Last night, Kansas slammed North Carolina 84-66 in the Semifinals of the 2008 Final Four. Bill Self's Jayhawks punched North Carolina in the mouth in the game's first few minutes and never looked back. And although North Carolina eventually made a run and pulled within 4 points of Kansas, the Tar Heels were never really in the game.
According to the Charlotte Observer, North Carolina guard Wayne Ellington didn't know what hit him:
"I can't tell you (what went wrong)," said Ellington, who scored a team-leading 18 points. "We just didn't have any intensity, any enthusiasm."
Kansas completely took North Carolina out of its game. Once they got down, the normally smart and disciplined Tar Heels started making dumb mistakes. Too many Carolina players tried to take the game over by going 1 on 1, rather than by working to get a good shot within the confines of to Coach Roy Williams' offense.
The normally smart Tyler Hansbrough was especially bad. Hansbrough was pushed off the block by Kansas all night. And when he did get the ball in the post, the Jayhawks double teamed (and sometimes triple teamed) him. But instead of passing out of the double team--and finding an open man--Hansbrough consistently tried to back his defenders down and manufacture shots. And that resulted in many off balance, bad shots being forced by the AP college basketball Player of the Year (that's when he didn't get the ball stripped from his hands by a defender).
Kansas completely frustrated Hansbrough. But he took himself out of the game with his lack of composure, and the resultant poor decision making.
On the perimeter, Kansas' Brandon Rush and Sherron Collins flat outplayed North Carolina's more heralded guards.
The game was a complete disaster for North Carolina. The Tar Heels' players got out hustled and out played by the Jayhawks. And Roy Williams got out coached by Bill Self--which few would have expected.
Kansas will play Memphis for the National Championship on Monday night. If they play like they did last night, Memphis will have their hands full.
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3 comments:
them plains steroid cornfed programs be sinnin. them wacky tobaccy programs be payin professional athletes. Butler be playin real ball. Butler no be makin them mistake and no be losin them moral. butler students be studyin churchin and playin them jacks in them student dorm sweets. Butler be beein them real champions.
Butler Bob, I don't have anything against Butler. In fact, I like Butler. But I'm an Oral Roberts fan.
What do you think about our team and about our chances next year?
Oral Roberts kids be needin to do them studyin. They be needin to play more defence and been to worryed about beatin them wacky tobaccy programs and gettin on them espn cams. they be usin real students at oral roberts and not them paid professionals or them clones.
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