It was a sad day in Florida today as the North Carolina Tar Heels skimmed past the Miami Hurricanes 73-64 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables. This win helps a depressed Tar Heels team (20-9, 10-6 ACC), who got just their third win in the past eight games. In turn, it added another loss to the extremely average season of the Hurricanes (18-11, 8-8 ACC), who have struggled to find an answer on defense lately.
The first half of the game was a back and forth affair, with each team matching each other. The Hurricanes did surprisingly well against the speedy Tar Heels considering their starting guard Angel Rodriguez was held out of the starting lineup with a wrist injury and only played three minutes overall. This obviously showed with a 15-6 run in the first half by the Tar Heels, capped off by exceptional transition offense and a tough post game. The Hurricanes found a balance however, and were able to hold North Carolina scoreless for five minutes while mounting a run of their own. This didn’t hamper J.P. Tokoto of the Tar Heels, who finished the first half with a steal and an emphatic dunk to give the Tar Heels the lead 32-30 at the end of the first.
The second half was a completely different story, and while the Hurricanes were able to keep it close, they were no match for a determined North Carolina team, who led for nearly all of the second half, albeit for a 48-47 lead by the Hurricanes early on in the half. Brice Johnson was crucial for the Tar Heels in the half, overall netting 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting with five dunks. The Hurricanes got a solid performance from Sheldon McClellan, but his 11 points were hampered by foul trouble and only 25 minutes of play.
The future is not bright for the Hurricanes. As head coach Jim Larrañaga stated “We’ve put ourselves in a very tough position to make the dance.” Away games at Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech will be critical for any hope for the Hurricanes, but even then this game may have spelled the end of Miami’s NCAA tournament hopes.