Marshall, Strickland spark UNC in win over Miami

CHAPEL HILL -- Sixteen games into a season that began with grand aspirations, North Carolina's players almost had become typecast. Harrison Barnes was the scorer, Kendall Marshall the passer, Dexter Strickland the defensive stopper.

As a team, the No. 3 Tar Heels at times faltered defensively on the perimeter.

These had been known characteristics. But then came role reversals at the Smith Center on Tuesday night during the Tar Heels' 73-56 victory against Miami.

While Barnes struggled through his worst offensive game of the season, the Tar Heels (15-2, 2-0) received scoring from some of the unlikeliest of players. Strickland tied his season high with 14 points and Marshall finished with 12 - the most he had scored since a victory against Washington last season in the NCAA tournament.

"When people look at Kendall, they think of passing, passing, passing," Strickland said. "... And myself, people look at me for (being) the best defender and stuff like that. And I think it was important for us to show other teams what we can do by being aggressive and going to the rack and stepping up and taking those shots."

Marshall and Strickland were especially productive during the first half. And good thing, given the frontcourt trio of Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller collectively played their worst.

Barnes made his first shot but missed his next six before halftime. Henson and Zeller weren't much sharper. The threesome combined to make five of their 19 shots in the half, while the rest of the Tar Heels made 10 of their 17 attempts.

Marshall and Strickland both scored eight points in the first half, along with Zeller, who finished with a team-high 16. At halftime, Marshall already had matched his season high in scoring.

"Last game I talked about our big guys had great shooting percentages and this time it was Dexter and Kendall," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "I like that part of it - different people can hurt you on a different night."

Williams liked his team's defense, too, especially on the perimeter. The Hurricanes had the third-best 3-point shooting percentage in the ACC. Their 7.9 3-pointers per game ranked second in the conference.

But Miami (9-6, 0-2) made just three of its 16 shots from behind the 3-point line Tuesday night. The three made 3's represented the lowest total of the season for Miami.

The Tar Heels at times have struggled to defend good shooters and good shooting teams. Nevada-Las Vegas made 13 3s in its 90-80 victory Nov. 26. And Long Beach State guard Casper Ware scored 29 points in his team's loss against North Carolina on Dec. 10.

Tuesday, there were no such defensive lapses.

"Perimeter defense, I think that was the key to the game," said Marshall, one of three Tar Heels with two steals. "... Their team works around their guard play. And I think if you can limit their guards, (then) the game can become a lot easier."

The Hurricanes, led by 16 points from Kenny Kadji, shot 41.8 percent overall. The Tar Heels weren't all that much better at 44.9 percent. Barnes finished with six points and made just two of his 12 shots, and Henson was 5-of-13.

Still, on a night when North Carolina's best three scorers struggled, the Tar Heels persevered.

"I guess you could say that this is the first team that really focused on playing me for the pass," Marshall said. "So when I got into the lane it was basically there for me to shoot it."