Wow! Amazing!

North Carolina won the game against Duke last night, 81-77! This puts them into a championship game against #1 Kansas tomorrow night. If you had suggested this possibility a month ago, you would have been laughed off the court. Carolina had just lost the semi-finals to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament, and was ranked #37 in the nation. They entered the NCAA tournament a #8 seed. True, they had just beat Duke on their home court the last game of the regular season, but you would not have been crazy to think that was a kind of miracle that one could not expect to be repeated. But they have demonstrated a determination and toughness in their five tournament games thus far (Marquette, Baylor, UCLA, St. Peter's, Duke) that most people, especially the professional sports writers and commentators, had not suspected was there. It turns out that when the team first met for practice last fall, they found that their new coach, Hubert Davis, had pinned up a photo of the Superdome in New Orleans on their lockers. That is where the championship game is being played. He had planted the seed of their being in the championship game way last fall, and held that out as a possibility through thick and thin all season. They had some really pathetic games during the regular season, but that did not destroy their hope. Coach Davis turned them into learning opportunities. The team gradually learned to trust one another, to step up and make an extra effort when needed, and have the confidence that if they tried hard, they would succeed. It's very interesting to compare the actual statistics for UNC and Kansas now. UNC has the edge in several categories and overall, they are essentially equal. Yet at this very moment, Carolina is ranked #16 in the KenPom national rankings (the most widely used rankings), and Kansas is ranked #3. In the tournament, Kansas is a #1 seed and Carolina is a #8 seed. It doesn't make any sense. They have beaten Duke twice in the last two games, yet today, Duke is ranked #8 in the nation, and Carolina #16. It is not unreasonable to think that there is a bias at work there. This may actually work to Carolina's advantage. Other teams may underestimate them to some extent. If you read body language last night (and even more last month when UNC played Duke on their home court), Duke clearly expected to win. That last game was Coach K's last game on his home court. He is retiring, and they had a huge celebration planned to honor him after that final home game - a game no one (at Duke, that is) expected Carolina to win. And I think Duke thought they would win last night. They had just defeated Villanova in the Elite Eight - a powerhouse team that has been national champion several times. Villanova had beaten Carolina and won the championship back in 2016. Last night's game was a real nail-biter. I think the lead changed 19 or 20 times, and there were something like 8 or 9 ties in the course of the game. I.e., it was a CLOSE game all the way. And Duke almost always pulls out a win in close games. That is their reputation. So - Wow! and Amazing! Either team could win tomorrow night. Coach Davis has to be one of the very few coaches in history to take his team to the championship game in his first year as coach. And maybe the very first to do so with a team ranked #37 at the end of the season.

UNC players celebrating after last night's win over Duke. Go Heels!!