No. 4 North Carolina cruised relatively easily to an 85-69 win over Maryland in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Atlanta on Friday afternoon.
“Easily” and “unscathed” are not the same thing, however.
John Henson, UNC’s starting center and the most dominant defensive presence in the ACC, got fouled hard on a drive to the rim in the first half and fell awkwardly. He used his left arm to break his fall and came out of the game after spending a couple of possessions grimacing. He went back to the locker room then got his wrist wrapped up before trying to return to the game, but Henson left less than a minute later after catching a pass was too painful.
The good news? Henson had some x-rays taken at halftime and the doctors don’t think his wrist is broken.
“He had trouble catching and gripping the basketball,” head coach Roy Williams said. “That left hand is his dominant hand, even though he is right-handed.”
Keep in mind, after the Indiana game, there was chatter that Verdell Jones’ knee injury was only a sprain. We don’t know until we know.
So until then, they will be waiting for (hopefully good) news in Chapel Hill.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.