UNC 70, Indiana 63
Game Summary
This is the kind of game I hate to watch. The whole team played lethargic and didn't seem as in to it as Indiana. Indiana came into the game unranked and not very hyped, but played like a very solid team. We couldn't get the transition game going at all and our big men stunk it up down low. They were taking ill advised shots and not blocking out well. Indiana got 19 offensive rebounds! Overall, Indiana just outhustled us. Fortunately for us, we had enough talent to pull out the game and keep a 4-6 point lead for most of the game.
This was Sean May's homecoming and the crowd let him have it. It didn't help that May had a bad game and was trying to force things. Felton's play was a little sloppy, but made up for it with scoring (18 points). McCants had another terrific offensive game with 19 points.
This was a good solid road win in a hostile environment. And I'm glad it is behind us.
Game Breakdown
Who: Indiana
Where: Bloomington, IA
Viewing method: ESPN
Box Score
Photo Gallery 1
Photo Gallery 2
Photo Gallery 3
Coach Williams Quotes
UNC Locker Room Quotes
Starters
Ray Felton - Got the word at the start of the game that Felton will have his wrist taped for least 6 more weeks!! That sucks. They said he wears a hard cast during the day and has to come in early to get it taped before games. Lets hope it doesn't get any worse. The upcoming exam break should help. Felton had a sloppier game than usual with 7 turnovers and only 3 assists. He did, however, help out a lot on offensive by scoring 18 points (second behind McCants). He made a couple of clutch 3's including one at the end of the first half. A couple of times Felton would look down at his wrist after an errand pass. He said afterwords that it is effecting his control of the ball.
Sean May - Ahh May. I've noticed that whenever May looks like he is trying too hard, he usually doesn't play well. You could tell he wanted to do good in front of his hometown tonight, but it wasn't to be. May got stuffed in the opening minutes, took bad shots a long way away from the rim, and even got called for an offensive foul. And just when it looked like things might change for May, they got worse. With 7:35 to go in the first half, he stole the ball and was driving the other way for a layup, but got called for another offensive foul. With his 3rd foul, he sat out the rest of the half. May came out in the 2nd half and played a little better. On perhaps his best play of the night, he went strong to the hole, dunked it, and got fouled. He ended the game with 8 points on 2-7 shooting and 4 rebounds after only 19 minutes of PT.
Rashad McCants - McCants had a great game again. He has been on fire so far this season (knock on wood). He hasn't really had an off game yet. And he has picked up his defense from last season to make him an even more complete player. McCants had 3 3's in the first half with one of them being from NBA range. He has hit an NBA style 3 in at least his last 3 games. His range is incredible (bring on Reddick). In the second half, McCants stole the ball and drove for a layup, but was fouled hard. McCants got up in the defenders face a bit and everyone made such a big deal over it like he was Ron Artest or something. I'd be pissed to if the defender took a cheap shot after getting his pocket picked. McCants helped seal the deal with 2:30 to go with a very tough 3 pointer. He was awarded the Playstation Player of the game after scoring a game-high 19 points.
Jawad Williams - Jawad had a decent game with 13 points, but also had 6 turnovers.
Jackie Manuel - Jackie had a pretty quite night. 0-4 shooting, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.
Reserves
Melvin Scott - Melvin must still not be fully recovered from his hurt hip because he isn't playing very much. He played 6 minutes according to the box score and ended with 2 points on 0-2 shooting and 2-2 from the charity line.
David Noel - Noel is fitting into his role well this year. He isn't as active on the offensive side as much as his Freshman year, but he is becoming a defensive stopper and very active filling gaps. He had two steals tonight. He played excellent D. His shooting percentage is still up there too by going 2-4 for 4 points.
Quentin Thomas - I was a little surprised to see Thomas only play for a couple of minutes. Felton played most of the game. Quentin didn't have any shots, assists, turnovers, rebounds, etc. I know Felton is tough, but I'd like to see Quentin get a little more PT in case Felton gets a bad injury later in the season or has foul trouble.
Marvin Williams - Marvin had only 4 points on 2-7 shooting, but he ended with a game-high 12 rebounds. He got smacked in the forehead in the first half and had to get 4 stiches. He came back in the game later and didn't show any obvious ill effect.
Wes Miller - Did not play.
Byron Sanders - Byron had to come in with 4:38 to go in the first half due to May's foul trouble. He ended up making a layup.
Reyshawn Terry - Did not play.
Damion Grant - Did not play.
C.J. Hooker - Did not play.
Charlie Everett - Did not play.
Announcers
Dan Shulman
Dick Vitale
Doris Burke
Even though Dickie V is known for having a Duke bias, he is usually fun to listen to. And heck, he picked UNC as his preseason #1! They talked about May a lot, of course, because of his homecoming.
As usual:
- McCants is moody
- UNC had ACC leaders in scoring, assists, rebounding last year
- Felton's 1-game suspension
Dick: "Jawad is one of the top 5 support players in the country"
Refs
The refs were calling everything! Ugh. It is hard to watch sometimes when they call every little touch foul possible. I much prefer for them to let them play. They really didn't mind calling touch fouls against May. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because I got a glimpse on several occasion of Indiana's Coach Davis actually hugging and getting all close to the refs. Jeez. I counted at least 5 NO CALLS against Indiana that the refs missed.
Crowd
Obviously the crowd was pumped up. There was a lot of hype about May's homecoming and the crowd let him have it every chance he got. The noise to start the game was extremely loud.
I think the crowd showed poor spirit though by chanting "TRADER" when May would shoot a free throw. Can you imagine if we did that for every hometown recruit we missed out on?
