UNC vs. Boston College Live Blog

The next person to mention UNC’s struggles on Saturdays at 3:30 pm on ABC is getting their pet goldfish castrated.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

13-2, BC. I am slightly concerned with UNC’s early turnovers, their poor defense, and Tyrese Rice.

UNCLEAN!!!

3:55 pm: 18-5, BC. Senor Tyler finally gets on the board with Carolina’s first field goal. So far: Tyrese Rice, 14; UNC, 5.

3:58 pm: 18-7, BC. Hansbrough loses a contact lens. Again.

4:00 pm: 24-10, BC. Finally…the moment we’ve all been waiting for…the return of Ty Lawson!

Tryese Rice then proceeds to welcome him warmly.

4:02 pm: 27-12 BC. Tyrese Rice has 23 points in the first seven minutes. At this point, we need to either quadruple team him or just crown his ass right now.

Commercial break. Time for some aquatic population control.

4:11 pm: 31-20, BC. Hansbrough’s effectiveness in the paint and said quadruple teaming of Rice is allowing Carolina to stay within striking distance.

4:18 pm: 34-20, BC. Uh-oh. Quentin Thomas picks up his second foul.

4:20 pm: 37-20, BC. We cannot afford to have Ellington go cold again today. Also, WordPress isn’t allowing double space right now.

4:22 pm: 37-24, BC. I’m pretty sure Rakim Sanders got away with goaltending. Regardless, Tyler gets two from the line.

40-24, BC. Rice is left open for three. You pretty much guess what happens next. Ironically, Rice gets his first three pointer in nine minutes from a defensive mistake by…gasp…Ty Lawson.

42-27, BC. Will Graves hits a three, but what on earth is happening to the Tar Heels in this game?

4:31 pm: 46-36, BC. 29 points for Rice. This is getting ridiculous. Equally ridiculous is the kind of shots that Tyler is making on the other end.

4;34 pm: 50-36, BC. No. This is simply not possible. After Danny Green turns it over, Rice is left open again, and…swish. He now has 32 points in the first half.

4:36 pm: 52-36, BC. Rice has officially passed his career high in points…in the first half.

4:38 pm: And we’re at halftime. Shockingly, Boston College leads, 54-40 after the first half. Whatever gameplan Roy had for this game, he needs to throw it away and focus on stopping Rice at all costs. I think everyone knew that if BC had any chance in this game, Tyrese Rice had to have a good game. No one could have expected him to go absolutely ballistic against the team that people expected to be the #1 team in the nation on Monday.

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If for no other reason, you need to watch the second half for Tyrese Rice.

4:55 pm: The second half starts with a UNC turnover and two BC baskets. Guess who.

4:56 pm: For the love of God, Tyler, pass it!

4:57 pm: 58-44, BC. Ellington finally puts UNC on the board in the second half. Hansbrough gets a basket on the next possession. He now has 19.

4:59 pm: 61-47, BC. Carolina has a completely new set of five players on the court.

Regardless of Rice’s performance today, there is absolutely no reason for Carolina to be on pace for giving up 100 points on defense.

5:06 pm: 61-52, BC. huge news: Green hits his second three this half to bring the game to single digits for the first time in, like, ever.

5:08 pm: 61-55, BC. Ellington hits another three, and HOLY F–KING S–T WE’RE BACK IN THIS GAME!!!

61-60, BC. Green and Ellington are taking over this game, and they’ve scored the game’s last 16 points to bring it within one.

Rice hit his knee on the last play. Rice + injury = doom for BC.

62-61, UNC. MAAAARRRRRRRRRCUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSS!!!

And we have our first lead!

65-64, BC. Rice gets his 40th point to bring the lead back to the Eagles.

66-65, UNC. WAYNE’S WORLD WAYNE’S WORLD PARTY TIME EXCELLENT WHOOOOOOOOOO!!!

5:20 pm: Tyler Hansbrough commits the most un-Hansbrough play ever. He misses both free throws, gets his own rebound, and misses the point-blank basket.

68-67, UNC. I’m so used to the Eagles with the lead that I keep typing BC instead of UNC. Meanwhile, Ellington continues to set the arena on fire in the second half. 71-67, UNC.

73-69, UNC. And we have our first Deon Thompson sighting.

76-69, UNC. Green and Ellington simply cannot be stopped right now.

An amazing stat: In the second half, Carolina has made as many field goals as Boston College has attempted. That’s why they’re on a 32-8 run. It bears reading again: a 32-8 run since BC was up 61-44 with about 17 minutes left.

78-70, UNC. Hansbrough gets an easy basket inside. UNC’s run is now 34-9.

80-70, UNC. I don’t care how faithful you are in this team. If you say you believed this game would go from a 17 point deficit to a double-digit lead in 12 minutes of playing time, you’re lying.

82-72, UNC. Ellington dunks it on the other end. I don’t think that I’ve seen such a dominant 13 minutes of basketball on the road out of this team…ever. Certainly not this season.

82-74, UNC. Tyrese Rice just broke the school record for points in a game; he now has 44.

86-78, UNC. Rice and Shamari Spears are keeping the game near single digits, but time is running out.

88-78, UNC. We’re going to survive…

The game is over, and Carolina wins 90-80. What an unbelievable game. Tyrese Rice had the game of his life with 46 points, and it looked like his team was going to dominate. But the Heels outscored the Eagles 46-19 in the final sixteen and a half minutes, and they may well have cemented their place at #1 in the nation with their second half performance.