Stanford has 11 underclassmen on its roster, and it showed in the first half. The Tar Heels, led by All-American Luke Maye and Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams, blitzed the Cardinal early. The Stanford offense was completely out of sync whilst the UNC attack hummed along to perfection. At the break Carolina led 52-26.
The Cardinal responded valiantly in the second frame. The offense that was stagnant in the first half took advantage of the Carolina overplays and clicked on numerous backdoor cuts. The increased motion and ball movement opened up more driving lanes for players like Oscar da Silva and KZ Okpala.