THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503260409
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BIRMINGHAM, ALA. LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
North Carolina learned the hard way last year that having an abundance of talent was no guarantee of winning the NCAA tournament.
Saturday, a Tar Heel team critics said was too shallow to be taken seriously, taught the same hard lesson to talent-rich Kentucky in the Southeast Region championship game.
The No. 2 seed Tar Heels blew out the top-seeded Wildcats, 74-61, to advance to next week's Final Four in Seattle.
While the Tar Heels couldn't match the talent Kentucky had on the bench, the Wildcats failed to match the talent North Carolina put on the court.
But when the Tar Heels had to call on their reserve strength after center Rasheed Wallace got in early foul trouble, they found all the help they needed.
``People have totally disrespected our bench the whole season,'' Wallace said. ``But if we didn't have a bench, we would never have gotten this far.''
Wallace wouldn't get an argument from anyone in the Birmingham Civic Center, most of them heart-broken Kentucky fans.
Wallace was called for his second foul only four minutes into the game when He was involved in an incident with Kentucky center Andre Riddick.
Riddick said Wallace ignited the incident by throwing an elbow. Riddick responded by grabbing Wallace by the neck.
``It wasn't anything personal,'' Wallace said. ``We both were caught up in the intensity of the game.''
Riddick escaped with only the original foul, for pushing Wallace, while teammate Walter McCarty drew a seemingly undeserved technical after officials reviewed a television replay of the incident.
North Carolina trailed, 8-2, at the time but came back to lead, 34-31, at intermission despite Wallace picking up his third foul and sitting out the final 9:48 of the half.
Serge Zwikker filled in for Wallace and supplied four points and four rebounds. Pat Sullivan and Pearce Landry also brought relief off the bench.
Tar Heel fans nervously watched two starters, Dante Calabria and Donald Williams, limp off the court during the first half.
Both returned to play, as did Wallace, and helped North Carolina to dominate throughout the second half against a Kentucky team that came apart at the seams.
The Wildcats experienced their most horrendous shooting night of the season, making only 28 percent of their shots and connecting on 7 of 36 3-point attempts.
After impressive victories in the first three tournament games, the Wildcats looked like a race horse that turned up lame on derby day.
Kentucky coach Rick Pitino admitted to being ``kinda stunned'' by the defeat and criticized his players for taking too many bad shots.
``I am just dumbfounded,'' Pitino said.
``We brought a great team here and we leave as individuals. We have not been a one-pass team all season, and that was what we were trying to be tonight. I can't explain it.''
Some North Carolina players thought they knew the answer.
``They got behind and kept trying too hard to get it back. They were rushing their shots and not showing much patience,'' Tar Heel Jeff McInnis said.
Whenever the Wildcats seemed ready to make a challenge, their strong-lunged fans roared in anticipation, but they wound up disappointed each time.
``They (the Wildcats) got caught up in the crowd,'' Wallace said.
``When the crowd started yelling, it was like they were thinking if they could make a 3-pointer they could blow this place apart.''
Wallace smiled.
``But they didn't make many of those, did they?''
North Carolina coach Dean Smith was gracious in victory but admitted he did not think his team had played well, especially against Kentucky's press.
``We are supposed to be a team that can handle the press,'' Smith said. ``We are just fortunate they did not shoot any better.''
Jerry Stackhouse didn't find an opportunity to show his dunking abilities but still scored 18 points - 11 from the free-throw line.
Williams added 18 points and Wallace had 12, all in the second half.
The Tar Heels were guilty of 20 turnovers, but Stackhouse didn't think Kentucky's press was as effective as Smith did.
``I think we handled it pretty good,'' he said. ``It caused some turnovers, but we were able to get some easy baskets off it, too.''
The Tar Heels will be returning to the Final Four for the third time in the last five years.
They won the title in 1993, and with the most talented and deepest team in school history were expected to repeat last year.
Instead, they were bumped in the second round.
``It is a good feeling to be going back,'' Calabria said, ``especially after what happened last year.''
The Tar Heels will play the winner of today's Midwest championship game between Virginia and Arkansas in the national semifinals next Saturday. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS COLOR PHOTOS
Kentucky's Andre Riddick grabs North Carolina's Rasheed Wallace in
the first half after Wallace elbowed him in the face. Wallace drew a
technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct, as did Walter McCarty,
right, who was mistakenly identified as the player who grabbed
Wallace.
UNC center Serge Zwikker, top, celebrates, but coach Dean Smith
keeps his cool as time expires in the Tar Heels' win.
Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
North Carolina's Dante Calabria gets pinched between Kentucky's
Chris Harrison, left, and Antoine Walker.
by CNB