No. 9 Miami upsets No. 8 UNC in ACC tournament second round
Miami’s Ja’Leah Williams barely broke through the North Carolina double team, featuring Alyssa Ustby and Lexi Donarski, nearly committing the turnover. Williams heaved the basketball from halfcourt — just past the sponsorship logo — as the clock expired.
That gave fans a sneak peek of what would come in the second half: a Hurricanes comeback.
No. 9 seed Miami (19-11, 8-10 ACC) upset No. 8 seed North Carolina (19-12, 11-7 ACC), 60-59, after an impressive second half.
UNC led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, but the Tar Heels saw that advantage dwindle in the second half as Miami tied the game multiple times.
“In March, they’re good teams,” Carolina head coach Courtney Banghart said in a news conference. “I’m sure you’ve watched the other games that have gone on. There’s no, ‘Oh good, we’re up 10. Game over.’ [It] just doesn’t exist in March. This felt more like a heavyweight fight, and, quite honestly, their team made more plays than we did.”
The Hurricanes led at 8:16 in the first quarter. They didn’t retake the lead until 2:39 in the fourth. A foul call and missed shot in the final seconds sealed the Tar Heels’ fate.
Carolina started the game well on both ends of the floor, holding the Hurricanes to 30 points in the first half while shooting 50% from the field. It committed five turnovers in that period.
Things got sloppy in the second half, though. Carolina struggled offensively, shooting just 7-30 (.233) in the second half, and its rebounding effort left plenty to be desired.
“We let that one get away for sure,” Donarski said. “We just hope that we have another chance to put on our uniforms together.”
Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly led the Tar Heels with 15 points each. Kelly added nine rebounds, while Ustby dished out four assists.
“It’s frustrating. I feel like there’s been a number of games like this that we’ve been in this year,” Kelly said. “The only thing we can really do is learn from it. We just have to get out of that same cycle. In this game, everything that could have gone our way in those last 30 seconds did for us, but we just couldn’t capitalize.”
Here are four takeaways from UNC’s ACC Tournament loss.
Hurricanes out-rebound Tar Heels
UNC and Miami went into the locker room tied with 17 rebounds each. As the Hurricanes mounted their comeback attempt, their effort off the glass increased. That was especially true on the offensive end.
Miami finished with 40 rebounds to UNC’s 32, including 13 offensive rebounds. The Canes turned those into 16 second-chance points.
The Tar Heels won the previous meeting this season, 65-60, but Miami successfully out-rebounded UNC by five. The Hurricanes pulled down 14 offensive rebounds and scored six second-chance points in the January meeting.
“We gave too many offensive rebounds for them,” Donarski said. “I think that was a big deciding factor. Then we didn’t execute as well as we needed to late in the game.”
Carolina breaks Miami press
The Hurricanes implemented their press defense in the first quarter, but Miami’s aggressive approach was no issue for the Tar Heels.
Carolina busted the press fairly easily, despite the Canes’ movement, scoring 37 points in the first half. The Heels average just under 70 points per game.
Five different UNC players scored multiple baskets in the first half.
The Heels shot 13 of 26 from the field (.500) and started 5 of 6 (.833). Miami came into the game ranked No. 4 in the ACC, holding opponents to 37.6% field goal shooting.
Additionally, the Miami press didn’t affect the Tar Heels’ ability to move the ball in the first half. They finished with eight assists on 13 made buckets (.615 assist percentage). At the end of the first quarter, they had a similar assist percentage (.625) after logging five on eight baskets.
The Heels’ success breaking down the press continued into the second half, but it didn’t convert that into points down the stretch.
UNC finished the third quarter with just three field goals, and went just 1-13 in an 8:13 period. Its fourth-quarter numbers were similarly bad, as the Heels missed nine straight.
“I don’t think there’s necessarily something wasn’t working,” Ustby said. “I felt like we had a really good shot so we have the right people taking the right looks. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in.”
Defense holds Miami at the 3-point line early
Miami entered the game shooting its 3-pointers at a 32.9% clip and making 6.7 triples per game. Its percentage was good enough to rank No. 4 in the league.
Between Carolina’s defense — and a little bit of bad luck by the Canes — Miami started 0-8 from the perimeter.
The Hurricanes didn’t hit their first 3 until 4:13 in the second quarter. They finished with six 3s but were held far below their typical efficiency.
Free throws make big difference
In the first half, Carolina drew plenty of fouls and trips to the free-throw line.
UNC went 8-11 from the stripe in the first half and drew 12 personal fouls. It went 6-7 in the second period after Miami was called for seven fouls.
The script flipped in the second, as the Tar Heels got into foul trouble and sent the Hurricanes to the line for their fair share of free throws.
Ultimately, Miami finished 12 of 19 from the line after taking only four shots from the stripe in the first half. UNC went 14 of 21 overall and 6 of 10 in the second half.
Kelly only took one trip to the free-throw line. When asked for the reason behind that, Banghart said she wasn’t “taking another fine,” referring to previous criticism of officiating.
“I don’t think Deja played any differently in her point of attack,” Banghart said. “I think I probably I should leave it there.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2024 at 6:07 PM with the headline "No. 9 Miami upsets No. 8 UNC in ACC tournament second round."
