UNC Basketball: Bruce Pearl says Auburn is ready to run with North Carolina

The UNC Basketball program loves to run and get out in transition but Bruce Pearl says Auburn isn’t scared of running with them

The North Carolina Tar Heels are two games away from reaching Minneapolis and the Final Four after beating Iona and then Washington in the first two rounds of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

Now they head to Kansas City for a Sweet 16 showdown with No. 5 Auburn and a trip to the Elite 8 on the line.

UNC enters Friday night’s early session with a double-digit win over Washington on Sunday as they pretty much grabbed control from the start and never looked back. The Huskies didn’t pose much of a threat to the Tar Heels even with their zone defense. UNC was able to break that zone several times and run in transition like they had hoped for.

But on Friday against Auburn, the Tar Heels will face a team that likes to run just as they do and they aren’t keeping that a secret.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl appeared on the Paul Finebaum show Monday to talk about the upcoming matchup with UNC. Pearl praised the Tar Heels ability to dominate the boards but he also said that his team isn’t scared to run with UNC.

“They are the classic North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball team. Unbelievable in transition, great playing fast for as big as they are, dominating rebounders,” Pearl said on the show. “One of the differences in the game is the fact that they are +9 rebounding margin, we are -4. That’s a big gap right in there. If we can hang in the boards, obviously the way we play, spread it, shoot it. We are not afraid of playing fast with North Carolina. And yet most people know the formula to beat them is make them play in a half-court game but that’s just not our game.”

Pearl reiterated that statement on Tuesday morning when he met the media ahead of the game, saying the Tigers’ style is also to run and they won’t change that.

We have seen teams try to run with North Carolina in the past and it hasn’t worked out well for them. But the thing Auburn can do to stay in the game and potentially upset UNC is draining three-pointers.

Against Kansas, Auburn got hot from the field early on. They shot 43.3% from the three-point line, making 13 of their 30 attempts. They cooled off a bit in the second half after the hot start but still beat the Jayhawks by double-digits. Auburn has scored 43.5% of their points this season on three-pointers, ranking seventh in the nation while taking close to 50% of their shot attempts from the perimeter.

If Auburn comes out hot from the three-point line, they have a chance to pull off the upset in Kansas City.

But if Auburn runs with UNC and is missing shots, the Tar Heels could make it ugly early on especially if they are controlling the glass. What UNC does so well is dominate the rebounding margin and limit the second chances for opposing offenses.

It’s been in UNC’s DNA for years now and we don’t expect that to change come Friday night.

For more on the UNC Basketball program and their 2019 NCAA Tournament run, please check back with Keeping It Heel.