IOWA CITY, IA – In addition to defending the perimeter and the rash of turnovers afflicting North Carolina through its first five games, its propensity for falling behind by large margins in some first halves is also a concern the Tar Heels are addressing.
In Carolina’s last four games, it has trailed by at least 13 points in the first half in three of those games: UNLV led 13-0 out of the gate; Texas led 36-20 with 3:50 left before intermission; and Iowa owned 25-9 and 30-15 leads Tuesday night, the latter with 7:44 remaining before halftime.
Yet, the Heels caught each of those teams, twice using big runs out of the intermissions. Head scratching indeed, including for UNC Coach Roy Williams, who isn’t equating the second-half pushes to anything he says at halftime juxtaposed to what happens before games. It’s kind of a mystery.
“Just think about it, the instructions before the game, that's three straight days of practice for two to two and a half hours,” he said, following Carolina’s 93-80 loss at No. 3 Iowa on Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “So, at halftime, I only have 15 minutes and so you need to accept the responsibility to do the things we do in practice every time.
“Now, there are some adjustments you make, but that gives coaching too much recognition. But, I do believe that at halftime we say, ‘Okay, you saw what happened when you did this, so stop doing that.’ And then turn to the next guy, ‘You saw what happened when you did this, so stop doing that.’”
The responses?
Carolina caught UNLV by the 6:26 mark of the first half and pulled away, but it was runs top open the second halves that allowed the Heels to catch up with the Longhorns and Hawkeyes.
UNC used a 12-2 spurt versus Texas and eventually tied the Longhorns with 3:54 remaining in a game it lost at the buzzer. On Tuesday, the Heels outscored Iowa 37-24 over the first 10:30 of the second half leading 68-67 at that mark following a converted baseline drive by Andrew Platek.
“Hopefully we'll gain some from that, but I don't know,” Williams said. “I think maybe they learned more about their opponent. A lot of kids think that they're better than everybody else and sometimes you're playing against a guy you may never have even heard of, but he kicks your rear end. So, you’ve got to respect everyone, fear no one.
“And I think, during the first half, the teams have made us respect them more than us having respect before the start of the game possibly.”
Garrison Brooks has been around the block a few times and knows exactly what he’s looking at with this team.
A bevy of early turnovers and errant shots were on display versus Vegas, 10 turnovers and 8-for-21 shooting had the Heels well behind versus Texas, and sloppy offensive play and poor perimeter defense had UNC in a huge early hole Tuesday against a team that could win the national championship.
So, Brooks understands what must change for these early deficits to no longer be a thing.
“We’ve just got to stop turning the ball over so much, get better shots, quit letting guys shoot open threes,” he said. “That’s pretty much the (three) biggest things.”
And Brooks is right. It’s simple hoops 101, but it’s something the Heels have failed at more times than not so far through the early stages of three games, two of which they’ve lost.
Now, if they can start games the way they do second halves, this will no longer be an issue. And that's the mission.
