CAROLINA FINER
Without Marshall, UNC ousts Ohio in overtime ST. LOUIS— North carolina didn’t let ohio play the role of Cinderella. The thing is, the Tarheels didn’t exactly play the role of overpowering top seed, either.
If Friday night’s 73-65 overtime win over the feisty Bobcats is any indication, that role is one that the heels can no longer play. North Carolina escaped its midwest Regional semifinal with a tight victory over 13th-seeded Ohio, the lowest remaining seed in then caa tournament, but seemingly every mistake served as a reminder that the heels aren’t the same team they were aweek ago.
With point guard Kendall Marshall sidelined indefinitely with a broken right wrist, a potent offense became an attack in disarray. The Heels committed 24 turnovers, and an offense that came in averaging 82 points per game struggled toget insync.
“We’re wounded a little bit right now,” said Unc coach roy williams.
Without Marshall, the Heels never quite put Ohio away. Instead, they got a fantastic evening from center Tyler Zeller (20 points, a UNC NCAA Tournament-record 22 rebounds), and several clutch plays from Harrison barnes to edge the bobcats.
North Carolina (32-5), which has won 11 straight in the regional semifinals, plays no. 2 Kansas, which held off north Carolina State later Friday, in the regional final on Sunday afternoon.
With 1:15 left in overtime and the Heels holding a scant68-65edge, it was barnes who sealed the game, driving left, pump-faking and drawing a foul. The sophomore, who struggled throughout the evening and committed six turnovers, knocked down both free throws to give UNC a 7065 lead with 1:01 to play.
The free throws helped erase a forgettable evening by Barnes, who shot just 3-for-16 for a Heels team that truly missed its floor leader. Without Marshall, Williams turned to little-used freshman Stilman white and converted shooting guard Justin Watt as the triggermen for his fast-paced offense.
White finishedwith six assists and didn’t turn the ball over, but he also missed Zeller inside a handful of times and didn’t always settle the heels. The 24 turnovers allowed the Bobcats to hang around. “Anytime you lose somebody who leads your teamin assists, it’s pretty difficult,” said Zeller, who said white and Watt missed him a few times when he was open inside.
That nearly proved to be north Carolina’s undoing. The heels had beaten their first two tournament opponents by an average of 16.5 points, and it looked as if they would treat the Bobcats similarly early on, building a 26-11 lead.
Ohio (29-8), which had upended Michigan and south florida to reach the sweet 16, would have none of it. The Bobcats cut the deficit to29-22 by halftime, and they refused to go away in the second half. Ohio hit eight second-half 3-pointers, and took a shocking 47-46 lead on a nick kellogg three with about eight minutes left inthe secondhalf.
North Carolina would eventually regain the lead, but with 1:44 to play, the Bobcats were stealing it again, on an Ivo Baltic jump shot. Carolina staved off the on slaught— and quieted the underdog-giddy crowd — with a Reggie Bullock three with 44 seconds to play. But walter Offutt, who led the Bobcats with 26 points, hit a game-tying layup with 27 seconds left. As Offutt tied the score, he was fouled, giving ohio a chance to regain the lead. But his free throw rimmed out.
“One free throw away,” he said. “It feels terrible.”
Not that the heels feel much better now. Williams said White did a “really good job” replacing marshall, but heal so knows that his once-juggernaut team is suddenly struggling to find offense.
“We had a guy that had 351 assists and didn’t play,” he said. “We can’t do anything about it.”