I just got home, checked the mail: bill, bill, junk mail, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

There is PsychoT on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

They’re trying to jinx us. Cross your fingers. Hard.

WOO HOO!! The Tar Heels are going to the Final Four!

It has been said that Ty Lawson is the engine of this team.  Well, folks, if that is true, then Tyler Hansbrough is the clutch.

After being knocked all year about not having an outside shot, Tyler hit at least 4 shots from 17 feet tonight, with the two biggest coming back-to-back with under 3 minutes to play.  Those two CLUTCH shots gave Carolina a nine point lead and the Heels cruised to the win on free throws.  Hansbrough’s 28 point, 13 rebound performance that sent the Heels to the Final Four should be sufficient to silence any critics about his Player of the Year status.

WOO HOO! GO HEELS! 

WSU scored 47 points on 31% shooting.

So, I guess we play defense, too.

I thought it would also be interesting to look at some possession-type stats in the context of the slower pace that we played in last night’s game.  WSU plays a pace that keeps scores in the 50s and 60s, whereas Carolina is accustomed to scoring just below 90 per contest.  By multiplying everything by 1.4, I think we get a better idea of the context of the usual stats.  A couple jump out at me.

Yes, Tyler had an off first half, but I keep reading today that he had a bad game.  But check this out: Tyler Hansbrough: 18 points x 1.4 = 25.  That’s about right.

And we won by 21.  21 x 1.4 = 29.4.    So we win by thirty when we score over a hundred, and we win by 21 when we score 68.  Seems like it’s effectively the same margin.   This team is looking really good right now.  (BBE extends a courteous round of applause to Aron Baynes.  That kid was a beast. Had it not been for his picking up a couple of fouls trying to set high screens, Tyler would have had a much tougher night.)

Looking forward, I like a match-up with Louisville, despite how good they looked last night.  Louisville plays a lot like us, and I have a hard time believing that anyone can beat us at our own game outside of UCLA or Kansas.

Go Heels!

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongue as the Spirit enabled them. — Acts 2:4

I am not a composed observer of basketball. Movies? Sure. Opera? Musical Theater? Yeah. Concerts? I go with the quiet sway or foot tap. But basketball? I’m what you might call demonstrative.

At the half, it’s UNC 35 – WSU 21, the largest lead of the game, on a three pointer by Ty Lawson as the clock winds down. My eruption was something unintelligible, but put into written word, looks something like:

Hunh! Hoo! GRRRrrrYYYYYYEAAA! Unh. Unh. Unh. Unh. Mf ha. Mf ha Mfa. AAAha Ahuh, Aha aha aha. WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!

The dance was a hybrid Blues Brothers/Tiger Woods/PsychoT Celebration… and it was ugly.

LET’S GO HEELS!

[Update:  Wooo!  UNC 68 - WSU 47.  And the March-stache reappears.]

From the Fayetteville Observer:

UNC has scored 244 points since Lawson’s last turnover, which came with 10:45 to play on March 16 in the Tar Heels’ 86-81 ACC tournament championship win over Clemson.

Says UNC’s Danny Green: “If Ty plays that way, we’ll have no problems whatsoever.”

Yup.

Carolina scores 113 and 108 in its first two games (the first time since 1990 that feat has been accomplished in NCAA play). Washington State holds it’s first two opponents to 40 and 41 points.

Contrast in styles? Ya think?! This is obviously going to be about a battle of wills. Washington State is good enough to keep the score relatively low. The question is whether Carolina can be patient and get the shot they want, or whether they will settle for jump shots that are not in the flow of the offense (I’m looking at you, Danny Green). A patient and methodical Carolina offense can still be effective, and if Carolina can take some of that defense they showed against Arkansas while the game was still in doubt and apply it to Washington State, they should win.

It will depend which Carolina team shows up. I generally have no use for Gregg Doyel, but I thought this piece was pretty funny and generally correct on the idea that if the same Carolina team that showed up in Raleigh continues to show up in the rest of our games, it will be a no-brainer. If not, Wazuu is more than capable of knocking us out. Here’s hoping we see more of the former.

So, my bracket is pretty much in shambles, in large part because I woefully overestimated the strength of our conference peers. Having selected Duke and Clemson to make the Sweet Sixteen, I am hurting.

SO… Carolina is in the same position as last year. The lone ACC representative in the Sweet Sixteen, with the reputation of the conference resting on it’s shoulders.  (And looking much better than last year, by the way). Oh, and Carolina is also in the only region to advance all top four seeds to the Sweet Sixteen.  I still believe that Carolina has no one to blame but themselves if they can’t make it to San Antonio from Raleigh and Charlotte, but DADGUM, can we say now that we have the toughest region?

Next up, Wazu…

[H/T Homer Simpson]

Vincent: Want some bacon?
Jules: No man, I don’t eat pork.
Vincent: Are you Jewish?
Jules: Nah, I ain’t Jewish, I just don’t dig on swine, that’s all.
Vincent: Why not?
Jules: Pigs are filthy animals. I don’t eat filthy animals.
Vincent: Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood.

UNC v Arkansas, Sun. March 23, 2008, 5:15 p.m. Mmmm. Easter Bacon…

Arkansas beats Indiana by 14 to advance to the round of 32.  In the win, Arkansas shot 8-17 (47%) from 3, and attempted 21 more free throws than Indiana.  After advancing to the SEC Championship game, Arkansas looks like one of the strongest 9 seeds I’ve ever seen.

That said, Arkansas has lost it’s last five true road games (they beat Tennessee and Indiana as the “away” team on a neutral site) against teams like Ole Miss, Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi State.   Guess what, Hawgs?  We own Raleigh.

The Heels will have to continue the defensive effort they came out with in the second half against Mount St. Mary’s.   And let’s hope Marcus Ginyard can remember how to score from 0 feet.

I have Duke going to the Sweet Sixteen. Currently, Belmont leads 57-55.

I’m OK with that.

[Update: 70-69 Belmont, 1:49 to play. I'm still OK with that.]

[Final Duke 71-Belmont 70. I guess my Sweet Sixteen is still intact. Dang.]