North Carolina Tar Heels: Final Four Bracket Game 1

The first matchup in the Final Four Bracket pits the 2017 North Carolina Tar Heels against their 1972 counterparts.

The North Carolina Tar Heels have twenty teams that have made the Final Four. In the last entry, we set up a tournament for those teams to see which one would prevail as the best of those teams. Game 1 of the series will be the 1972 Tar Heels team versus the 2017 team. The winner plays the 2005 Championship team in the next round.

This game illustrates the problems of trying to determine a tournament like this. The 1972 Tar Heels were built to score close into the basket. Shooting was not nearly as important to that team as defense was. They also had no three point shot, and Coach Dean Smith would have built a different team had he known what modern rules would become.

There is also a size disparity with Bob McAdoo representing the tallest player on the team at 6’9”. Bobby Jones and little used Craig Corson also reached that height. Their opposition, the 2017 Heels, has abundant size and an eye toward shooting because of the modern game. It just reveals how different basketball was once.

North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball

2017 Rotation

Starters

C Kennedy Meeks

F Isaiah Hicks

F Justin Jackson

G Theo Pinson

G Joel Berry

Key Reserves

G Nate Britt

G Kenny Williams

F Tony Bradley

F Luke Maye

G Seventh Woods

G Stilman White

The 1972 defense was a pressing defense, in fact the reason they lost to Florida State in the semifinal round was because they pressed too much, and FSU broke it. They did much better when the Seminoles had to figure out how to score.

As evidenced by the Arkansas game, dogged defense can cause the 2017 team problems and lead to turnovers. This is especially true if Berry is not on the court. This game would have at least one confounding Britt play leading to a McAdoo flush on the other end.

The 2017 defense, on the other hand, would match up well size wise against their counterparts. Karl and Previs were not threats to shoot, so the main thing would be to disrupt entry passes into McAdoo, Wuycik, or Chamberlain in the middle. Pinson would probably draw Chamberlain as his cover, giving Jackson the easier duty on Previs.

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Down low would be a back and forth affair. McAdoo would be the star of the game and lead Hicks to early foul trouble. On the other side, McAdoo would probably get into a little foul trouble of his own playing off Meeks. There would be the regular blocks of Meeks that seems to happen.

Hicks’ foul trouble would bring in Maye and lead to the Achilles heel of the 1972 team. They would not be used to covering four shooters on the court at the same time. The 2017 team would adjust to the press and bring Jackson around screens for open threes. Meanwhile Maye would dilute the post defense by playing away from the middle. Meeks could back down a McAdoo hampered by foul trouble for a bucket or a key offensive rebound.

The end result would not be pretty for Roy Williams team, but they would get the victory due to the evolution of the game. McAdoo would be Player of the Game, and the game would turn on its pace with the 2017 team having more men to run around. Jackson would become the key offensive piece as the game moved on.

Next: Lessons from Oregon-Kansas

Result: 2017 72 1972 68

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