NIT Quarterfinals Recap - UAB vs North Carolina

(4) North Carolina 60, (2) Alabama-Birmingham 55

 
The Tar Heels are in the Final Four!  OK, so it’s New York and not Indianapolis, but for a young North Carolina team that was one of the worst teams in the ACC down the stretch, this is something to build on leading into next season.  North Carolina (18-16, 5-11 ACC) entered the season, as it does every season, with high expectations, and early on, it looked as though the Tar Heels would be the TAR HEELS. 
 
North Carolina had a very respectable out of conference season and, looking back, actually played above its talent level.  The Tar Heels posted big wins over Sweet 16 teams Michigan State and Ohio State and lost to NCAA No. 1 seeds Syracuse and Kentucky.  The Kentucky loss looks particularly impressive in retrospect, as it was a tight, two-point game on the road in Lexington.  The Texas loss was to a Longhorn team that was rolling – 10-0 and No. 2 in the nation at the time.  Everything fell apart in ACC play, though, as UNC had its worst season since the dreadful 2001-2002 season when the Heels went 4-12 in the ACC and 8-20 overall. 
 
What must be more surprising than BEING in the NIT for Carolina must be the location of its quarterfinal game: Birmingham, Ala.  It’s not that Alabama-Birmingham (25-8, 11-5 C- USA) is a bad team.  In fact, Mike Davis has built a nice little program in Birmingham after his contentious divorce from Indiana University, having made the NIT in three consecutive seasons.  It’s just that North Carolina doesn’t expect to be playing in Birmingham in late March – unless of course Birmingham is an NCAA tournament host city.

North Carolina was sent to Birmingham by virtue of being the lower seed in the NIT, a No. 4 seed to UAB’s No. 2.  The Blazers won a few big out-of-conference games against BCS conference foes Georgia, Cincinnati, and at Arkansas.  UAB also beat Sweet 16 participant Butler.  The Blazers were considered an NCAA tournament-caliber team well into late January, when UAB was 18-2 with only road losses at Kent State and Virginia.  However, the Blazers finished their regular season 5-6.  A three-game losing streak to end the season, including a first-round loss in the Conference USA tournament to Southern Mississippi, popped UAB’s bubble and sent the Blazers to the NIT.
 
The Blazers kept the game close throughout, their tenacious defense stifling North Carolina all game.  Carolina led for much of the game, but the Blazers were always within striking distance.  UNC’s Deon Thompson made a layup with 7:19 to go in the half to put the Heels up 23-18.  UAB held the Tar Heels scoreless until a Marcus Ginyard jumper with 36 seconds left tied the game at 25 headed into the half.  That scoring drought was UAB’s opportunity to build a nice lead, but the Blazers were mostly inept offensively during that stretch, and were held scoreless themselves for the final 3:58 of the half, following a Jamarr Sanders three-pointer. 

The second half started as offensively proficient as the first half ended in an offensively-challenged state.  After a flurry of baskets by both teams, UNC led 38-36 at the first officials’ timeout of the second half.  That scoring outburst proved to be a fluke, as the rest of the second half devolved into an offensive struggle by both teams – or a defensive battle, if you prefer.  UNC hit its free throws down the stretch and came up with some key defensive stops, including a crucial steal by Dexter Strickland with 26 seconds remaining and UNC up five, which sealed the win for the Tar Heels. 
 
WHAT’S NEXT
 
In the NIT Final Four next Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, No. 4 seed North Carolina - the winner of its own NIT subregional - will play the winner of tomorrow’s game, a second subregional final between No. 1 seed Virginia Tech and No. 2 seed Rhode Island.