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Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009
NCAA Championship: North Carolina's Sean May is too much for Illinois on a night when the shots don't fall.
Apr 5, 2005 | The shots didn't fall. It came down to that for Illinois. North Carolina was just too good to beat if everything wasn't working. A lot was working for Illinois, but the shots didn't fall. Not enough of them, anyway.
Of course the Illini couldn't stop Sean May. But we knew they wouldn't be able to stop North Carolina's wide-body center, who took over the game for a stretch in the second half. Of course the Illini couldn't keep Raymond Felton from making big plays. But we knew they wouldn't be able to keep the sensational point guard from making big plays.
As long as the shots went down, Illinois would be OK. Those 3-pointers that Luther Head, Deron Williams, Dee Brown and, lately, even Roger Powell Jr. rain down on opponents can solve a lot of problems.
But only if they go in. On Monday night, they didn't go in, and North Carolina won a thriller, taking the NCAA championship with a 75-70 win in what was essentially a road game, the St. Louis crowd squarely behind Illinois.
In the first half, Illinois, which got this far with its defense and with a motion offense that featured electric passing complemented by the long-range shooting, jacked up threes with abandon and no conscience. Six different players flung up 19 shots from beyond the arc, five of them going in. Overall, Illinois shot 27 percent in the first half.
But for all that, the Illini were hanging close. When Ingram made a pair of free throws with just under five minutes left, North Carolina led only 27-25. May hadn't taken control yet. He scored Carolina's first points, but didn't take another shot for six minutes.
North Carolina closed the half on a 13-2 run behind Rashad McCants, who proved that Deron Williams, stopper of Salim Stoudamire and Francisco Garcia in the last two games, can't stop everyone every night. McCants scored seven of his game-high 14 first-half points during the closing run, which also featured some uncharacteristic sloppiness from Illinois. Turnovers, shot-clock violations, poor shot selection.
When it was over, North Carolina's lead was 40-29.
In the second half the Tar Heels began getting the ball inside to May. Within two minutes he'd made a couple of shots and helped Illinois forward James Augustine to the bench with his third and fourth fouls. The lead stretched to 15.
And that's when the shots started falling for Illinois.
Brown hit a three. Head hit one, then another. North Carolina suddenly turned sloppy, flinging up ill-advised shots early in possessions. Williams hit a three to make it 51-48, a 19-7 run, thanks to seven made shots in a row, four of them 3-pointers.
But after a Powell put-back made it 52-50, May took over. He took an entry pass on the left block and easily scored on Powell, plus a free throw. Next possession, same thing, only no foul. 57-50.
