NCAA Tournament 2001 - For Tar Heels, No. 2 will have to do


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For Tar Heels, No. 2 will have to do

Associated Press

ATLANTA – From No. 1 to a No. 2 seed.

In the space of just three weeks, North Carolina saw its season take a striking turn for the worse, costing the Tar Heels a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

When the 65-team field was announced Sunday, the Tar Heels (25-6) were still sulking from a 26-point loss to Duke in the final of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

New season, fresh start. Let's get ready to go.
Brendan Haywood

Their mood didn't get any better when the selection committee made them a second seed in the South Regional behind Michigan State, which lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.

The Tar Heels don't understand why everyone seems to be questioning their credentials heading into the NCAA Tournament. They will open Friday against 15th-seeded Princeton, an always-dangerous opponent.

"Why is there cause for concern?" center Brendan Haywood asked with disdain. "We lost a game, but it's just one game. We're not going to run and panic and hide because we lost a basketball game."

Actually, North Carolina lost four of its last eight, beginning that stretch with the most shocking defeat of all.

On Feb. 18, while ranked No. 1 in the country, the Tar Heels were beaten 75-65 on the road against Clemson, the worst team in the ACC. That defeat was still weighing on the minds of the selection committee when they bumped North Carolina to a second seed.

Since then, there have been three more double-digit defeats. The Tar Heels were blown out at Virginia 86-66, then lost to Duke at home, 95-81, on the final Sunday of the regular season.

North Carolina rebounded to win the first two games of the ACC tournament and was in position to claim the top seed in the South Region – along with the added bonus of playing the first two games at Greensboro, N.C. – by beating Duke in the final.

It wasn't even close. The Blue Devils took control with a 19-1 run in the first half, led by 20 at halftime and coasted to a 79-53 victory – the second-largest title game margin in the 48-year history of the tournament.

"Had our losses been spread out, there probably wouldn't be any talk about this," star guard Joseph Forte said. "Our record is great and we had a great season. We lost games at the end, that's all. It's not that there's anything wrong. Teams we've been playing have adjusted and come with different schemes the second time around against us."

North Carolina does have some serious concerns going into the tournament, especially with a running, gunning team like third-seeded Florida lurking as a possible opponent in the region semifinals.

As Duke showed, the Tar Heels and their half-court offense have trouble coping with a quick, athletic team that does a lot of trapping at the defensive end. North Carolina had 20 turnovers Sunday and, compounding the problem, point guard Ronald Curry is bothered by a sore left wrist.

"Have we played as well recently? Probably not," first-year coach Matt Doherty said. "But that's a function of the teams we've played. We can't worry about that now. A lot of people lose to Duke. A lot of people lose at Virginia. The game that probably jumps out at you is the loss to Clemson."

The Tar Heels can take solace in last season, when they entered the NCAAs with a rather ordinary 18-13 record. They put together four straight victories to reach the Final Four, where they lost to Florida in the semifinals.

What remains to be seen is how they'll react in the tournament with the fiery Doherty on the bench rather than his gentle predecessor, Bill Guthridge, who was a stylistic extension of the coach who came before him, Dean Smith.

"New season, fresh start," Haywood said. "Let's get ready to go. Last year, no one even expected us to be in the tournament and we went to the Final Four. So what happens in the regular season doesn't matter."

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