SOUTH BEND—A four-point play. They won it with a four-point play. Of all the improbable, unbelievable, did-I-just-see-that ways to do it, they did it with a four-point play.
Look, we can all read the roster and we all understand this is an unconventional team. But even for this bunch of Tar Heels, winning a road game on a four-point play from the team’s worst three-point shooter by percentage is a little extreme.
Luckily we are in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus, so it’s a quick walk over to confess all the bad words everyone was thinking and saying with a few seconds left in Saturday’s game at Notre Dame.
Carolina had led the game by as many as 11 points in the second half, but that lead evaporated in a blizzard of Irish one-on-one offense and free throws. The Irish made 12 field goals in the second half but had just two assists; you don’t need assists when you are just driving headlong towards the rim and scoring or getting fouled (it’s noteworthy that Seth Trimble sat out for a third straight game; he would have made a difference on at least some of those drives).
With Micah Shrewsberry bellowing from the sideline, the home team also attempted 18 second half free throws, making 14. The very talented Markus Burton went 9-10 at the line all by himself in 13 minutes of second half action. But Shrewsberry left the door cracked by choosing not to call a timeout and leaving Burton on the bench for three key Notre Dame offensive possessions in the final five minutes (at that juncture, Carolina had accumulated five stops on the last 23 Irish possessions with Burton on the court). His team managed just one point on those three trips.
Still, though, the situation didn’t feel great when Burton scored to put Notre Dame up by three with 1:16 left…or the Tar Heels turned the ball over with 54 seconds remaining while trailing by those same three points…or Matt Allocco hit a pair of free throws to boost the lead to three again with 14 seconds to play.
The results of the next 14.5 seconds don’t guarantee that Carolina’s season will move in the right direction. But they were essential to merely provide the opportunity.
Cadeau’s miracle four-point play wasn’t Wayne Ellington at Clemson. It wasn’t Marcus Paige at NC State. Maybe it wasn’t even Andrew Platek at Miami. But in terms of importance to this season—a season that would have been teetering perilously if it hadn’t happened—Cadeau’s shot was enormous.
The sophomore point guard had already quietly made a big play with under 30 seconds to play. Trailing by three, the Tar Heels were looking for a three-pointer, but when the area under the rim cleared out and left him a clear path, Cadeau drove hard to the basket and got a quick two points.
“We’ve been in that spot in a lot of games,” Cadeau said on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. “We’ve had a lot of close games. We are experienced in that situation and know what to do and what not to do.”
They might know it. But executing it is sometimes a challenge. On Saturday, they executed it.
And while this win will largely be remembered as an Ian Jackson showcase, the Tar Heels’ final three three-point baskets of the game came from Jae’Lyn Withers, Drake Powell and Cadeau. Coming into the afternoon, those three were shooting a combined 27-90 from three-point range—a cool 30 percent. It’s early January and it’s probably time we all accept that this team is never going to do anything the conventional way. Relying on those three to connect from the perimeter in the game’s final 11 minutes wasn’t the game plan…but somehow, it worked.
Add in the solid performance of Jalen Washington—five blocked shots, six rebounds and eight points—and while the headlines will deservedly be about Jackson, who has been amazing, the contributions went much deeper.
“We needed this one,” Hubert Davis said on the THSN. “It wasn’t a need game, but we needed it for our confidence. We needed to play well and we did that. Today I felt like we played Carolina basketball and we were a team. Even when things didn’t go right, we joined together and solved problems together and won a game on the road, which is very hard to do in the ACC.”
Cadeau was still beaming about one of those very specific problems the Tar Heels solved. After he sank the three-point shot that tied the game, the two teams went to their benches for the officials to review the play. During that stoppage, Davis began his team’s huddle the way he learned from Dean Smith.
“When Elliot makes this free throw…” he said, and proceeded to set the Tar Heel defense.
As he prepared to return to the court, though, Cadeau grabbed his coach.
“If I don’t make it,” Cadeau said, “what defense will we be in?” He was seven for his last 13 at the line. It was a reasonable question.
“I’m not even thinking about that,” Davis told his point guard. He may have indeed been thinking about it—but he wasn’t going to tell Cadeau.
“That confidence he had in me in that moment,” Cadeau said, “really helped me a lot.”
It paid off with a four-point play, the program’s first one-point win since four years ago against this same opponent, and a much needed road victory. It hasn’t been an easy season–and this game doesn’t fix everything–for Cadeau. There are players–many of whom are much less talented shooters–who would not have even considered the possibility that they might miss a free throw in the game’s closing seconds. Everyone is different. Standing on that line, in that gym, in that situation isn’t as easy as it looks on television. Over the last two seasons, Davis has learned what kind of coaching and encouragement Cadeau needs. He gave him exactly what he needed in the game’s final huddle on Saturday.
We won’t know for another couple weeks if this can be a win that provides some momentum. Combined with the return of Trimble, there’s a possibility to stack some wins during an upcoming more manageable stretch of the schedule. But that’s all too far into the future. What we know right now is that it’s a win the Tar Heels absolutely had to have, and they got it.
Somehow.
