What a great day for Tar Heel fans! The men escape College Park with a nail-biter over Maryland, even without Rashad McCants. Maryland put up a great fight in a must-win game. They got ‘up’ for the game and didn’t give up even down by ten. I applaud their effort, but I sure am glad we won.
Great games all around. The unlikely hero of the game is David Noel, with 12 points on 5–7 shooting, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 22 minutes. Also kudos to Jackie Manuel with 9 points and 10 rebounds. Sean May again campaigned for All-American, and Raymond Felton too had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists. He is the drive in the engine.
So the men stay in the driver’s seat for the ACC regular season championship by surviving Maryland, and need to beat Florida State to have the opportunity to lock up the title by beating Duke.
Did I say lock up the ACC title by beating Duke? Because that’s exactly what the Lady Tar Heels did tonight in Cameron Indoor Stadium. A thrilling 77–68 win over a team unbeaten in 33 straight ACC games at home. Both teams finish with 14–2 conference records, but the Heels lock up the title by sweeping the Blue Devils.
Great play from the starting five. Ivory with 23 and some big free throws to seal it. Erlana Larkins was huge underneath, with 19 points and a great enthusiasm for a freshman. Nikita Bell with 9 steals? Are you kidding me?
So the Lady Tar Heels take the #1 seed into the ACC Tournament, beginning Friday in Greensboro. Start making plans. Yours truly hopes to be there with HeelsBlogMom, perhaps. We’ll see.
Baseball Heels stay undefeated, Ladies clinch, and men survive a gritty match with the Terps! What a great day.
