PHILADELPHIA — It could’ve been much worse. That’s what it seemed like at the end of a first half when IU trailed by 11 after a slow start against one of the best teams in the country.
After halftime, “worse” happened.
No. 1 North Carolina pushed its lead out to 20 midway through the second half, and the Hoosiers couldn’t recover in an eventual 101-86 loss in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
“They were consistently making shots inside and out to start the game, and our shots weren’t falling,” senior guard Yogi Ferrell said.
That was the story for much of the game.
Carolina guard Marcus Paige had already knocked down four 3-pointers before the 15:00 mark of the first half.
Paige finished 6-of-9 from three for 21 points and six assists.
IU Coach Tom Crean joked after the game he thought about going against doctor’s order to play sophomore guard Rob Johnson and try to slow down Carolina’s shooters.
“Marcus was making video game shots to start the game,” Crean said.
The Hoosiers were unable to keep Paige under control early and before long, his teammates caught fire too.
Something that’s normally a strength for IU became their downfall as the Tarheels shot 11-of-20 from behind the arc and 52 percent from the field.
“They aren’t traditionally known for knocking down all those shots, but they did,” IU senior forward Max Bielfeldt said. “You just have to be able to adjust. But when one guy stopped knocking them down, another started.”
IU struggled to knock down its long-range shots and missed too many close ones that would’ve helped keep them in the game.
Crean said he was never down about the offense because they were missing shots they usually make. He was confident they would eventually start to fall.
By the time they did — Troy Williams hit five 3’s in the second half alone — it was too late.
North Carolina’s shooting edge wasn’t even the biggest problem, Crean said.
“The 3s hurt us, but the post-ups, they destroyed us,” he said. “We couldn’t overcome that.”
The Tarheels scored 34 points in the paint compared to IU’s 20. They out-played the Hoosiers down low in scoring and rebounding — on one possession in the second half, Carolina grabbed three rebounds on one offensive possession.
Williams said it all came down to how IU played from the opening tip.
“The way we started off wasn’t us,” he said. “We’ve been starting off slow and it came back and hurt us. They’re a great team. They just kept pushing the lead even more.”
Even North Carolina Coach Roy Williams was surprised with how well his team shot Friday night.
Almost everything was going right, and the Hoosiers couldn’t keep up.
“North Carolina played outstanding,” Crean said. “If they play like that, even remotely close to that, then they’re going to be very, very hard to beat. And I hope they do, because Roy deserves it.”
