I am going to throw something out there that will probably come as a complete shock to people but Miami is really good. They have talent. They have balance. They are one of the best defensive team in the country. Kenny Kadji is a match-up nightmare since he is capable of playing all over the court. Shane Larkin is a very quick and difficult to guard. Miami rebounds the ball well, has multiple three point shooters and is a legitimate Final Four contender. And in case people forgot they did worse to Duke on this same court a few weeks back which has the Hurricanes in consideration as one of the best teams in the country.
So, I am not sure there is a point to analyzing UNC's performance. It was a clear case of an elite team playing a team that is likely to end up being a low seed in the NCAA Tournament. Yes, there are a variety of things UNC could do better but not all poor play is UNC's fault. Miami should get a ton of credit for being really good today. UNC got rolled over by a truck that has not lost a game with its full roster intact.
On the day Reggie Bullock had 14 but only took eight shots hitting five of them. P.J. Hairston had 11 and Leslie McDonald had 10. On the day UNC was 6-19 from three which is not great but not horrible. The big failure came on the interior where James Michael McAdoo was outclassed by the Miami players, namely Kenny Kadji. McAdoo had two dunk attempts blocked at the rim and became the C.J. Leslie to Kadji's John Henson. The offense was bad, the defense was bad with Miami going 15-26 from three resulting in the proverbial bloodbath. Sure we could spend time talking about the "why" but we already know why. Miami good. UNC average. End of discussion.
In the context of UNC's NCAA Tournament hopes, this loss bears little consequence.. In fact losing to Duke on Wednesday would similarly not matter much. It is the games against the other six teams on the schedule that really matter for putting the team in a position for the NCAA Tournament. Since that is the case and the season is not lost, the best thing for everyone involved(fans included) is to forget it happened and move on.
