UNC 86, Arizona 69
Best game of the year for our young Tar Heels!!! I was concerned about Arizona early on because they were very athletic and had some good shooters. They aren't in the top 25, but easily could be. We showed a little of the killer instinct I've talked about recently. We came out firing in the second half and never let up on the way to a 17 point victory at home.
This was the best all around performance by UNC as a team and easily our best shooting game. Most of the main players had outstanding games. Of course there is Hansbrough with 21 points and 11 rebounds (3rd double-double of the year). He was a monster down-low again fending off two and sometimes three defenders. He had a slow start at the beginning of the game with a couple balls going right through his hands, but he picked up his game by mid-way through the first half.
Then there was Wes Miller. Wes was on the court a lot, playing 29 minutes. I love his defensive pressure and he is a constant offensive threat from behind the arc. He went 4-5 from three point land.
Bobby Frasor had an outstanding game. Get this, 9 assist and 0 turnovers. That's unheard of for a point guard. I haven't talked much about Bobby lately, but he continues to dish the assists (2nd in the ACC) and have limited turnovers. He hasn't been shooting much lately, but with 2 seconds left in the first half he launched a deep three pointer and nailed it to give UNC an 8 point lead going into the half!
Danny Green was a spark off the bench again scoring 13 points (3-4 from behind the arc). He made a couple of huge 3 pointers.
Reshawn Terry played with a lot of heart. He left the court during the first half after receiving a "jolt to the chest". He came back later in the half and picked up where he left off. A much better performance for the Winston-Salem native.
Mr. Quentin Thomas also had a great game. He only had 1 assist, but had 6 points (a career high), 2 steals and a couple of big rebounds. Ahh, if we could get this kind of performance out of him every night...
I wish I could say the refs performed as well as UNC, but I can't. In fact they were horrible. It is amazing how you can tell some nights that the officiating crew doesn't have a clue. They were calling absolutely nothing, especially early on. Then they charged a bogus charge on Terry (I swear he has to get at least one of those against him per game). They missed a travel violation on Arizona after which led to a 3 pointer. It wasn't one sided though. The refs were equally bad for both teams. They missed a call against Quentin when he lost the ball out of bounds but they gave the ball back to UNC.
The second half was more of the first half. Terry was very aggressive on the offensive end. He had a highlight reel dunk in the second half. We broke open a 20 point lead in the final 6 minutes and were able to coast from there.
Other key stats:
+ UNC FG%: 58%
+ UNC 3 Pt FG%: 50%
+ UNC FT%: 70%
+ UNC Assists: 23
