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Information provided by Bruce Pearl, goalkeeper of the UNC, at the Auburn team meeting Monday at Auburn Arena: 16.1 points per game, 4.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 42 , 9% of shots, 36.3% of the back.
That's when Jared Harper stepped in.
"Is it 6 feet 5 inches?" Harper said.
"I'll bet it's probably 6-4, 6-5, yes," Pearl replied.
Auburn, seeded fifth, faces North Carolina's No. 1 seed in Sweet 16 Friday in Kansas City. While both teams play a similar style, with a high tempo focusing on the guard game, the Tar Heels have a distinct edge on the perimeter: the length.
While Auburn's starting-back is comprised of Harper's 5-foot-11, Bryce Brown's 6-foot-3, and Malik Dunbar's 6-foot-6, North Carolina's backyard is considerably tidy. The Tar Heels have White, the former leader of McDonald's All-America; Kenny Williams, two 6-foot-4-inch guards, and 6-foot-9 Johnson winger Cameron – all have a big advantage over the Tigers.
"We are one of the smallest teams in the SEC and we are facing one of the country's biggest teams playing fast," said Pearl.
On Tuesday, before leaving the Tigers for Kansas City, Pearl praised the UNC's backyard, both for her ability to pose length problems and the specific skills of White and Johnson, who have been North Carolina's top two players this season, as well as Williams' defensive flair.
"If Ja Morant was not at Murray State, you would see Coby White say exactly the same about it," Pearl said. "Long, sporty, fast from start to finish. About as fast as anyone.
The speed with which White plays makes his size a bit misleading on the film, but his ability to speed up the tempo has been key to the UNC's superb quick offensive, which is the third-ranked national scoring with 86.1 points per game, the sixth national in tempo adjusted (74.1 possessions per 40 minutes) and eighth in the country in adjusted efficiency offensive (120.1 points per 100 possessions), according to KenPom.com.
Auburn is not afraid to run with UNC, but the Tigers have "a healthy fear and respect" for Sweet 16, their opponent
Auburn will face UNC at Sweet 16 Friday in Kansas City.
Pearl compared White's speed to that of Mississippi state guard Lamar Peters – "probably the fastest guy we've ever seen," but Peters stands at a generous distance of 6 feet, while White has minus five inches on him with similar speed.
"It's fast," Pearl said. "That's the key to the break from North Carolina. They just had it done or missed.
It's similar to what Auburn did to perfection in his second-round match with Kansas, when the Tigers took advantage of the Jayhawks' inability to quickly defend themselves. Pearl knows his team will have to avoid a situation similar to the one Kansas experienced Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
"We have to go back to transition and do some things in our transitional defense to come back and try to replicate the speed at which they push it," Pearl said. "We like to push fast too."
Whites may have been behind the Tar Heels attack, but Johnson was the team's top scorer this season with 16.9 points per game on a 51% shot including a superb 46.3% clip shot beyond the bow, which ranks sixth nationally and the best among the players. remaining in this year's tournament. It's almost unfair, given Johnson's 6-foot-9 frame.
Pearl qualified Johnson as the country's second-leading shooter in the country, behind Brown, who was second in the SEC's career charts in the Tigers second-round win.
The 2 most prolific sniper shooters in the SEC have something in common: Bruce Pearl's trust
Bryce Brown became the SEC's No. 2 all-time in three career points during the Auburn Tournament win in the second round of the NCAA. The only player in front of him, Chris Lofton, was also trained by Bruce Pearl.
"North Carolina is better than Kansas," said Pearl. "Johnson is – as they say – perhaps the second best shooter in college basketball at 6-9. So, if we let it go a bit, let's raise our hand on his belly button, which will make it difficult to challenge the shots. "
Then there is Williams, the 6-foot-4 senior that Pearl has described as an "elite advocate". He will likely be assigned to the defensive task by Harper or Brown on Friday night and he could present a difficult match for any of them.
"He can not keep them both, but he will have one," said Pearl. "Great length.It does a great job of caring.They will challenge the shots.It's one of the things that they do very well on the defense because of their length."
Of course, Auburn Guards are not the type to retire from a challenge.
Brown, himself a strong defenseman, has just won a superb shooting performance in the second round against Kansas. His confidence is at its peak as he tries to extend his academic career beyond the weekend. Harper has long been playing with a flea in the shoulder and still feels like the best ground game leader. Dunbar, on the other hand, may not be the most productive group in the band, but it's one of the Tigers' energy types. He is also a senior who seeks to continue to dance, both figuratively and literally, sometimes.
"So, yes," said Pearl. "It will be a great match of the guards."
Tom Green is a reporter for Auburn's Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
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