NCAA Tournament 2012: John Henson's Injury Hurts North Carolina's Title Hopes

There's trouble brewing in Chapel Hill, where John Henson's troublesome left wrist has cast doubt on North Carolina's viability as an NCAA tournament title contender.

The fourth-ranked Tar Heels fell to 17th-ranked Florida State, 85-82, in the final of the 2012 ACC tournament on Sunday, not necessarily because Henson was only available in an emergency, though his absence certainly didn't help. James Michael McAdoo, Henson's replacement, managed just four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field, though he did chip in eight rebounds, four steals and a block.

In a way, Carolina's loss to FSU was an improvement over their previous result against the Seminoles—a 90-57 flop in Tallahassee in mid-January. Clearly, the Heels showed up this time around.

But they were without Henson, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, who averaged 14.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks.

Of course, UNC has little to worry about with the selection committee. By all accounts, the Heels were perhaps destined to be a No. 1 seed in March, regardless of Sunday's result. They won 29 games, took home the ACC regular-season title and sport a resume that includes a top five RPI (according to kenpom.com) with big wins over Michigan State, Wisconsin and arch-rival Duke.

The greater concern for Roy Williams lies with Henson's health. With him, the Heels are about as balanced a bunch as you'll find in college basketball, complete with an efficient passer and ball-handler (Kendall Marshall), an elite perimeter scorer (Harrison Barnes) and an ACC Player of the Year in the post (Tyler Zeller).

And then there's Henson's long arm of the law to lock down the paint on defense and clean up missed shots on offense. Without Henson, though, the Heels are vulnerable to attack at the rim.

Either way, UNC's defense is subpar, especially on the perimeter, where Barnes, Marshall, Reggie Bullock and P.J. Hairston have struggled to stay in front of the ball, much less stop it.

Henson's abilities to block and alter shots have somewhat helped to mask that deficiency throughout the season. Carolina might not need it against the directional schools and city-states of the first round or two, but against the best and boldest opponents, Henson's presence (or absence) will prove crucial to UNC's pursuit of the biggest prize in the Big Dance.

With that said, folks in Chapel Hill will spend as much, if not more time and energy sweating out the status of Henson's wrist as the cupcake they'll face in the first round.

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