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Sean Singletary had 14 points and 7 assists at UNC. |
The Virginia men’s basketball team opened each half with a strong effort against the nation’s top-ranked team but unfortunately the Cavs couldn’t fend off North Carolina down the stretch as the Tar Heels pulled out a 79-69 victory on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill. For the visitors, the game’s outcome hinged on three key categories: free throws, turnovers, and offensive rebounds. UNC dominated in all three areas and it allowed the hosts to shake off a feisty effort from the Hoos.
“We got beat today for a number of reasons, but the first reason is obviously, and I said this before the game, [and that is because] that’s as balanced a team that we will probably face all year long and maybe in the next few years,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said in his postgame press conference. “They successfully play 12 or 13 guys and I thought when they kept coming at us with defensive energy, it cost us. … They’ve always got fresh people and I thought almost midway through the second half that we wore down mentally and they never wore down mentally.”
North Carolina coach Roy Williams was pleased to pull out the win against a good defensive effort by the Hoos.
“Sometimes you just have to grind it out. It’s not a pretty game where everybody is flying up and down the court and making pretty passes and pirouettes,” Williams said. “Sometimes you just have to get down and grind it out and I think that’s what it was tonight and that’s what the kids were saying when they came in the locker room. Virginia is a really good basketball team. They’ve had some huge wins this year – Arizona and Gonzaga, who beat us – so we knew it was going to be a very difficult game.”
While the Heels did have to battle to get the win, they did much of their damage at the free throw line. Carolina enjoyed a 41-11 advantage in that category, which led to an 18-point differential at the stripe. That number was far too big to overcome for the Cavaliers, but they also struggled on the defensive glass where UNC produced 21 offensive rebounds. The hosts’ effort on the O-boards seemed to take a toll on the Hoos as they were forced to play extended possessions on defense.
Add in 18 turnovers and easy North Carolina points created by those miscues and it is clear where the game slipped away from the Cavaliers.
“The game ended with us giving them 40 of their 79 points off of turnovers and offensive rebounds,” Leitao said. “Any chance you have at being successful is taken away when either one of those stats is as large as both of those were so that took away any chance we had at winning.”
The Heels’ depth played a critical role in the game as well. UNC sent wave after wave of players on to the court and it eventually allowed the hosts to eventually wear down UVa. For example, Carolina used four different players in the point guard position while Virginia used just two in Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds. The Tar Heels also had a seemingly unending rotation in the post and the Cavs simply didn’t have the bodies to sustain their effort.
Singletary looked exhausted by game’s end when he took a nasty tumble after driving to the basket. Leitao said he banged his back on the play and that he would probably be sore.
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Mamadi Diane added 14 points in the loss. |
“They had four different guys guarding Sean and yeah he probably took it into the defense a little bit [too much] – the scouting report says if he’s driving, you either put two guys on him or you give heavy, heavy, heavy help so what we needed tonight was somebody else to take the pressure off of him,” Leitao said. “He kept forcing [a little bit at times], but we didn’t give him the kind of confidence offensively that would allow him to continue sharing the ball with everybody because we needed more people to make more plays.”
Indeed, Singletary seemed to be the only consistent playmaker on the floor at times even though he only finished with 14 points and 7 assists. His backcourt mate J.R. Reynolds turned in 15 points and 7 assists. Mamadi Diane added 14 points while Lars Mikalauskas chipped in 10 and Jason Cain had 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Still, the Hoos couldn’t consistently get the offense going and that cost them against the talented Tar Heels, who struggled at times against the Cavalier defense. UNC finished shooting only 38 percent (25 of 66) as the inside duo of Tyler Hansbrough and Brandan Wright combined to make just 11 of 29 attempts. Hansbrough finished with 18 points and Wright had 16, though.
“To be able to shoot 38 percent and still win the game, we feel good about it. It boils down to the backboards as the whole key,” Williams said. “The backboards should be in our favor. We’re bigger and we probably have more bodies than they do.”
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