UNC turns to small lineup for NCAA success

The North Carolina men’s basketball team’s biggest asset might be going small.

As the season’s progressed, the Tar Heels have used a smaller lineup more often, with four players playing along the perimeter and either Brice Johnson or Isaiah Hicks in the post.

The ability to use a smaller lineup could benefit top-seeded UNC in Friday’s Sweet 16 bout against fifth-seeded Indiana in Philadelphia, allowing the Tar Heels to push the tempo and alter the lineup for whatever situation presents itself.

“Being able to use different lineups in the tournament is huge,” said senior guard Marcus Paige. “Because it’s not ACC play where you get three days to scout somebody or you’ve played against them before and you know what they’re going to do.

“You’re playing teams from different conferences, just completely different styles of play from one game to the next. So having the ability to go small can save us in a lot of opportunities.”

This was evident in North Carolina’s 85-66 victory against Providence on Saturday night.

UNC opened the game with its usual starting lineup of Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks, Joel Berry, Paige and Johnson. But after Meeks and Johnson struggled defending their defensive matchups along the perimeter, the team went small.

Shortly after the Friars overcame a seven-point deficit to take a 25-23 lead in the first half, Coach Roy Williams moved Johnson to center and played Nate Britt, Theo Pinson, Berry and Jackson around him.

The move paid off, as the Tar Heels played quicker defensively and entered halftime with a 34-30 lead.

North Carolina used its small lineup again in the second half, as the group of Berry, Paige, Pinson, Jackson and Hicks pushed UNC’s lead from 67-51 to 84-65 before exiting the contest with 50 seconds left.

“When we go small, it seems like our intensity level goes up another notch,” Jackson said. “Because we have to fly around, we’ve got to box out and work hard because if we don’t, they’ll take advantage of it.

“I like whenever we go small, because I just feel like we play a little bit harder sometimes.”

For years, a staple of Williams’ system has been using a more traditional lineup with two big men in the post and three wings along the perimeter.

The Tar Heels haven’t strayed away from that ideology too much this season, as the team has looked its best with Johnson and Hicks down low.

But because of the duo’s knack for getting into foul trouble and the depth UNC boasts this year, Williams says the small lineup has been out of necessity.

“They talk more, they dive on the floor more, those kind of things, but they don’t block as many shots either,” said Williams of the small lineup. “I really haven’t been afraid to go small at any time this year ... It just depends on how the game’s going really.”

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