NCAA Tournament: Tar Heels duck by Oregon into Final

The North Carolina Tar Heels advance to the National Championship. What did Carolina do to win the game against the Ducks?

The North Carolina Tar Heels are back in the championship for the second-straight season. They did it by holding off Oregon 77-76 on Saturday Night.

The game was another thriller, coming down to the final minutes as the Tar Heels punched their ticket to Monday.

It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t pretty and it certainly wasn’t easy on the nerves.So what happened in the game?

First Half

There is only one way to describe the first half: sloppy. Both teams were sloppy.

The Tar Heels couldn’t hit water if the fell out of a boat. And with as big as the stadium is in Phoenix, the court looked like an ocean.

UNC finished the half 14-of-35 from the floor, but at one point had more fouls than field goals.

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Speaking of fouls, the Tar Heels picked up several of those as well. They finished with 10 first half fouls, with Nate Britt, Theo Pinson, and Memphis hero Luke Maye all with two each.

Additionally, Isaiah Hicks finished the first half 1-of-6 from the field, missing his first five shots. He got blocked by Jordan Bell early and looked rattled. However, his one make was a monster dunk that woke up the Carolina crowd.

The Ducks were also not sharp.

Oregon had 12 first half turnovers. March star Tyler Dorsey had zero field goals and only four points.

The Ducks did find a way to hang with the Tar Heels on the boards, out-rebounding UNC by three in the first half.

Midwest star Jordan Bell also had a half with six points, five boards, two blocks, and a number of altered shots.

Not all was bad for the Tar Heels, however.

First, there was Kennedy Meeks. The senior had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and five boards.

They also got a strong half from Justin Jackson who finished with nine points and two assists.

Finally, North Carolina did something their opponents have been doing to them for weeks, finished the half on a run. The Tar Heels went down 30-22 with four minutes left. They finished the half on a 17-6 run that put UNC up three at the break.

Second Half

Apr 1, 2017; Glendale, AZ, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Kennedy Meeks (3) grabs the rebound at the end of the game for the win over the Oregon Ducks in the semifinals of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Meeks continued his dominance in the second half.

The senior center finished the game with 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the floor. He also grabbed 14 boards, none bigger than the last one.

The Tar Heels were up one with four seconds to go. Kennedy Meeks had just missed two free throws, but thankfully Theo Pinson tipped it out to Joel Berry II.

Berry also promptly missed two free throws.

However, this time it was Meeks grabbing the rebound and getting out so the Tar Heels could run out the clock.

The Tar Heels also got a huge game from Justin Jackson who finished with 22 points. He also had two steals and went 6-for-6 from the line.

It was good those two guys played so well because the rest of the starters did not. Berry, Pinson, and Isaiah Hicks finished a combined 5-34 from the field.

The Ducks got big games from Tyler Dorsey and Dylan Ennis. Dorsey finished with 21, going 12-for-12 from the line. Ennis meanwhile had 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists.

Next: Where does UNC rank in AP Top 100?

The Tar Heels next take on Gonzaga on Monday night. This is their second straight championship appearance. The last team to do that was Butler in 2010 and 2011.

Hopefully, things go better for UNC this time around.

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