free throw line and swatted away Kevin Mickle’s layup. The UNC senior pumped his fist in the air and screamed to the crowd.

But he still hadn’t released all of his frustration.

As Johnson stood outside the Tar Heels’ locker room moments later, he was reminded of his team’s first-half performance — one it might not be able to afford in Saturday’s second-round game against ninth-seeded Providence.

“We’ve got to come with a burning fire in our belly and saying, ‘Hey, we can play a lot better than we did,’” he said, “We can do a lot better on defense, a lot better on offense. We’ve just got to go out there and do it. We’ve just got to get back our mindset to the way we were playing defense in the ACC Tournament.”

@patjames24

sports@dailytarheel.com