North Carolina Edges Providence in Final Seconds
SAN ANTONIO - The most important contribution James Michael McAdoo made all game for North Carolina was not his go-ahead free throw with 3.5 seconds left Friday night. It was the rebound of his next foul shot.
His quick hands kept the ball away from Providence's scintillating guard, Bryce Cotton, and helped the Tar Heels escape with a 79-77 victory.
Providence, which roared into the AT&T Center after winning the Big East championship, led by seven points with 4 minutes 34 seconds left before North Carolina (24-9), led by its own dynamic 6-foot-1 guard, Marcus Paige, tied the score at 74. Back and forth the teams went, with Cotton putting Providence (23-12) ahead on an acrobatic layup, and Paige responding by drilling a game-tying 3-pointer.
After a Providence miss, North Carolina held onto the ball for the final shot, and McAdoo was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound.
It was a captivating ending to a game made entertaining by the performance of Cotton, who finished with 36 points. He played every minute against North Carolina because that is what he does: no one in Division I logs more time on the court. Cotton dismantled the Tar Heels, making 3-pointers and feeding his big men and scoring and scoring and scoring, because that is also what he does.
Interactive Feature: N.C.A.A. Tournament: Who Do You Hate (and Love)?After an outstanding performance at the Big East tournament last week, Cotton almost single-handedly willed Providence back into the game. He delivered an acrobatic layup off the fast-break with 1:21 left, but his most electrifying sequence came a few minutes earlier, when after nearly flying into the courtside radio announcers to make an acrobatic steal, Cotton dribbled up the court, crossed over Nate Britt and swished a 3-pointer in his face to extend Providence's lead to 66-62.
If possible, Cotton, who was named the Big East tournament's most outstanding player, was even better Friday night.
It just wasn't enough to topple North Carolina, whose inside presence proved problematic for the Friars all night. The Tar Heels outrebounded Providence, 40-26, and had twice as many second-chance points (26 to 13).
North Carolina is the most decorated team at the eight-school pod here but also the most confounding. Among the teams the Tar Heels have defeated: Louisville, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State. Among the teams the Tar Heels have lost to: Belmont, Alabama-Birmingham, Miami, Wake Forest. For the sake of clarification, none of those teams made the N.C.A.A. tournament.
North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said his team's inconsistency stemmed from a lack of urgency. The Tar Heels rediscovered that urgency just in time.
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