It turns out Virginia couldn’t be the third team to slay the giant.
The Virginia men’s basketball team fell 83-61 to North Carolina last night in a game televised nationally on ESPN at John Paul Jones Arena. The Tar Heels, considered by many to be the favorite to win the 2009 NCAA Championship, crushed the underdog Cavaliers with the help of junior guard Ty Lawson and senior forward Tyler Hansbrough and bounced back from losing two of their past three games.
North Carolina dominated nearly every portion of the game, especially taking control of the second half. By the time Virginia fans were filing out of the arena with five minutes left in the game and baby blue-clad fans started a “TAR-HEELS!” chant, North Carolina held a significant advantage in field goal percentage, defensive rebounding, blocks and, perhaps most strikingly, free-throw shooting.
Led by Hansbrough’s well-known ability to draw fouls, the Tarheels shot 24-of-28 from the line to the Cavaliers’ 7-of-9. Hansbrough particularly took advantage of the charity stripe; his 15 free throws was a personal career-high in regulation and a JPJ record.
The one area of the game in which Virginia held a notable advantage was offensive rebounding. The Cavaliers grabbed 24 boards on offense, while Carolina only totaled 14. This was not enough, however, for Virginia to keep North Carolina’s ability to score fast at bay.
“We thought we were a good transition defensive team,” junior guard Calvin Baker said. “It kind of exposed us.”
The Tar Heels struck early, taking a 14-2 lead as Virginia struggled to overcome a stifling Carolina defense in the early possessions. The Cavaliers missed seven of their first eight shots as North Carolina blocked three shots in the first five minutes.
It was not until sophomore guard Mustapha Farrakhan made an off-balance 3-pointer at 13:49 in the first half to narrow the gap to 14-5 that the Cavaliers showed any sign of life. With another 3-pointer by Farrakhan, a couple of hard-fought field goals in the paint for junior forward Jamil Tucker and two free throws by Baker, Virginia closed the lead to 1 point with 10:40 to go in the half.
North Carolina quickly bounced back, however, and controlled the remainder of the first half, its lead peaking at 15 points during the final minute of the first half.
Key in North Carolina’s dominance was Lawson, who scored 19 points and dished out nine assists without committing a turnover.
“Tyler Hansbrough was a benefactor,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said, “but I thought it was as much Lawson taking care of the game, which helped Hansbrough and the rest of the guys getting what they got.”
The Cavaliers had nothing to match Lawson, though a few players tried. Early in the game, Farrakhan seemed keen to recreate his magic from behind the 3-point arc that kept his team close to the Hokies in Virginia’s 78-75 loss last Saturday to Virginia Tech. The crowd cheered as he came off the bench two minutes into the game, and he took six 3-point shots in the first half. After only two of the shots were successful, his presence in the game faded.
Farrakhan’s struggle with shooting was emblematic of the Cavaliers’ troubles sinking shots. Seven Cavaliers shot worse than 30 percent from the floor, and only two Virginia starters managed to make more than one field goal.
Though the game was one-sided for most of the game, the athletic department rewarded students and fans with an exciting atmosphere. From the exuberant pre-game introductions that were louder than they had been all season, to a half-time show of some high-flying acro-dunkers — acrobats performing slam dunks off of trampolines — to an appearance of recent graduate Sean Singletary, John Paul Jones Arena provided quite a spectacle.
The game itself, though, provided little to excite Wahoos, as the team’s few moments of excellent performance were overshadowed by plenty more moments of mistakes and sloppy play.
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