"BC could very well be the surprise team of the ACC."
What college basketball expert said this in November? Andy Katz? Jay Bilas? No, that was me. And in light of Boston College's shocking 85-78 win AT North Carolina, it seems like a good time to remind everyone that I am right about 50% of the time. This game was less of a reflection on BC (they are very good, well known in TourneyBubble World) than on the semi-regular, mystifying stinkbombs laid by Roy Williams teams. As those that have followed college basketball in recent years can attest, there is no way to predict when a RWSB (Roy Williams Stink Bomb) may occur - which makes them both maddening and expected (if thats even possible) when they do happen. The most public examples in recent years include last year's Final Four performance against Kansas (in which they trailed at one time 40-12), a loss at home to Virginia Tech in 2007, the NCAA loss to George Mason in 2006, and a RWSB dating back to the Kansas days, in which the superior Jayhawks flubbed their shot at a National Championship to Syracuse in the 2002-2003 Final.
Why do these happen? Lack of defense? An arrogant willingness to trade baskets with other teams? My bet is on the latter. Williams's teams have a distinct uptempo style that sometimes allows opponents to get easy baskets, thus gaining confidence as the Tar Heels lose their defensive concentration by focusing on what they will do on offense on the next possession. It's hard to pinpoint when this happens, but its a strange coincidence of a hot opponent (usually a top-40 caliber team) catching the Heels napping on defense and cold on offense. With that said, North Carolina is winning the National Championship this year. They are geared more towards the title than an undefeated regular season. Teams with a singular mission will not let a loss such as this bother them for long, as they really are hoping to be hitting on all cylindars when the tournament begins instead of trying to run the table. Both 2005 UConn and 2007 Florida suffered a few losses, and nobody debates their greatness. This year's Tar Heels are similar.
