Day 225

Fresh Start_225: Redemption... for the Tarheels
What a National Championship that was! It wasn’t as heart pounding as last years’ final but the hard fought battle between Gonzaga and North Carolina certainly was a classic. The classic story of redemption proved to prevail yet again, and the sweetness of victory for North Carolina must taste so good after climbing that mountain top again. I for one have lived through that heart break and unexplainable excitement after winning a championship. The experience of having a previous trip to the National Championship proved to be a big factor in deciding this game.

While it might not seem like North Carolina won the National Championship if you look at the box score, the Tarheels made plays in the waning seconds of the game. Senior Center Kennedy Meeks came up big again—this on defense. In the last 20 seconds of the game the senior block a shot that would have made the game a one point game, then on the very next possession stole the pass into the front court, clinching the game for North Carolina. On a night where Meeks had 7 points, going 3-5 from the field, and 1-4 from the free throw line—he came up big with 10 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots. On a night where Carolina got out rebounded (49-46), shot 35% from the field as a team (14.8% from 3), and shot 57.7% from the line—they still find a way to win the game.

A big reason why is due to the amount of turnovers Gonzaga had (14 to Carolina’s 4), the inability to score offensively, and the foul trouble the team got in. Also, the lack of contribution from the players that got the Bulldogs to the Championship game wasn’t there. Karnowski had 9 points (1-8 from the field), 4 turnovers, and 4 fouls, Jordan Matthews had 6 points (2-7 from the field and 2-5 from 3), and only 3 rebounds, and Zach Collins who fouled out of the game with 9 points and 4 turnovers.

Say what you will about the officials in this game, the ball still needs to go in the hoop and the only player who seemed to be doing that was Nigel Williams-Goss. Williams-Goss carried his team on his back as the Junior had 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. He also played most of the game without any fouls although he ended up with 3. Yes, Josh Perkins had 13 points, but they all came in the first half—when Williams-Goss scored the Bulldogs last 6 points and assisted on their last 9. The ball sometimes doesn’t bounce your way but if you only have one of your role players scoring and you can’t stop the other team you will lose that game regardless if you out rebound or out shoot them. What was the end of Gonzaga was the inability to take care of the ball with those 14 turnovers and the inexperience to know what to do late in a big game. Hopefully this will serve as a teaching lesson for Mark Few and the Bulldogs but congrulations to North Carolina for winning their 6th National Championship and for having a National Championship in four consecutive decades (an NCAA record). It’s a party on Tobacco road, well at least one half…   
Sources:(espn.com)
Don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe, and share on your w

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2024 MLB Preview

  Opening Day is about 24 hours away and the Shohei Ohtani gambling story has stole all the headlines and fleeting moments of baseball conversation over the past few days, many have now forgotten about the exciting marathon ahead of us! Even with the ever-evolving Ohtani story clouding the beginning of the Los Angeles Dodgers season, that doesn’t change the fact that L.A. is still the team to beat in baseball. The Dodgers have put their chips at the center of the table, no pun intended, for 2024 to show they can raise another World Series trophy after sending upwards of a billion dollars in free agency. In division however, the surprise Arizona Diamondbacks are capitalizing on their newfound championship window with a fantastic offseason that will have them in the mix to get back to a second straight fall classic. The San Diego Padres are done shopping for superstars, sort of, following a massively disappointing season that saw them move on from one of the games generational talent...
Read more

Dan Hurley Saved College Basketball

When you think of Men’s College Basketball, the names of Wooden, Dean, Krzyzewski, Williams, Thompson, and Calipari shoot to mind right away. All the memories of the great teams from UCLA, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, the Big East, UNLV, and even the Fab Five start to rush back. Nostalgia of a time when the sport meant something different. For all those longing for the days when great teams didn’t dissipate into the transfer portal after one disappointing year—Dan Hurley and the Connecticut Huskies are here to save the day! UConn has done something that only seven other programs have done in the history of college basketball, repeat as champions. Forget all the talk about “best team of all-time,” even though if you look at point differential (like it truly matters), this UConn team is the best team to ever play in the NCAA Tournament. This team means much more to the game of college basketball than that. Coach Hurley has given college basketball what it has been missing since the in...
Read more

Last Year the Season was one game long, it's different this year

  It took 363 days, but Jets fans finally got the debut from Aaron Rodgers they waited for. This time around that debut ended in a blowout loss on the road to the San Francisco 49’ers. Last year the Jets won the battle but lost the war following their overtime walk-off win against the Buffalo Bills. This year, the Jets hope they lost the battle but because they have Rodgers they will win the war.   Of all the ways the game could have gone last night, having the Jets defense get thoroughly dominated on the ground by a third year running back, Jordan Mason, who wasn’t a household name until last night, wasn’t on the bingo card. The trademark for Robert Saleh has been his defense. That’s what got him hired from San Francisco. The defense is what Jet fans have pointed to as a reason for optimism heading into this year with Rodgers. The defense was finally supposed to get the complimentary football they have been dying for since Robert Saleh walked in the doors at Florham Park...
Read more