North Carolina looked like the best team in America during the Maui Invitational, which concluded with a 71-56 whipping of Wisconsin in a game that wasn’t that close. But UNC coach Roy Williams said the national championship game isn’t the day before Thanksgiving.
Coach Williams seemed thrilled with the play of his team right after the game but when questions mounted about how good the Tar Heels are, he put a halt to that.
“We showed that we can play two different styles of basketball,” he said referring to Wisconsin’s slow pace as opposed to Oklahoma State’s fast pace. “(But) if this is the best basketball we play this year, we won’t be good enough (to win a national championship).”
Carolina certainly looked like a championship contender as the Heels held Wisconsin without a bucket in the first seven minutes of the game and went on a 14-2 run over five minutes early in the second half.
The Tar Heels led 29-20 at the half with tourney MVP Joel Berry and first-team all-tourney Kennedy Meeks equally sharing 20 of those points.
When Justin Jackson sliced through the lane for a bucket midway through the second half, the Tar Heels built the margin to 19 points at 49-30.
Playing against a slow-down team, that lead seemed insurmountable and it was. A 6-0 Carolina run in a minute’s span increased the lead to 24 points at 60-36. During that run, Meeks picked off a pass on one end and Jackson drove across the lane for sweeping hook.
For a box score and more commentary on the game, please click here.
