March 12, 2010
By Adam Lucas
GREENSBORO--From the start, Thursday never felt quite right.
First of all, it seemed like Friday. That only made sense. After all, it was the opening day of the ACC Tournament, right? That's Friday, and has been for the last couple of decades. Sure, as the league added teams, there were rumors of games played on Thursday, but those were mere preliminaries.
And there it was, right on the ACC Tournament bracket: Carolina had a game at 7 p.m. against Georgia Tech. It must be Friday.
Except it wasn't. On one of the dreariest days in ACC Tournament history--combine the weather with the sparse crowds (attendance for the first session was announced as a preposterous 23,381, which is only accurate if fans were counted twice for attending both afternoon games) and halting basketball and it's painful to remember that this used to be the highlight of the regional spring sports calendar--the Tar Heels had to play the program's first-ever first-round game.
Even when Carolina sprinted to an early 13-point lead, it never really felt like the ACC Tournament. There were rows of empty seats throughout the upper deck. No rival fans even cared enough to start a, "Sell those tickets" chant as the final seconds elapsed.
On the court, too, it was hard to find continuity. Tyler Zeller had perhaps his best game as a Tar Heel, posting his first career double-double and twice diving on the floor to save a loose ball with knee-scraping hustle. But when Carolina needed a basket trailing by two points with four minutes remaining, Zeller never touched the ball--even after Roy Williams called a timeout to get him in the game--and Larry Drew II fired a three-pointer that missed.
"They pressured us and took us out of our offense," Drew said of the second-half struggles that included just eight Tar Heel points over the final 11:09. "They took stuff away from us."
The Jackets also took away any hope of an NCAA Tournament miracle, which means the day ends just as strangely as it began. In my lifetime of cognizant Tar Heel fandom, there has never been a year when no one was sure if the just-completed game was the last game of the season.
Think about it. In 2002, we all knew the season was over as soon as the ACC Tournament was finished. In 2003, even after the ACC Tournament loss, we knew there would be more basketball in the NIT, which at the time seemed like a terrific reward.
Now, for the first time, we don't know if basketball is over. This must truly be limbo. Play on, and get the chance for some type of positive ending to the season? Or miss the NIT bubble and don't take the court again until Late Night 2010? Within minutes after Thursday's game, senior Deon Thompson had already yanked off his jersey. No one has any idea if he'll ever wear it again.
Given the results of several smaller conference tournaments, there are far fewer at-large spots in the NIT than it first appeared. Regular-season league champions get automatic NIT bids if they don't win the conference tournament of a one-bid league. Already, there are eight such teams that were upset in the league tournament and now will fill an NIT slot (Troy, Coastal Carolina, Jacksonville, Stony Brook, Weber State, Quinnipiac, Jackson State and Kent State).
That leaves a maximum of just 24 at-large NIT spots remaining. Selections won't be made until late Sunday night, and any further league tournament wackiness could shrink the bubble even smaller. Be honest: prior to a few days ago, did you have any idea that a "NIT bubble" or "NIT bracket projections" existed? Put them in the same bin with .500 records and Thursday ACC Tournament games as anomalies you never expected to encounter as a Carolina fan.
Until the final frustrating seconds elapsed--once again coming in puzzling fashion, as Carolina's players seemed indecisive about fouling--this year never quite seemed real. There was always that chance that the Tar Heels would suddenly turn into Tar Heels again, that they'd get hot (would we settle for lukewarm?) and go on a little winning streak.
Now, that's over. Before the ides of march or the clocks spring forward, the entire season may be over.
"It's been the kind of year," Williams said, "I could have never imagined."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of five books on Carolina basketball, including the just-released book on the 2009 national title, One Fantastic Ride. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter.
