North Carolina playing like the dominant team this season has lacked

Moments before the start of Friday night's second half, Indiana coach Tom Crean explained to CBS sideline reporter Dana Jacobson what his team had to do to overcome an 11-point deficit.

"We've just got to do a better job defensively," Crean said. "We're letting the ball in the post too easily. They're getting too deep position."

Maybe North Carolina heard those instructions too because the first possession of the second half played out as though the Tar Heels were trying to prove a point. Kennedy Meeks backed down Thomas Bryant on the low block, snatched a post-entry feed from Justin Jackson and laid the ball in with ease.

North Carolina walloped Indiana 101-86 in the Sweet 16 on Friday night because the Tar Heels essentially did whatever they wanted on offense. They had 52 points by halftime and 75 points eight minutes into the second half before hitting 100 on a Joel Berry layup in the final minute.

When North Carolina wanted to go inside, Meeks and Brice Johnson combined for 35 points on only 20 shots. When Indiana converged on the paint and left shooters free, Marcus Paige and three other Tar Heels guard combined for 11-for-20 shooting from behind the arc. On the off chance North Carolina missed a shot or two, the Tar Heels still collected 15 offensive rebounds despite their torrid shooting.

North Carolina's dominant offensive showing propels the top-seeded Tar Heels to within one win of their 19th all-time Final Four and their fifth since 2000. Standing in North Carolina's way will be a Notre Dame team the Tar Heels dismantled by 31 points earlier this month in the ACC semifinals, though the Irish did win the lone regular season clash between the two teams.

 It's easier to envision the rubber match resembling the second meeting than the first one because North Carolina has been a different team since the postseason began. Not only are the Tar Heels gashing opponents in transition and on the offensive glass as has been their trademark all season, now they're also defending with urgency and knocking down open outside shots.

If this trend continues, North Carolina may very well emerge as the dominant team this college basketball season has long appeared to be lacking. In three ACC tournament games and three NCAA tournament games, only fellow No. 1 seed Virginia has come within fewer than 16 points of the Tar Heels.

Don't hand North Carolina the national championship trophy just yet though because some of the other pre-tournament favorites have performed nearly as well. No. 1 overall seed Kansas has won all three of its games by double figures, the Jayhawks' Elite Eight opponent Villanova has throttled three opponents by an average of 24 points and title contenders Oregon, Virginia and Oklahoma all have enjoyed impressive moments too.

With North Carolina clinching its spot in the Elite Eight, it means that all four No. 1 seeds have reached the regional finals for the first time since 2009. Only two of the No. 1 seeds made the Final Four that year, but all four got there for the only time in NCAA tournament history the previous season.

Indiana appeared to have a chance to be the first to topple a No. 1 seed after its impressive Sweet 16 upset of fourth-seeded Kentucky. The Hoosiers had the perimeter firepower to go bucket for bucket with the Tar Heels and had shown improvement on defense over the course of the season.

While Indiana's defensive strides weren't a mirage, the Hoosiers were still no match for a North Carolina team playing at peak efficiency. Once Paige hit four early 3-pointers and Indiana had to alter its defensive strategy, it was clear this year's most anticipated Sweet 16 game would likely go the Tar Heels' way.

When Crean spoke with reporters after the game was over, he was more awed by North Carolina than angry with how his own team performed.

"North Carolina played outstanding," he said. "If they play like that, even remotely close to that, then they're going to be very, very hard to beat."

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/north-carolina-playing-like-the-dominant-team-this-season-has-lacked-044114731.html

Read More

Brussels Airport and Metro Explosions: Suicide Attacker Suspected

Brussels Airport and Metro Explosions: Suicide Attacker Suspected

Brussels went into lock down on Tuesday after a series of explosions rocked the city's airport and subway, leaving at least 31 dead in what appeared to be a coordinated attack.
Officials raised the terror threat level, shut down all public transport in the Belgian capital and advised locals to stay indoors after the blasts, which also wounded dozens — including at least three Americans.
Belgium's federal prosecutor said one of two explosions at the airport was likely caused by a suicide bomber and that all three blasts were acts of terrorism.
Prime Minister Charles Michel called Tuesday a "dark moment for our country" and world leaders swiftly pledged solidarity with Belgium.

The attacks followed a flurry of counter-terrorism activity in Brussels and a raid Friday that captured Europe's most wanted man — Salah Abdeslam — in connection with the Paris terror attacks.
The Associated Press quoted the city's mayor as saying the explosion at Maalbeek metro station killed 20 people. The country's ministry of health confirmed that at least 11 people had been killed at the airport.
The first blast hit the airport's departures hall at around 8 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) and was quickly followed by a second explosion, sendin
Pictures from the smoky terminal showed bloodied victims, shattered glass and debris.
A security source told NBC News that one of the airport explosions happened in Departure Hall 1, which is used by international carriers including American Airlines. The carrier said none of its employees or crew had been injured by the blasts.
Eyewitness Jef Versele was checking in for a business trip to Rome when he heard an explosion.
"Soon after that one a second one hit — and everything came down," he told NBC News. "There was dust everywhere, glass everywhere, there was chaos. There were people on the floor everywhere. The roofing came down. It was quite a mess."
Related: Why Is This Brussels Suburb Home to So Many Extremists?
Versele added: "A lot of people were in panic. I saw a lot of blood, a lot of people were injured. People were crying, on the floor, covered by parts of the roofing. I saw a lot of leg injuries, a lot of people couldn't move anymore. There were quite a lot of people injured. In the departure hall — you saw people storming out, it was like run for your life."
American Mormon missionaries Richard Norby, 66; Joseph Empey, 20; and Mason Wells, 19, were among those injured. They were listed in critical condition with non-life threatening injuries.
The Belgian army joined a massive emergency-services response, which saw roads and public transportation leading to the airport closed and all incoming flights diverted.
Less than an hour after the blasts hit Zavantem airport, an explosion hit a subway car in the Maalbeck station — located near the European Union's main buildings.
Images posted on social media showed smoke pouring out of the station and injured people receiving medical treatment on the sidewalk outside.
The subway train Evan Lamos was on came to a stop shortly after 9 a.m. The 30-year-old said he walked for several minutes in the dark underground after his train was evacuated.
"As soon as the metro stopped, everyone was talking about the blast at the airport, but there was no panicking, when we were told to evacuate the train," said Lamos, an American who moved to Belgium as a teenager. "People were helping each other."
Michael Ryan, head of the EU delegation to Rwanda, was coming up the escalator at another station just a few hundred feet away when he felt a "soft boom."
"The air pressure from the explosion went up the line and rattled everything," he told NBC News. "Everything is tense here.
All trains, planes, trams and buses were halted in Brussels. The main Midi train station was evacuated and ambulances raced through the streets of the Belgian capital.
Sunita Van Heers had come to the train station after seeing the metro was on lockdown. Then police evacuated the station.
"Everybody started panicking, crying, not knowing what was happening," she said, describing how police ordered people away from the station. "It's scary."
The rapidly unfolding crisis caused cellphone networks in Brussels to jam, with officials urging people to use Whats App or Twitter because the networks were becoming saturated. Belgium's crisis center advised locals to stay home or in their workplaces, telling schools to keep students indoors.


For more click here: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/brussels-attacks/brussels-airport-metro-explosions-suicide-attacker-suspected-n543086

Read More