They didn't win ... nor did they even come close, really. In terms of talent, UNC was the cast of The Departed, and Eastern Kentucky was the cast of Backdoor Beauties, Volume XIV. But there were stretches of the game, including about a 10-minute run in the second half, where EKU gave UNC fits.
In the first half, UNC made Eastern Kentucky look like ... well, like Stanford. And in that situation, completely outmanned, being killed on the scoreboard, it would've been easy to pack it in. But they didn't. They fought, they ran their system, and they had the lead cut to four points in the second half.
I don't mean to overstate their accomplishments ... I mean, they did lose by 21 points. But being down just four in the second half against arguably the most talented team in the country? That's crazy. The EKU Colonels should be damn proud of themselves.
And if any of it looked familiar, it should. EKU head coach Jeff Neubauer coached under John Beilein at WVU, and the same things that got WVU to the Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen the past two years (and the Elite Eight of the NIT this year, holla) worked for ECU against UNC. They play an unusual 1-3-1 zone, and a motion offense that capitalizes on backdoor cuts and getting open threes.
UNC was just too tall a mountain for them to climb... but I think you'll see more and more of Eastern Kentucky in the tournament over the next few years, provided that they can hang on to Jeff Neubauer as head coach.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dude, Kids read these articles. Couldn't you have found a better way to describe a team other than "Backdoor Beauties"? How is that going to be explained. Unless I misunderstood....
Your article is right on the money... As an EKU grad I can hold my head proud to say that EKU did give UNC fits for a good portion of the game.