Saving His Best for Last

There is no doubt that Harrison Barnes has fallen short of the enormous expectations everyone had for him coming into his freshman season at UNC, with one exception.  When there's not much time left and the game is in the balance, Barnes has been nothing short of spectacular.  He struck again with his late game heroics on Wednesday night at Miami, hitting two huge jumpers, including the game-winning 3 pointer with 6 seconds left, allowing the Heels to escape Miami with a 74-71 win.  This kid has been unbelievably clutch when his team needed it most, and it's only a matter of time before he picks it up for the rest of the game.

UNC once again dug a big hole early on, but recovered by halftime to enter the break tied at 39.  Tyler Zeller was completely exposed by Reggie Johnson, and if I'm an NBA scout Zeller probably just tumbled all the way off my draft board.  He is just too weak to deal with strong, talented big men inside, and he was clearly outplayed by Johnson on both sides of the court.  Justin Knox was much more effective in half the minutes, and probably needs to get more playing time when the opposing team has a guy like Johnson inside.

The Tar Heels won despite 13 three pointers for the Hurricanes on 46% shooting.  Dexter Strickland had a very good game, as he stuck to what he's good at (slashing to the basket) and avoided taking any shots from the outside.  I got down on Dexter a little bit after the last few games, but I'm okay with him getting a few more minutes now after I've calmed down a bit.  He still plays entirely too much however, and needs to give up some of that time to Reggie Bullock.  I just see glimpses of greatness in Bullock, and he gives us a big-time scoring punch, rebounding help, and much more length on the perimeter from the shooting guard position.

UNC really hasn't played anywhere near its potential all year, but they've squeaked by time and time again.  This win was absolutely huge, as Miami has much more talent than their record suggests, and beating them on the road is quite an accomplishment.  This season could have gone completely in the toilet without the three huge comebacks in ACC play, but these Heels are definitely resilient and are looking like an NCAA tournament team.

N.C. State comes to the Dean Dome Saturday at 2pm after blowing a 19-point lead at Clemson on Tuesday night, and the Heels should take care of business.  State has not looked very good, but they do have a great player in Tracy Smith inside.  He is similar to Johnson in that he has great strength inside, but he's much more talented offensively and not quite as big.  If I'm Roy Williams I probably give Justin Knox some more minutes to counter the strength of Smith inside, and I make sure to limit Scott Wood's looks from the 3-point line.  The Wolfpack has little else to damage UNC, and this should be an easy win.  However, judging by the way this season has gone, it wouldn't shock me if this one came down to the wire just like all the rest.