Lucas: A Familiar Feeling

By Adam Lucas

ASHEVILLE—OK, now it feels like Maui.

On a day when the temperature never rose above 35 degrees, Carolina and Stanford played a game worthy of the Lahaina Civic Center, with the Tar Heels holding on to edge Stanford, 67-63.

It felt, looked and sounded very much like a game that would be played in March rather than on the first day of December, and Roy Williams' team won it with play that would be likewise welcome when brackets are unfolding.

They didn't shoot it particularly well from the field (46.2 percent). They didn't shoot it particularly well from the free throw line (62.5 percent). They treated the basketball as if it was covered with one of those hated midcourt stickers…