NCAA Tournament 2017, North Carolina vs Butler: Highlights, score and recap

The North Carolina Tar Heels used a torrid start in the first half to put the Butler Bulldogs too far behind and advance to the Elite Eight

After the way that the North Carolina Tar Heels looked in the Second Round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, there were viable questions about whether or not their National Championship hopes were all a mirage. If they were, it would certainly be revealed on Friday night in their Sweet 16 matchup against the Butler Bulldogs.

As it turns out, the Round of 32 was more likely the mirage for the Tar Heels, and they put the Bulldogs on notice of that right out of the gate.

Justin Jackson and North Carolina came out bombing from long range and seemingly unable to miss. Both he and Joel Berry, who’s health was thought to be at less than 100 percent due to an ankle injury, were pivotal in attacking form the perimeter. However, the offensive rebounding of Kennedy Meeks on the interior and the unlikely emergence of Luke Maye after Isaiah Hicks got into early foul trouble were qually as important.

Though Butler cut a 14-point early lead back down to eight, the Tar Heels pushed down on the accelerator once again and ran back out to a 16-poin lead going into halftime, putting up an impressive 52 points in the half.

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The second half wasn’t nearly as lucrative for the North Carolina offense, but their first half cushion ultimately made it not matter. Kelan Martin came to life in the second half after an ice-cold first and Andrew Chrabascz was big for the Bulldogs as well as they tried to chip away at the lead. Unfortunately for them, it just simply wasn’t enough and they had too few answers on defense and on the boards to stop the Tar Heels.

Butler cut into the lead, but late fouling and subsequent free throws allowed UNC to push it back out to around their halftime margin and ultimately secure the win to advance.

Highlights

Three Stars

Luke Maye, North Carolina – The unlikeliest of heroes, Maye played big first-half minutes when Isaiah Hicks got into foul trouble. All he did was set a career high in scoring in the first half with 14 points and finish with a double-double. His final line for the night was 16 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Justin Jackson, North Carolina – Jackson was the predictable star for the Tar Heels as he helped early and often in ever capacity. He finished the night with 24 points, five assists and five boards in the win.

Joel Berry, North Carolina – Berry came into the game with concern about his ankle and even turned it on Friday night. However, that didn’t affect his performance as he was big-time with 26 points, two assists and a rebound to help lead the charge for the Heels.

Next Game

The Tar Heels will now move on to the Elite Eight where they’ll play the winner of Friday’s UCLA-Kentucky matchup. Whoever emerges should set up a potential all-time great game on Sunday night.