UNC Basketball: Miami Embarrasses Tar Heels 87-61
By Matt Hamm
The North Carolina Tar Heels missed a golden opportunity to add a quality win to their resume and were thoroughly embarrassed by the Miami Hurricanes 87-61. Let’s take a look at how it went down.
Feb 9, 2013; Coral Gables, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes guard Shane Larkin (0) is pressured by North Carolina Tar Heels guard Marcus Paige (5) during the first half at the BankUnited Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
First half notes: Miami raced out to a 9-0 lead hitting four of their first six shots. The Hurricanes held the Tar Heels to just two points in the first six plus minutes with the score 13-2 if not for five early turnovers by Miami, Carolina could have been run off the court. UNC looked confused and over matched in the half court taking off balance, ill advised shots. James Michael McAdoo did not score until the three minute mark and was mostly invisible in the first half scoring just two points on 1-7 shooting. The majority of the scoring came from the Tar Heels bench who out scored the starters 16-11 led by P.J. Hairston with nine points.
Shane Larkin absolutely abused Marcus Paige and anyone else who matched up with him in the first half scoring 14 points on 5-7 shooting including 4-6 from three. Paige also had a tough off on the offensive end starting 0-5 from the field with just one assist in the first half.
The Hurricanes held a 16-11 rebounding advantage at the half and shot an amazing 10-16 from beyond the arc heading into the halfway point with a 44-27 lead. 28 of 60 field goal attempts were three’s and neither team attempted a free throw in the first half.
Second half notes: The second half started just like the first with UNC unable to guard the three point line and getting next to nothing on the offensive end of the court. The Hurricanes opened the half on a 15-6 run extending their lead to 26. The only thing that really changed was Miami cut out the silly turnovers and continued to shoot the ball well. It was apparent within minutes of the second half it was going to take a miracle for UNC to comeback in this one.
UNC attempted their first free throw of the game at the 6:48 mark in the second half. They weren’t aggressive enough in the half court and settled for too many contested jump shots. McAdoo continued to struggled in the second half, after making two early FGs after halftime he disappeared finishing just 3-12 from the field for six points.
After starting 10-16 from three, Miami didn’t cool with finishing 15-26 (57.7%). Meanwhile UNC shot just 6-21 (28.6%). Miami won the battle on the boards 35-26 and doubled the Heels free throw attempts (6-12)
Key Takeaways: This teams inability to defend the three point line reared it’s ugly head once again. Against elite competition the Heels just seem to lose their focus and fail to play fundamentally sound defensive basketball. The UNC bench out scored the starters 35-26. Against elite competition UNC has struggled to score out of the gate and Roy Williams must consider a lineup change.
Ball movement was a problem today in the half court, UNC registered just eight assists on their 25 field goals. Problems in the half court can be summed up by the fact that Jackson Simmons led the team with three assists.
Final Score: UNC 61 Miami 87
Player of the game: Shane Larkin killed the Tar Heels with 18 points on 6-10 shooting (5-8 from three) to go along with eight assists.
Up Next: UNC heads to Duke for the greatest rivalry in college sports Wednesday at 9pm