North Carolina, playing with John Henson for the first time since the first game of the ACC Tournament, got fired up against a physical Creighton team and rolled to an 87-73 to reach the NCAA Sweet 16.
The win may be costly as Kendall Marshall has a broken bone in his right wrist following a hard foul. Creighton is a good team but not good enough to hang with a team of Carolina’s caliber and, judging by the physical nature of the Bluejays’ play, they knew it as well.
The only legitimate way the Bluejays could beat Carolina would be if they were raining in threes and the Tar Heels were shooting poorly. With that not happening, the only recourse they had was to play rough and get Carolina out of its rhythm and/or in foul trouble.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say Creighton was a dirty team but did you notice the wink from Grant Gibbs after he slapped at Henson’s wrist, igniting Henson’s fuse? Gibbs got the foul but Henson got a technical as a result of his response.
Gibbs, who played tough all day, didn’t get his second foul until midway through the second half when he roughed up P.J. Hairston, who also took exception.
This is why, in part, I blame the officials for Marshall’s injury. Creighton was called for 18 fouls compared to eight for UNC but it was the hardness of the fouls and the obvious slapping motion of the fouls that officials should have warned the Bluejays about.
Ethan Wragge, who committed the hard foul on Marshall, was turned all around and the slow-footed big man had no chance of stopping Marshall from scoring – unless he bashed him, which he did. Marshall hit one of the two free throws so instead of Carolina having an 18-point lead at that time, the Heels took a 17-point lead. Not sure the hard foul that may have ended Marshall’s season was worth one point.
In addition to Marshall’s injury, Henson says his wrist did not feel good during or after the game as it felt weak and he still has trouble gripping the ball.
Again, Creighton is a good team and should be proud of its season but it will be a shame if the Tar Heels’ road to the Final Four is shortened by an inferior team committing hard fouls.
1) Missed intentional foul when Zeller was forearmed in the face and put down.
2) The foul that injured Marshall was intentional as the Creighton player was not going for the ball and followed through with his hands on the put down.
3) If the fat ref had gotten out of the way when Marshall was falling – marshall may not have contorted his fall to avoid him and may not have been injured.
4) I hate it when people talk about foul counts. UNC plays matador defense not to foul people – they don’t want their best offensive players getting in foul trouble. The foul count should have been more distorted. Too many times, the refs try to keep the foul count even and give the team that is playing like thugs an advantage – that’s when you see a team get mugged on one end of the floor with no whistle and then see a whistle on the other end of the floor when the player stands breathes heavy on the opponent. It is not a fair game when the officials intentionally try to even out the foul count.
On a side note – I’m a heel fan, but want to say I’ve loved watching the NC State team all year and can’t wait to see them next year. I will be rooting for the pack unless they meet the heels. Gottfried was an awesome hire and lifts the entire ACC.
Additionally, if you go back and look at the slaps on Henson’s wrist – the slaps came after the whistle for the play was already blown. Play was dead and the guy wanted to get his cheap shots in on Henson. Creighton has no class.