If One Tar Heel Can't, Another Will

Carolina has so many weapons. Like the horde of Greek warriors who attacked the plains of Troy so long ago, they just keep coming. And it left those current-day Trojans worn and frazzled and wondering if the Tar Heels' onslaught would ever end. Carolina didn't need to trick these men of Troy, they beat them with brute force.

With their two key players, Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson basically shutdown on the offensive end and Senior Reyshawn Terry game but sick, the Heels were in deep trouble early in the second half against USC. Carolina found other ways. They had to in the hard-fought 74-64 win that puts them into the Elite Eight.

I will tell you, it was fun to watch Southern Cal for a lot of this game. They were so athletic and played with such confidence. And they had Carolina frustrated -- especially Hansbrough, who would end up with just five points and four rebounds. The Trojans were up by 16 with just over 17 minutes to play, and they were feeling it.

"They were in the flow, and we weren't playing defense," Lawson said. "That's when we decided we were going to pick it up, or we were going home."

Seventeen minutes left is a lot of time, and USC was using a lot of energy. That played into a Carolina strength, which is that amazing depth. If one or two can't do it, someone else will.

This time, it was the freshman Brandan Wright, who had the poor game a week earlier against Michigan State, and the sophomore defensive whiz, Marcus Ginyard, who decided he would get a little offensive, like in hitting the offensive glass.

When the Trojans' excellent freshman, Taj Gibson, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds, picked up his fourth foul with a little over 12 minutes left, Carolina was back in business.

With Hansbrough befuddled, Wright took over. He went wild. During the 22-2 run that wiped out a 57-45 USC lead, he had 11 of his game-high 22 points.

And while Southern Cal was trying to deal with him, Marcus Ginyard hit the offensive glass. Ginyard would finish with 10 points, nine rebounds -- four of those on the offensive glass. Nine of his points and seven of those rebounds came in the second half. Ginyard said they were effort plays.

As a matter of fact, Carolina was all about effort on the glass in the second half. Out-rebounded by three at intermission, the Tar Heels ended up smashing the Trojans on the boards 41-29.

The Tar Heels were fresh at the end, and that was the difference. The Trojans left their quickness at about the 10-minute mark. They were spent with their legs stuck in tar.

Now, although Lawson scored just four points and didn't shoot well, he only turned the ball over once and had four assists and seven rebounds, which was three more than Hansbrough. And Reyshawn Terry, recovering from strep throat, was able to play just five minutes but still scored nine points -- and was basically UNC's only first-half bright spot. You'd think he'd be feeling better for Sunday.

Carolina's Roy Williams said he didn't throw any chairs at halftime or anything like that, but he was very upset about his team's intensity. He also said he never lost faith.

"It was a fantastic comeback to say the least," a relieved Williams said. "I have great confidence in my team ... I knew we wouldn't give up."

USC believed they could win, but they also knew coming in that it would take the supreme effort.

"That's a very good team, especially when they're in the flow," said Taj Gibson. "I just knew it was going to be tough to win."

And Southern California made it tough for UNC to win. They stood up to Carolina and the Tar Heels with some major weapons, having off nights could have retreated into the cold Jersey night. But there is strength in numbers and numbers of quality players the Tar Heels do have -- more than just about any other team.

Plus, another question about toughness has been answered. Yes, a team that can come from 16 down in the second half in an elimination game is plenty tough.