Tobacco Road Report

By Michael

Wake Forest (9-10, 1-6) kept this one close for a good stretch, but eventually succumbed to North Carolina's (18-2, 5-1) superior talent and depth. The first half had the feel of a classic battle between two legends of Tobacco Road, and reminded us of why we chose the name we did for our humble report. Though nobody gave Wake much of a chance entering this game against the No. 4 ranked team in the country, pure effort and courage kept the Demon Deacons in it.

For twenty minutes Wake's offense looked as sharp as it has all year. Unfortunately, the Demon Deacons were again unable to consistently knock down the open looks the offense generated. Only some timely three point shooting by Harvey Hale and aggressive offensive rebounding compensated for the lack of offensive efficiency. The Demon Deacons finished with 17 offensive rebounds for the game and, consequently, were able to get off 71 shots to North Carolina's 58.

North Carolina showed its mettle, didn't panic, and justified its No. 4 overall ranking. Roy Williams kept rotating his superior depth into the game and stepped on the gass. The pace eventually wore down the Deacons and what was a 42-37 Tar Heel lead at half exlploded into a route midway through the second half.

The Tar Heels were very efficient offensively, registering an effective field goal percentage of 63 percent and generating 1.12 points per possession. The points per possession was the highest the Tar Heels have recorded since the 1.18 it recorded versus Florida State on January 7th. Five Tar Heels registered double digit scoring. Ellington led with 18 points, followed by Lawson with 15, Hansbrough with 13, and Green and Wright with 12 apiece.

The only criticism we have of the Tar Heel effort was the number of turnovers -- 17. In ACC play the Tar Heels have been credited with 103 assists and 95 turnovers. Roy can't be happy with this effort. So far the miscues haven't hurt Carolina since the pressure defense has generated -- oddly enough -- 95 opponent turnovers. We'd suggest the Tar Heels are expending a lot of effort defensively to generate a zero net loss in possessions. Imagine how dominant they would be if they could create net gains in possessions?