The Tar Heels could never put the NCAA tournament game against Long Island out of reach but North Carolina did manage to win by 15 at 102-87 tonight in Charlotte.

Long Island didn’t shoot well (36.5 percent) but the Blackbirds were scrappy. The 18 turnovers hurt the Tar Heels but it especially hurt them because of the type of turnovers they were. Probably half of them were long, ill-advised passes that resulted in runouts and scores by the Blackbirds.

I think the turnovers were an anamoly, caused by the team’s inexperience in NCAA tournament play and the aggressive style of the Blackbirds that might have surprised the Carolina players a bit.

But the three-point shooting is going to have to improve for Carolina to go any further. Leslie McDonald’s shooting was abysmal as he went zero for seven including five misses from three-point land. Harrison Barnes was only two of 10 from beyond the arc.

Tyler Zeller and John Henson were dominant inside with career highs of 32 and 28 respectively but that won’t continue against taller and more talented teams. To Carolina’s credit, though, the Tar Heels exploited the matchup.

For more on the game itself, please click here.