NCAA Basketball: Tar Heels bully Butler into Elite Eight
The Tar Heels advance to the Elite Eight. What did Carolina do to win the game against the Bulldogs?
The Tar Heels came out strong and never let up as they beat Butler 92-80.
After the scare they got from Arkansas, UNC took the lead early and never really relinquished it.
So what happened in the game?
First Half
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There were several trends in the first half.
Shooting was one trend. Mainly from Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II. The two players combined to go 9-of-18 from the floor for 27 points. Joel Berry II also connected on his first two-point basket of the tournament.
The other trend was fouls. Isaiah Hicks, Tony Bradley and Kennedy Meeks all finished the second half with two fouls each. Of course, those fouls led to lots of playing time for Luke Maye.
Luke Maye took advantage of the opportunity. The sophomore forward went 5-for-7 from the field including 3-of-4 from downtown for a career-high 14 points in the first half. He also grabbed nine rebounds for the Tar Heels.
Butler did get 11 points from star forward Andrew Chrabascz, but couldn’t keep the Tar Heels off the glass. They also couldn’t force many first half turnovers as the Tar Heels only had four after having 17 in the game against Arkansas.
However the best trend of all was the Tar Heels didn’t give up a huge run to end the half. That is something that has plagued UNC of late and it was good to see UNC stay strong to finish the first period.
Second Half
UNC just kept it going in the second half.
Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II kept finding the basket. The two finished the game with 50 combined points on 17-of-31 from the field. The only negative was Berry slipped and fell. He got back up and played the rest of the game, so things seem ok.
The fouls also continued. Isaiah Hicks fouled out, scoring only nine points and grabbing a single rebound. Luckily, Meeks and Maye were there to pick up the slack. Meeks finished with only five points but he did grab 11 boards.
Maye, on the other hand, only had two points and three rebounds in the second half, but he did record his first career double-double. The last Tar Heel to do that in the tournament? Julius Peppers in 2001 against Penn State.
Overall, UNC outrebounded the Bulldogs by 12. They also had 22 assists on 31 made baskets.
Butler got 21 points and seven boards from Andrew Chrabascz. They also got 16 points from leading scorer Kelan Martin, 14 of which came in the second half.
North Carolina advances to the Elite Eight for the second straight season. They will face the winner of the UCLA/Kentucky game on Saturday.