CHAPEL HILL, NC — It looks like North Carolina is going to be fine, after all.
The Tar Heels played their first game without injured junior guard Dexter Strickland — out for the season with a knee injury — but responded with perhaps their best defensive performance of the season in a 74-55 win over NC State. They faced a rising Wolfpack team that is unselfish, balanced, and was said to be tougher physically.
But the Heels answered with a lunch-pail effort that quickly got into the visiting team members’ heads. The effect was devastating to the Wolfpack.
UNC also showed it knows all about keeping its foot on the pedal, putting the game out of reach for NC State by the midpoint of the second half. When freshman backup point guard Stilman White drained a 3-pointer to
give UNC a 59-32 advantage with 12:05 remaining, it brought the crowd to
perhaps its loudest roar of the night.
The numerous reasons for UNC’s annihilation of the Wolfpack began with 7-foot senior Tyler Zeller’s brute dominance in the paint (21 points total) and on the glass (17 rebounds). Zeller had been criticized all week in the media and in social forums for being soft and for not showing enough fight in his game. He was compared to previous bigs from national title teams at UNC, such as Eric Montross, Sean May and Tyler Hansbrough.
Nobody is going to confuse Zeller with those players, but he does have attributes none of them possessed, including his athletic ability, speed and reach. And now he has something driving his recent performances.
"Going to the boards more, pretty simple," said UNC coach Roy Williams, whose team’s largest lead was 31 with 11 minutes left. "Early in the year we were yelling at him, ‘Get to the board, get to the board.’ I think he’s establishing his spot in there, he’s trying to get to the offensive boards.
"I think he had two offensive rebounds for baskets in the first half just by getting to the boards, finding that open spot."
Zeller has 52 rebounds in UNC’s last four contests and has grabbed at least 10 in nine of the last 10 contests. But the manner in which he’s snaring the ball of late suggests Zelller’s playing with more of a purpose.
"I think it’s just a matter of trying to get as many as possible and trying to help the team in any way," he said.
Then there’s White, a 6-footer from Michael Jordan’s hometown of Wilmington, N.C. He was a late spring addition to last year’s recruiting class because Williams needed some insurance at the point, a response to Larry Drew transferring in the middle of last season.
Strickland was Kendall Marshall’s backup at the point, and his experience, speed and ability to run the break and get to the rim were assets. But with him out, White was called on, even though he had played just 61 minutes on the season entering Thursday’s affair.
White delivered, though. He handled the ball well, found a cutting Zeller for a basket that drew a foul in the first half, and White’s 3-pointer in the second half was essentially the final nail in N.C. State’s coffin.
"It was pretty good, I’m not going to lie," said White, who also admitted the increased role had him nervous before the game. "It was really my first 3 kind of in a big game. It’s exciting. . . . It was really good to get out there in that type of situation and get it off my chest."
But this performance from UNC was about more than just Zeller, White and Reggie Bullock’s defense of Wolfpack sharpshooter Scott Wood — who attempted two shots in the first 18 minutes of the contest. The win was also about a team on a mission, not just to prove it can win big without Strickland, but to set the tone for the rest of the season.
The FSU debacle will always be on this club’s resume, but that doesn’t mean it has to drag the Heels down. If anything, it should remain part of their inspiration — as should playing like they did in the second half at Virginia Tech last week and on this evening against the Wolfpack.
If anyone was wondering, UNC has the look of a national championship contender again, and unlike before, it has some fuel driving its success.
