2011 NCAA Tournament Score: Questionable Late-Game Decisions, Officiating Surround Washington's 86-83 Loss To North Carolina

As CBS highlighted during their post game analysis, the Washington Huskies had about 1.2 seconds left on the clock after North Carolina forward John Henson bobbled a desperation halfcourt shot from senior guard Venoy Overton out of bounds.

Down three points, they were given 0.5 seconds instead and Isaiah Thomas wasn't able to get his feet set behind the 3-point line on another buzzer-beater try and UW's season ended on a disappointing 86-83 loss to UNC in Charlotte.

Certainly that extra second might have helped UW find a better last second shot. Then again, there were questionable decisions even before that led up to the situation in which a desperation shot was needed.

The very fact that there was 1.2 seconds left when Overton's shot went through Henson's hands and out of bounds will draw lingering questions about why he took the shot, although he might have had reason to believe that he could draw a foul. On the possession prior to that, senior forward Justin Holiday was unable to throw an inbounds pass around Henson with the Huskies only down one. Prior to that, Overton took a contested layup in traffic that also fell short against UNC's posts. Two possessions prior to that, Terrence Ross tried to make another acrobatic layup in traffic that fell short.

So perhaps what's most disappointing about this loss from a fan perspective is that UW had chances to win the game and their decision making down the stretch hurt their chances, officiating mistakes aside. And despite characteristically solid defensive performances by seniors Justin Holiday and Venoy Overton, their careers will unfortunately end with questions about decisions they made.

However, a lack of senior poise under pressure is hardly what determined this outcome. Untimely turnovers hurt UW throughout the second half and they continued to struggle keeping North Carolina off the free throw line - UNC got to the line 23 times with Tyler Zeller leading the way with 7-for-7 free throw shooting as part of his game-high 23 points. while forward Harrison Barnes finished with 22 points and big plays on both ends that hurt the Huskies. Freshman point guard Kendall Marshall set a UNC record for assists in a tournament game with 14 in addition to seven free throw attempts of his own.

To Washington's credit, they did an admirable job on the boards against UNC's size with Aziz N'Diaye leading the way with a game-high 11 while Ross led the team in scoring with 19 points. Yet the fact that UW only got to the line seven times in the game while UNC had 10 attempts in the second half just demonstrates UW's difficulty with defending this bigger team today.

NCAA Tournament 2011 Scores: Washington Leads North Carolina 45-44 At Halftime

Quite a bit about this first half between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Washington Huskies went exactly as expected.

Washington freshman guard continued to show off his potential with a team-high 12 points, including 2-for-3 3-point shooting and an acrobatic scoop layup on a fast break off a steal. UW also got going from beyond the arc as a team with 6-for-13 shooting, including 2-for-3 shooting from Darnell Gant as well.

North Carolina went inside early and often against UW's zone and established and 7-foot post Tyler Zeller finished the half with 12 points. While 6-foot-10 post John Henson didn't shoot well, he got himself to the line five times, which gave he and Zeller a combined nine first half free throw attempts including Zeller's two attempts with four seconds left after UW center Aziz N'Diaye picked up an unfortunate third foul. Harrison Barnes had a game-high 14 point

But with UNC's post presence, perhaps the thing that helped Washington most was their ability to rebound against a team with such size. UW won the rebounding battle 23-17 and got 44 percent of the offensive rebounds available to them compared to UNC's 32 percent. Romar started N'Diaye to give the Huskies more size in the post and it definitely worked with him grabbing a game-high three offensive rebounds and getting his hands on others. However, his foul trouble could have a major impact on the Huskies ability to maintain a rebounding advantage in the second half.

2011 NCAA Tournament: Washington Won't Need To Worry About Slowing Down Against North Carolina

After facing a Georgia Bulldogs team that tried to slow the pace in the first round, the Washington Huskies will face a North Carolina Tar Heels team this morning that will not bother much with trying to slow down.

More importantly, there were few teams in the nation this season that ran as fast and as efficiently as the Huskies, but the Tar Heels do approach that level - while the Huskies scored 1.12 points per possession at a pace of 73.5 possessions per 40 minutes, the Tar Heels scored 1.04 points per possession at a pace of 74.6 possessions per 40. Both teams like to get up and down the court and both are fairly adept at doing so.

The big difference offensively is that while the Huskies have proven to be an erratic 3-point shooting team, the Tar Heels are just not good at making hitting from beyond the arc: their 32.9 percent 3-point percentage ranked them eighth in the ACC this season and in the bottom half of the nation.

However, as a team that doesn't shoot the three well, they win games on the strength of a tall front line that helps them to a significant rebounding advantage over opponents. That puts a whole lot of pressure on the Huskies posts of Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Aziz N'Diaye for a second game in a row, as alluded to by T.H. of SBN's North Carolina site Carolina March.

NCAA Tournament Preview: UNC vs. Washington - Carolina March
The Tar Heels best chance of victory is to use their defense to keep the Huskies off balance; most of their losses came on the rare occasions they were held to under a point per possession. Here UNCs height will be a big help. As with LIU, both members of UDub's starting backcourt are under six foot, and there's really no height outside of Bryan-Amaning and N'Diaye. Thomas will get his points, but Carolina can limit his penetration with their front line, and make his outside shooting more difficult at least with their longer reach. If they can clean up on the boards and, as always, not make so many stupid turnovers, they can advance to Newark next week.

However, his off-hand note at the end there is essential too: the Tar Heels turn the ball over about as often as their opponents at their fast pace, whereas the Huskies generally have a turnover advantage.

So although the pace of this game might be different, ultimately the keys remain strikingly similar to those against first round opponent Georgia: UW will have to contain UNC's post players while also maintaining their defensive intensity and forcing turnovers that help them get those transition points.

Regardless of the outcome, this should be a fun game to watch.

NCAA Tournament Scores: Washington Advances After Surviving Georgia, 68-65

For the second consecutive game, the Washington Huskies were involved in a game with a dramatic finish.

And UW guard Isaiah Thomas was again a participant in a big play.

After Georgia made a late run that came down to free throws and missed free throws to cut the lead to three, an outlet pass with under three seconds left was deflected by Thomas and forced the Bulldogs into a tough three at the buzzer that fell short and secured a 68-65 win for the Huskies in opening round play.

Although it was late-game drama that might have made the game representative of the annual madness in March, it was the Huskies' ability to establish their transition game in the second half that won this game after a first half in which neither Georgia nor Washington was able to consistently impose their will on the game. After struggling to make shots in the first half, the Huskies found their rhythm in transition, which created the type of shooter's confidence that they talked about over the past few weeks and helped them shoot 53.8 percent in the second half.

But that was all made possible by doing a much better job of pressuring Georgia guards into poor decisions and turnovers while the Huskies finished the game with five total turnovers. After a slow start, Isaiah Thomas turned it on in the second half to finish with 19 points and seven assists, complemented by Scott Suggs' 10 points. Trey Thompkins led the way for Georgia with a game-high 26 points to go with 11 rebounds, which marks a better job of UW in the paint in the second half: Thompkins was held to only three rebounds.

Perhaps we can't say that the Huskies have regained the confidence that had people expecting them to win the Pac-10 regular season title early in 2011, but we can say that performances like they had in the second half tonight are encouraging for the team as they move forward - not only did they bounce back and find their shooting stroke as they did early in the year, but their defensive intensity overwhelmed the opposing guards and helped them establish their style of play.

2011 NCAA Tournament Scores: Washington, Georgia Tied At 28 At Halftime

Two things that we can say we probably knew before this game are that a) the Georgia Bulldogs would try to slow the pace and b) that the Washington Huskies ability to control the paint could be a major determinant of this game.

And in playing to a 28-28 tie at halftime, those are the factors that might have played out most clearly.

Georgia was extremely effective when they slowed the pace of the game, but when they committed turnovers - as they did on nearly a quarter of their possessions - UW was able to get out and score in transition.

While the team's engaged in a power struggle to control the tempo, Washington struggled to defend the paint in the halfcourt in allowing Georgia forward Trey Thompkins to score a game-high 15 points and haul in eight rebounds. To their credit, Washington did beat Georgia on the offensive boards, but in shooting only 35.3 percent a lot of that was due to more opportunity. Scott Suggs was the only player who really established anything consistent on offense with a team-high seven points. Matthew Bryan-Amaning leads the Huskies with five rebounds to go with six points.

The bottom line here is that the Dawgs are exactly who we thought the Dawgs were and as of yet neither team has been able to establish themselves consistently - even though the Bulldogs appeared to be in control, they weren't able to put the unpredictable Huskies away.

Again, if we've learned anything about the Huskies this season, it's that we can't predict the second half until they step on the floor.

2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament: Three Questions For Washington's Game Against Georgia

Most of us Seattle basketball fans probably reasonably assume that the Washington Huskies will beat the Georgia Bulldogs today.

Everyone knows they're talented, they've seemingly regained their confidence, and their defense at top intensity is enough to overwhelm even the best teams.

Nevertheless, if Huskies fans have learned anything this season, it's that winning is not a given even when the odds appear to be in the Huskies' favor. The following is three questions that will need to be answered in order for Washington to win.

3. How will changing the starting lineup affect their rhythm?

UW coach Lorenzo Romar's decision to change the starting lineup heading into the Pac-10 Tournament definitely raised a few eyebrows and - given the team's late-season struggles - might have led some people to question his decision-making as the reason for the team's disappointing season. But at the same time, it was justifiable very much because the team was searching for something that would work, particularly with senior guard Venoy Overton suspended.

So obviously re-inserting Gant into the starting lineup makes the team bigger against a Georgia team that can rebound.

2. How will UW respond if Georgia is able to slow the tempo?

As quoted on SBN's Dawg Sports, Glenn Logan of SBN's Kentucky site A Sea of Blue has pointed out that Georgia will want to slow the tempo to win this game.

Georgia Bulldogs v. Washington Huskies: The Haphazard Ill-Informed NCAA Basketball Tournament Preview - Dawg Sports
Georgia will need to control the tempo, as the Huskies love to fly around the court, and play at one of the highest tempos in Division I. If the 'Dawgs can keep the pace deliberate and possessions at or below about 64, I like their chances. Defensively, Washington has a small point guard and Terrence Ross is not a good defensive player yet, and I think if Robinson, Ware, and Leslie take their time and don't get suckered into a track meet with Washington, your more experienced players can hang with them.

We could certainly go into a detailed analysis of what might happen should the Bulldogs be able to slow down the Huskies. But there's another way to look at this that comes back to a common refrain: if the Huskies play with their full defensive intensity, create turnovers, and score in transition, Georgia won't have much control over the tempo. And based on their season numbers, turnovers stand out as a glaring advantage for UW. So UW's defense might supercede the concern of controlling the tempo - if they come out with their best defensive intensity, it will become moot point.

1. Can UW control the boards?

A recurring theme this season - in addition to wavering defensive intensity - has been allowing teams to outrebound them. Going back to Logan, rebounding might be the thing most within the scope of Georgia's control.

Georgia Bulldogs v. Washington Huskies: The Haphazard Ill-Informed NCAA Basketball Tournament Preview - Dawg Sports
They are big, athletic, and can rebound like crazy, so defensive rebounding is critical against this team, but Georgia's thickness and size will help them against the thinner Huskies. Washington plays above the rim, so it's really important for your big people to block out soundly on defense. Conversely, Washington is not a very good defensive rebounding club and Georgia is a very good offensive rebounding team. So if the 'Dawgs can beat them in the offensive rebound war, it will put you in a good position to win. . .

Rebounding is a concern for UW not because Georgia holds an objective significant advantage but because it's an area where the Huskies have inexplicably struggled this season.

And that's a good place to reiterate the primary point about this Huskies team: there's only so much analysis we can do. When this team shows up at their best, they are extremely difficult to beat. When they are off, they're really off and can lose consecutive games to NIT teams. There's not really any strong way to predict that even if there might be some clear indicators of how a loss might occur.

2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament: Washington's Defensive Pressure Could Give Georgia Trouble

There is little doubt that winning the 2011 Pac-10 Tournament has been an emotional boost for the Washington Huskies as they head into their matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

"I think it gives you confidence in that if we're in that position again, we can look back and just remember what we were able to do before," said UW coach Lorenzo Romar in a media session today. "Sometimes in situations like that there can be a little bit of self-doubt that you don't realize - the alarm kind of comes on like, 'Uh oh - we're in this position that doesn't usually work out for us.' So you don't want that to happen so with a couple of wins like we just had, I think it helps us."

It might be safe to say that in addition to an emotional boost from developing confidence that they can win hard-fought games, the very act of securing an automatic bid to alleviate any potential anxiety about 2011 NCAA Tournament seeding adds to their seemingly building confidence as well.

Yet as important as that emotional boost might be for a team that has admitted to a wavering confidence in recent weeks, having senior guard Venoy Overton back for the 2011 NCAA Tournament has to be as much a boost on the court for the Washington Huskies as winning the Pac-10 Tournament. If nothing else, he'll help to fill out the rotation to make sure that point guard Isaiah Thomas doesn't have to play 40 minutes a game, which might have been more mentally than physically exhausting.

"[It's] more of a mental strain than a physical strain," Romar commented. "I would say that with the exception of Isaiah, no one logged unusually long minutes - I think guys for the most part played 30 minutes and below. But Isaiah logged a lot. But getting up for each game, being mentally prepared for each scouting report - I thought our guys executed our scouting report in the last two games of the tournament...as good as any game all year and I thought a lot of that had to to with concentrating and being dialed in. That mental approach can drain you for a bit, but I think Friday is ample time for us to regain our energy mentally and physically."

All season, Romar has maintained that UW's focus usually begins with establishing their defensive intensity. So most importantly, Overton's return will add a rugged perimeter defensive stopper to a Huskies team that appeared to be gaining confidence in Los Angles for the Pac-10 Tournament.

Their ability to stifle Georgia's perimeter play could be a deciding factor against a team like Georgia, that plays a methodical offense but has quick guards.

"They have definitely capable backcourt players," said Romar. "Travis Leslie is not their point guard but, man, he's athletic and he's strong and he's durable. And their guards have quickness so we have to wait until we get out on the floor."

However, a significant weakness for the Bulldogs this season has been turnovers - although Georgia guard Dustin Ware has been quite efficient as a ball handler this season with an impressive assist ratio of 32.6 percent compared to a turnover ratio of 10.4 percent, the team as a whole has turned the ball over about two percent more often than their opponents on the season and their biggest culprit is starting guard Gerald Robinson who has a turnover percentage of 24.2 percent.

So the Huskies' defense might be able to establish an advantage by exploiting a Bulldogs weakness relative to their opponents. And one thing that has been fairly consistent this season is that a team coming into a game against the Huskies with a negative turnover differential can struggle to control the ball if the Huskies are "concentrating and dialed in" as Romar might say.

Romar said today that they still hadn't formulated a game plan for Georgia and hadn't decided whether center Aziz N'Diaye would be re-inserted into the starting lineup.

"We don't know anything yet because we still haven't formulated a game plan for Georgia," said Romar when asked about the starting lineup. "We still are looking at film. We're still trying to decide exactly who they are; although we have an idea, before we decide on a starting lineup, we gotta make sure we know what approach we're going to take with them and then to figure out what personnel is best to take that approach."

If indeed the film bears out the type of vulnerability that the statistics do, that it will be interesting to see how that influences rotation decisions.

2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament Preview: Washington Vs. Georgia

As described in a feature earlier today, the Washington Huskies' whirlwind turnaround to win the Pac-10 Tournament might end up defining this roller coaster season while also serving as a perfect illustration of why exactly we're so drawn to this thing called March Madness.

While SBN's Arizona Desert Swarm described the Arizona Wildcats' third loss in 15 games as evidence of the team finally getting stung by their inability to close games strong, applying any specific basketball significance from this game to UW is difficult if not impossible.

As powerful a moment and narrative as it was, all it tells us about UW's chances going forward is exactly what we might have assumed prior to the conference tournament when some people were ready to just leave the Huskies for dead: this team is almost entirely unpredictable, but can achieve great things when they're focused and loose.

It feels fluffy and sounds nebulous to keep harping on this point about the team's intangibles, but this team's success seems to hinge almost entirely on how focused they are and it starts with defense. But somehow although it starts with defense, it can occur without the services of senior defensive stalwart Venoy Overton.

And nobody seems to be able to explain why it comes and goes - it just does so as it pleases.

If there's anything we've learned for certain this season as the Huskies prepare to embark upon their first journey across the Mississippi this season, it's that we won't truly know much about this team's chances to make a tournament run until about the first four minutes of each half of each game. It's neither good nor bad, it just seems that matchups, statistics, and available personnel matter considerably less than their ability to decide that they're actually going to play day-in and day-out.

This is unquestionably a talented team that can make some noise in the tournament if in fact the Pac-10 Tournament championship is a sign that the team is coming together at the right time rather than merely another high to be followed by another letdown.

NCAA Bracket Preview: Complete Washington Tournament Primer - SBNation.com
Nevertheless, there was a reason many people around the Pac-10 thought this would be the team that got head coach Lorenzo Romar his first trip to the Elite Eight in his ninth year at UW: this is still arguably the most talented roster top to bottom in the Pac-10 and when they're focused, they can outrun inferior talent and play with the best in the nation. With Overton back for the NCAA tournament to fuel this team's pressure defense, this is a team that can harass opponents into a back-and-forth game where they generate offense off of turnovers.

Ultimately, what their tournament chances might come down to is a point that former UW assistant and current Seattle University head coach Cameron Dollar alluded to after their 95-74 loss to the Huskies.

"You can look through a game and see where that it was just a talent play," said Dollar. "Aziz (N'Diaye) catches the ball on the block on Gavin (Gilmore), Gavin's got behind him, and he turns and hits a jump hook off the square - ain't nothing you can do about that. They drive and we rotate down and we need to box out and there's nobody there to box out and he catches it and dunks it - there's probably something we can do about that. So once you eliminate those plays and then all they're making is talent plays, then we can talk. How the game usually goes - even on their end - to consistently make talent plays all game long is hard for any team to do."

UW is perfectly capable of relying on what Dollar called a "talent gap" to beat a second-year Division I team like Seattle U. But to win consistently on talent plays is difficult and, to some extent, when we say UW's focus is wavering, what they're often doing is reverting to trying to win on talent plays instead of the type of aggressive, hard-working defense that they're capable of.

Although it's certainly tempting to start looking past the Georgia Bulldogs toward a potential second-round game against the North Carolina Tar Heels - even if cautiously - right now we just have to hope the high-intensity defensive unit shows up in Charlotte to complement those individuals that wearing purple that seek to "out-talent" opponents.