North Carolina Choked Away a Final Four Slot

As a UNC fan, let me just say that I write this will thoughts of putting a gun in my mouth. It is one thing to lose because you were beaten; it is another to lose when what you worked all game for was taken from you because you decided to give it away. Make no mistake about it, Georgetown is a worthy champion of the East Regional, beating the Heels 96-84. However, UNC butchered this one.

Down 75-65, Georgetown scored 31 of the final 40 points of this one. The Heels missed pretty much everything ... including 22 of 23 shots at the end of regulation and into overtime. The same team that had 50 points at halftime scored just 11 points in the final 14 minutes of game play. The same team that strolled to the line at will for most of the game, decided it was better to fire up three-pointers instead of challenging a foul prone interior ... especially with Roy Hibbert having 4 fouls called on him [when he probably fouled 20 times tonight].

The same Heels team that ran over everyone all season was being run on by Georgetown. The Heels' mad rotations seem to work at wearing the Hoyas out until, for some reason, it didn't. The Hoyas looked fresh. They were getting lose balls. They were grabbing every rebound. They were blocking shots, getting steals and looking like a fresh team. UNC's legs had seemed to fail them.

As I sat in my recliner when the score was 81-78, I thought about all the times this season that UNC couldn't handle the pressure of a close game. In reality, the only nip and tuck game they won all year was a win at Boston College earlier this season. All other nip and tuckers ended up with UNC going home losers, as they are doing right now.

The one hopeful nugget in here is the fact this team is so young. Tyler Hansbrough has said he will be back next year. Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington probably will, too. Reyshawn Terry and Wes Miller graduate, but their replacements of Danny Green and Marcus Ginyard will be back ... as will freshmen big men Deon Thompson and Alex Stephenson. The one big question will be if Brandan Wright will come back or not. He is slated to be a high lottery draft pick next year and may have one foot out the door. Maybe Hansbrough and his classmates can talk to him about staying put another year, just as the trio of Sean May, Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants did a couple of years ago.

If this team stays largely intact, they will once again be one of the favorites to win the title next year. Maybe Hansbrough, like centers Sean May and Eric Montross before him, can win a title for Carolina in his junior season.