NCAA Tournament 2019: Top takeaways from 2nd half of Round of 32 games
By Brian Rauf
2) North Carolina has no holes
Ok, so we know Washington isn’t that great of a team and exceeded expectations by beating Utah State in the first round, but holy wow this North Carolina team is good.
They showed why I consider them to be the most balanced team in the country in their game against the Huskies. The Heels were great from three-point range (42.9 percent), won the rebounding battle (48-24), beat Washington in transition, and made plays on the inside of Washington’s zone.
UNC also showed their depth. Luke Maye had his typical big game with 20 points and 14 rebounds and Coby White was on his game with 17 points, but Nassir Little came off the bench to add 20 points of his own after going for 19 against Iona.
Cameron Johnson and Kenny Williams didn’t have huge games and no one on the bench other than Little really contributed, and Carolina still won by 22 points. That’s just how dangerous this team is.
If you take one or two players away, they have two or three more that are ready to step up and carry the load. If you want to play fast, they do that better than anyone. If you want to play slow, they’re one of the nation’s best rebounding teams and has the size to do so. If you want to play small, they have the athleticism and versatility to beat you doing that, too.
Every other top team has at least one serious flaw that could cut their NCAA Tournament run short. I don’t see that obvious flaw with North Carolina right now.