UNC Basketball: Roy Williams comments on win over Arkansas, Sweet 16

Roy Williams talks victory over Arkansas, trip to Sweet 16

On Sunday evening, North Carolina was not only tested, but pushed to the brink of elimination in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels had the Arkansas Razorbacks on the ropes in the first half after taking a commanding 30-13 lead. They had complete control of the game and a seemingly insurmountable lead.

But then everything changed.

Mar 19, 2017; Greenville, SC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Theo Pinson (1) and Arkansas Razorbacks guard Dusty Hannahs (3) go for a loose ball during the second half in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

The Tar Heels’ recent trend of blowing big first half leads continued and the Razorbacks were down just five points at the intermission.

And after halftime, the Razorbacks picked up right where they left off in the first half. They played fast-paced, disruptive basketball that kept the Tar Heels off-balance and down by five points late in the game.

However, North Carolina found a way to get important stops on defense late in the game and closed out the second half on a 12-0 run. Arkansas didn’t score a point in the final 3:30, proving to be the deciding factor in a game that went down to the wire.

After the game North Carolina head coach Roy Williams commented on his team’s victory and his mindset when the Tar Heels were down five points with less than four minutes to play.

"“We feel very fortunate,” Williams said. “I even told Mike that we were awfully lucky. I think we were. I thought the moon and the stars weren’t aligned properly, the shot clock was winding down and they make a 3 over a good defense.But inside the four-minute TV timeout, I think, it was 3:47 to play, I told our guys we hadn’t won one like this all year long. That would be great for us. We’ve got to be tough. It’s gotta be with our brain and our heart both. We’ve gotta get stops and we’ve got to get shots.”"

He was also asked about Kennedy Meeks’ role on the team as an upperclassman and a leader to his teammates.

"“Kennedy does see the big picture. He’s very, very bright,” Williams told reporters. “I was very upset with him at half because he had all kinds of shots around the basket and he was hurrying his shot like he was being intimidated, missing the easy ones around. So and I jumped him a little bit at that time.But I thought he did do a better job and was much better defensively for us in the second half, particularly the last three or four minutes. But when you think about it having over a thousand rebounds in your career, he’s been a big-time player for us for a long time.”"

Another topic of discussion was the team’s terrific defense over the final three-and-a-half minutes of the game that led them to the Sweet 16 for the 28th time in program history.

"“No we were more active,” Williams said. “We did a better job of screen on the ball. The big guy was getting up there. We did a better job getting over the screen. Mike knows this better than I do because I don’t coach his team. Maybe they got a little conservative and then when the shot clock’s winding down, then all of a sudden the shots get to be more difficult.And we did have — I don’t think anybody had a wide-open shot in the last four minutes. Every shot they took was challenged. I thought they went to the monitor to see if we had partially blocked that when it went out, but Kennedy said he didn’t touch it and it went out. Okay. Guys, thank you.”"

The Tar Heels will now begin preparing for their Sweet 16 matchup against Butler on Friday, March 24th in Memphis, Tennessee.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for complete post game coverage as well as continued coverage of the Tar Heels’ march through the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Home/North Carolina Tar Heels