We must admit it: Carolina Choked

[Elvado]

which is an absolutely appropriate physiological reaction to someone strangling you.

They choked because we had both hands around their necks.

[mrsixer123]

the players did not choke!

we have a better coach, and that is why we won.

[SFHoya99]

We have better players, too.

[Filo]

sfhoya99 said:

We have better players, too.

Amen. Coach has not been out on the floor for a number of years now.

Oh, wait...didn't he get that T for stepping out on the floor. Never mind.

[aggypryd]

I think the moment got too big for the young Heels down the stretch...

They kept waiting for us to panic, but we just kept running our stuff.

[the_way]

Carolina got outcoached.

They figured their depth would be too much for Georgetown. And Carolina subsituted like crazy to much success for most of the game.

They set the tempo and were playing the game at the pace they wanted to play.

They anticipated Georgetown wearing down at the end of the game and fouling out Hibbert,Ewing, etc.

The opposite happened.

By the 5 minute mark in the 2nd half, Georgetown kicked into 5th gear, and didn't look back.

Carolina was shook. They never expected it, and had no plan b, and they totally caved in.

And the irony of it all is that Carolina was the one who was tired at the end of the game and had nothing left.

Georgetown beat Carolina at its own game.

Psychologically, it was devasting to UNC.

The game is as mental as it is physical.

Georgetown destroyed UNC physically and mentally, without being phased by the adversity they faced earlier in the game (the point deficit and foul trouble for key players).

Thats killer instinct, thats Georgetown.

[aggypryd]

Roy had to tell his squad at the half, "Look...these guys have been down at halftime the past two games and have come back and won...don't sleep on 'em..."

[The Stig]

I think UNC thought they had it won with 5 minutes to go. Heck, I thought (feared) they had it won. At that point it looks like they stopped playing to win and started playing not to lose. Our guys were still playing to win. When Jeff hit his shot to pull within 5, it was the closest we'd been in a long time. The Georgetown crowd started roaring, and UNC panicked. Meanwhile, our guys kept playing the same way they'd been playing all game long. I wouldn't say we really stepped it up that much in the last few minutes, since we'd been playing great basketball the entire game. The impressive part is that our guys managed to keep their heads about them, stay patient, and stick with their game despite the absolutely enormous pressure. That's a huge credit to them and a huge credit to JTIII.

[jacko]

I agree that a good deal of the choke had to do with us, but would anyone agree with me that Carolina was a super-hot and super-cold team throughout the tournament? They ran away from the 16 seed and then let them back within 4 points. Similarly they had trouble with MSU and USC until they "decided" to put them away. I was extremely surprised with 10 minutes left that they had been relatively hot/superhuman/unbeatable for the entire game to that point. I was expecting a cold spell, so I wasn't that surprised when it came. I was just surprised that it didn't come earlier.

[SirSaxa]

theway said:

The game is as mental as it is physical.

Georgetown destroyed UNC physically and mentally, without being phased by the adversity they faced earlier in the game (the point deficit and foul trouble for key players).

The Way -- I agree with you.
Yes, Carolina choked.
But they choked because of the intense pressure put on by GU.
The Hoyas fought through the unforgiveable first half calls by the refs
30 seconds into the second half, Roy, Pat and Jessie all had 3 fouls and no one fouled out
The Hoyas kept coming at UNC and never let the game get out of hand.
And in the last 7 minutes, they really put the pressure on, got all the boards, made it a really tight game... and UNC Tightened up. A team of freshmen and sophomores is more likely to choke than a team with upperclassmen -- and a coach is stays cool ALL the time.
When JT3 got the Technical, he turned, kept his hands in his pocket and walked all the way to the opposite end of the bench... teeth clenched. But he didn't "react". He and the team just got right back to business.
Actually, given the T and the overall ref situation, foul trouble on our guys, the hot shooting from UNC and the rebounding advantage they had -- it is remarkable that we were only down six at half time.

This team has cajones... starting with Jeff G!

[TBird41]

sirsaxa said:

When JT3 got the Technical, he turned, kept his hands in his pocket and walked all the way to the opposite end of the bench... teeth clenched. But he didn't "react".

I think he said something that would be edited under his breath to Shaw, but hey, who can blame him, and still a remarkable show of restraint after an awful, bs call in the biggest game of JT3's career. Plus the guy deserved to be called that.

[HoyaSC]

I've heard a lot of people say Carolina choked because of the way they started jacking threes, and people point to the absurdity of their last shot by Ellington.

However, and somebody pointed this out earlier, even that last play is a perfect example of JTIII outcoaching Roy. His starting point guard has just nailed the biggest clutch shot of his career. So what does JTIII do? He sits him. He benches Wallace and puts Rivers in, anticipating that Roy will send Lawson into the paint. Rivers' quickness pays off and Lawson is forced to kick it over to Ellington, who choked.

But JTIII set Ellington (or some other shooter) up to choke, which was pure brilliance. Otherwise, we're probably looking at Hansbrough on the line needing to make 1/2 to win the game.

[Gold Hoya]

I wouldn't calling Ellington missing a wide-open three "choking." Did DJ Owens choke against Florida last year?

[the_way]

gvlschoya said:

However, and somebody pointed this out earlier, even that last play is a perfect example of JTIII outcoaching Roy. His starting point guard has just nailed the biggest clutch shot of his career. So what does JTIII do? He sits him. He benches Wallace and puts Rivers in, anticipating that Roy will send Lawson into the paint. Rivers' quickness pays off and Lawson is forced to kick it over to Ellington, who choked.

But JTIII set Ellington (or some other shooter) up to choke, which was pure brilliance. Otherwise, we're probably looking at Hansbrough on the line needing to make 1/2 to win the game.

Excellent point.

I remember, when I saw J Wallace on the bench, I thought to myself real quick, why is JTIII doing that? But then I saw Jeremiah Rivers on the floor, I knew JTIII was substituting offense for defense because Rivers can defend quicker guards.

[ewingmvp]

To say that NC choked is to imply that the Hoyas did not deserve the victory. Bull! It was clear that no matter what Carolina did, JTIII would have coached the Hoyas to a chance to win the game. The Hoyas earned that victory, and would have won it, no matter how Carollina played. They were fresher and stronger at the end, that is why they won and why they cruised in overtime.

[aggypryd]

I don't think people are saying that Carolina choked or the Hoyas didn't deserve the win.

The young Heels just were overwhelmed by the situation and got tense.

They were up by 10 late in the game and expected the Hoyas to fold like everyone else and they had no experience to pull from.

Our boys have been battle-tested over the last 3 years and knew exactly what they needed to do down the stretch to win that game. A year ago, Carolina's squad was getting ready for college visits and the prom and had no idea what it takes to win a Regional Final. They just weren't ready for the gravity of the situation.

[Churchwell]

The thing that's frustrated me about the way the media (and Carolina fans, for that matter) have been treating this is the way they seem to dismiss a 10 point lead with 6 minutes to go as insurmountable. It certainly felt that way at the time, I guess, but it's not like they were up by 20!

We basically cut their 10 point lead in half in 2 minutes--from the 6 minute mark to the 4 minute mark by holding them scoreless on three possessions and scoring on all of ours. That's pretty much all it took--three solid defensive possessions--and then at 5 points it was anybody's game. I think that's the point where JTIII switched to exclusively to zone as well, which gave them fits.

Heck, we only scored 2 more points than they did over the last 3 minutes and 30 seconds...until JWallace's three-pointer. Yes, they took some ill-advised shots, but I think it was our zone, combined with the fact that Roy had 7 blocks, that forced them into it..

[Madgesdiq]

churchwell said:

The thing that's frustrated me about the way the media (and Carolina fans, for that matter) have been treating this is the way they seem to dismiss a 10 point lead with 6 minutes to go as insurmountable. It certainly felt that way at the time, I guess, but it's not like they were up by 20!

We basically cut their 10 point lead in half in 2 minutes--from the 6 minute mark to the 4 minute mark by holding them scoreless on three possessions and scoring on all of ours. That's pretty much all it took--three solid defensive possessions--and then at 5 points it was anybody's game. I think that's the point where JTIII switched to exclusively to zone as well, which gave them fits.

Heck, we only scored 2 more points than they did over the last 3 minutes and 30 seconds...until JWallace's three-pointer. Yes, they took some ill-advised shots, but I think it was our zone, combined with the fact that Roy had 7 blocks, that forced them into it..

Considering we had gone on an 11-0 run in 1:43 in the first half, I totally agree with you. There are 10 point leads that seem like 20,but this wasn't one of them. I never felt that we were out of the game.

[krey23]

Come on guys....clearly all their players got a bad case of the flu during a timeout

[SFHoya99]

Which brings up a different question:

How many games does this team have to come from behind before people stop talking about comebacks as a weakness of the offense? We were down ten with three minutes left.