Tar Heels eventually wear down Notre Dame

FOLLOWING FRIDAY'S comeback win over Wisconsin, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey disclosed that he had hurt his calf in the second half, which required him to seek medical attention.

For Sunday's East Regional final at the Wells Fargo Center against top-ranked North Carolina, Brey was in a walking boot to protect a torn muscle in his right calf. The energetic coach was slowed on the sideline, his steps studied and measured.

He wanted his team to play the same way against the bigger and faster Tar Heels. Rarely did the Irish not run the shot clock below eight seconds before looking to either get the ball all the way to the basket or kick out for a jump shot. It worked effectively much of the night, especially in the first half. But the problem was Brey's team played as if it was hindered by a protective boot, and Carolina knew exactly when it was time to take over the game.

North Carolina eventually overpowered the feisty Irish (24-12) by rallying around a technical foul and a stifling defense to pull out an 88-74 win.

Carolina (32-6) becomes the only No. 1 seed to reach next weekend's Final Four in Houston, where they'll face another ACC foe in Syracuse, which stunned Virginia earlier in the day. It is the record 19th Final Four appearance for the Tar Heels, who will be seeking their sixth NCAA title and third under coach Roy Williams, whose teams titles in 2005 and 2009.

Villanova and Oklahoma will meet in the other national semifinal on Saturday.

Forward Brice Johnson doesn't need any help with his game, but he did get a boost Sunday when Notre Dame forward Zach Auguste picked up his second foul with 14 minutes, 38 seconds left in the first half, relegating him to the bench for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes. Johnson took full advantage, going for 15 points (on 7-for-10 shooting) and eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

But Notre Dame stayed with the Tar Heels, as its patient offense yielded good shots and 14 of 24 shooting (58.3 percent) along with 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. And when the Irish didn't get good looks, Carolina helped them out numerous times with questionable defensive intensity. Good thing for the Tar Heels they shot really well in the first 20 minutes also (16-for-25, 64 percent) and were able to take a 43-38 lead at the break.

And just when it seemed Carolina was getting the edge by pounding the ball inside early in the second half, Johnson picked up his third foul with 13:16 to go. After the call, he tossed the ball high in the air, drawing a technical foul. Notre Dame's Steve Vasturia made both free throws to cut the Carolina lead to 51-50.

Williams took Johnson out of the game and, after Notre Dame took a 52-51 lead on a layup by Bonzie Colson with 13 minutes to play, Carolina went on a 14-2 run over the next 4:54, limiting the Irish without a field goal.

With Johnson out of the game, Carolina ratcheted up the defensive pressure and got the breathing room it needed.

"That's just the one thing coach has been emphasizing all year," said Johnson, who finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. "We haven't really been playing well defensively. We've just been outscoring a lot of teams. There was the one game we played against Maryland, we really played very well defensively and coach has always been emphasizing we need to play every game like that.

"That's the biggest thing. We've been trying to get better every game. I mean, the last couple of games we've been doing pretty well."

"We learned through some of our losses this year that a lot of times we go back and review the tape and it's the lack of concentration and effort on defense that caused the other team to get the win," said point guard Marcus Paige, who finished with 13 points, after scoring 21 against Indiana on Friday. "It was never us not shooting the ball well or anything, because we usually get a lot of our points from the paint and do well in transition and stuff like that.

"And then coach, like I've been saying the past several weeks, coach has reminded us several times he's never had a championship team that hasn't been great defensively. He said the '05 team was great defensively, and the '09 team kind of turned it up the end of the year and was terrific on that end of the floor. And I think that hit home with us because that's where we want to be, that's where we want to get to. If that's what we need to do to get there, then I think that's why we've seen the change in our defense."

Carolina has that ability to simply wear down opponents during the course of a game, with its size just becoming a heavier burden as the game wears on.

Notre Dame, which was led by Demetrius Jackson's 26 points, can attest to that. They lost by 31 to the Tar Heels just two weeks ago in the ACC Tournament. And, like their coach, they slowly left the court as Carolina prepared to put on its Final Four swag and cut down the nets.

@BobCooney76

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