, who led by five early in the second half before exploding for a huge run that turned the matchup into an unexpected rout. Then the Wolverines held on amid the Tar Heels' frantic rally in the final 8 minutes to earn an early marquee win for first-year coach Juwan Howard.Michigan's 19-0 burst included a dazzling run of five straight made shots that turned a modest lead into a huge margin. At one point, Brooks buried a 3-pointer to push the lead to 19 and left UNC coach Roy Williams standing on the sideline with both hands resting on top of his head.Yet Franz Wagner followed with another, then Brooks added a runner that pushed the lead to 60-36 with 11:18 left and finally forced the timeout-hoarding Williams to burn one.The Tar Heels (5-1) managed a long push to get back in it, twice getting as close as eight on interior buckets by Garrison Brooks in the final 3 1/2 minutes. But Eli Brooks all but closed it out by swishing through a 3 with the shot clock winding down at the 1:12 mark, pushing the margin back to double figures.Freshman Cole Anthony had 22 points and seven rebounds to lead UNC, which shot 43% while struggling with Michigan's size anchored by 7-foot-1 senior Jon Teske inside. Garrison Brooks added 13 points and eight rebounds.BIG PICTUREUNC: The Tar Heels entered the game ranked seventh in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency by allowing 87.5 points per 100 possessions, along with being the national leader in rebounding margin. But they struggled for stops, while Michigan controlled the paint (32-24 points in the paint) and the Tar Heels earned only a 36-34 edge on the glass. It was a sign that the Tar Heels still have plenty to figure out with a revamped roster from last year.Michigan: The Wolverines entered shooting 53.2% on the season to rank second in the nation. They finished this one at 50% and made 11 of 26 3-pointers, while their defense held the Tar Heels to 1-for-14 shooting out of halftime as they took control.UP NEXTUNC: The Tar Heels will play in Friday's third-place game against the Gonzaga-Oregon loser.Michigan: The Wolverines will play in Friday's championship game against the Gonzaga-Oregon winner.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Nov 28, 2019Two teams that have more personnel available than in the opening weeks of the season meet Thursday afternoon in a semifinal game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.That could make scouting reports a bit challenging when No. 6 North Carolina and Michigan face off at Imperial Arena at Paradise Island, Bahamas.In Wednesday's games, Michigan freshman Franz Wagner was in the lineup for the first time as he returned from a preseason broken wrist. He put up six points as the Wolverines (5-0) beat Iowa State 83-76.North Carolina had senior swingman Brandon Robinson in the lineup for the first time as he came back from a preseason ankle injury. He was in the starting lineup, contributing 12 points, as the Tar Heels (5-0) topped Alabama 76-67.North Carolina received 20 points from Garrison Brooks and a third straight double-double from freshman forward Armando Bacot, who had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.The Tar Heels can use jolts of offense because they have yet to reach the 80-point mark in a game this season. Coach Roy Williams has identified shooting woes as one of the areas that must improve after the team made just 40.8 percent of its field-goal attempts in the Alabama game.However, there have been enough defensive success to carry the Tar Heels. No foe has shot better than Alabama's 38.2 percent against North Carolina this season, and the Crimson Tide's 67 points were the most allowed by the Tar Heels.The most crucial area for North Carolina is rebounding after it emerged with a 60-31 edge Wednesday."I think we're continuing to get better, and you'll see the offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds keep going up," Williams said.Meanwhile, Michigan made 10 baskets from 3-point range as part of 57.7 percent shooting overall. Williams said he's concerned about North Carolina's 3-point defense, particularly after Alabama's John Petty Jr. shot 7-for-10 from deep.The Wolverines' boost Wednesday came from senior point guard Zavier Simpson, who provided 10 points and 13 assists, while Isaiah Livers provided 17 points in 34 minutes. Livers, a junior forward, has scored a total of 41 points across the past two games."Isaiah, he's learning," said first-year Michigan coach Juwan Howard. "That's what this is all about. I love the fact that he's a smart player." Howard's team has had three games decided by 10 points or fewer. Now with the tournament format, the game experiences are coming in a rapid-fire manner."It's going to prepare us for the Big Ten season, which is right around the corner," Howard said.The Wolverines were charged with 22 turnovers in the Iowa State game."There are times when we sort of force it," said Howard, who as a player was part of Michigan's Fab Five involved in the famous meeting with North Carolina in the 1993 national championship game. The Tar Heels won after the Wolverines' Chris Webber got a late technical foul for calling a timeout when his team had none remaining.North Carolina committed 20 turnovers in its game Wednesday. The Tar Heels had to deal with point guard Cole Anthony's foul trouble after he picked up his third foul with almost 18 minutes remaining.Williams is tied with former Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp with 876 career victories as a Division I coach, sharing the fifth-highest total.North Carolina is 4-3 all-time against Michigan, though the Wolverines won exactly a year ago Thursday by an 84-67 score at home.--Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Michigan
North Carolina
Pick Center
NCAAB
FINAL (11/28/2019)
LightningPlays
