At the most basic level, the tiniest of drops cause the floodwater to crest, or to finally burst through the crack in the dam, laying waste to all in its path.
It is the same with North Carolina’s fast-acting offense, the multifaceted attack that requires only a needle’s width of room from an opponent to start the torrent. On Friday night, the breach was Southern California star Taj Gibson heading to the bench with his fourth foul in the second half, the Trojans having dominated matters until then.
After Gibson left? Pass the snorkels. North Carolina put together a 22-2 deluge after that moment–an offensive, defensive and rebounding tsunami that led to a 74-64 East regional semifinal win at Continental Airlines Arena.
Included in the run were 18 straight points for the top-seeded Tar Heels (31-6), who will meet Georgetown in Sunday’s regional final.
“Huh–I didn’t know it was an 18-0 run,” said North Carolina forward Brandan Wright, who led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds. “I mean, that’s great. When our team can make spurts like that and play well enough on defense, we really are going to be hard to stop.”
The details of the burst were telling. The Tar Heels, who shot just 39 percent for the game, made 10 of 19 shots during the stretch. Six of North Carolina’s whopping 20 offensive rebounds produced scores in the run.
Meanwhile, fifth-seeded USC (25-12) went more than eight minutes between field goals as the Tar Heels marched on.
Cast iron melts at about 1,370 degrees Celsius; the Trojans melted at 12:25 of the second half Friday, when Gibson (team-high 16 points and 12 rebounds) was waylayed with the fourth foul.
“I think it was a situation where we needed some must-stops,” said Tar Heels forward Tyler Hansbrough, who scored a career-low five points. “It was definitely the point in the game where we needed to make a run. We got stops and we started converting on the other end.”
Said Trojans coach Tim Floyd: “They took advantage of us on glass in second half, they did a tremendous job offensive rebounding. I thought our defense was terrific all night. We never got hurt out of their offense. We just got hurt on the boards.”
The Tar Heels had to start doing something, for sure. North Carolina shot 37.5 percent in the first half, including 2-for-12 from three-point range, trailing by as many as 11 points. Meanwhile, the Trojans shot 50 percent in the first half, and led by as many as 16 before three minutes had passed in the second half.
“At halftime, I didn’t throw any chairs,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “I did get a little heated about our intensity, about our effort and about our concentration, but I personally never lost faith in our kids.
“I told them it wasn’t going to happen in two minutes, it might take the entire half to get it done, but I thought we would get it done if we played.”
It didn’t take the entire second half at all. Just eight minutes of flooding.
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bchamilton@tribune.com
