UNC 92, Arizona 64
UNC handed Arizona their worst defeat ever at the McKale Center. While we won by 28, it was much like the Wake game where it didn’t quite have the feel of a blowout. Carolina methodically wears teams down. Arizona jumped off to a good start in the 2nd half, but it was too little too late. UNC was able to do this without star freshman Brandan Wright and the team’s best defender Marcus Ginyard who were both out due to illness.
Ty Lawson continues to play well. He scored a career high 18 points to go with 8 assists on only 1 turnover. Freshmen Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson played well filling in for Wright. They both are progressing nicely in their development. Tyler Hansbrough had a mediocre game. He had only 2 points in the first half, but ended with 14.
This was by far the worst performance I’ve seen all year by the referees. They several calls and were terribly inconsistent. Both coaches (and the partisan crowd) were frustrated by the refs. Fortunately, they didn’t impact the outcome of the game like they did in the recent Duke/Clemson matchup.
Game Notes:6:45: 76-49. These are the worst refs I’ve seen all year.
7:59: 71-46. UNC is just too much for AZ.
11:06: 61-39. Stepheson fouled out.
13:04: 59-37. UNC playing better now - 9-0 run.
15:54: 50-34. Arizona playing much more aggressive and UNC not playing as well. Zona has been playing a zone.
17:45: 47-31. Hansbrough makes his first basket
HALFTIME
Carolina picked up where they left off with Wake Forest. UNC led the entire first half and went into the half with an 18 point lead. The big news so far is that Brandan Wright and Marcus Ginyard are not playing due to an illness. Deon Thompson and Alex Stephenson have not missed a beat in his place. They’ve both played extremely well (with Deon starting). Tywon Lawson made a couple of acrobatic layups. He’s really coming into his own. You can tell he is getting real comfortable leading this team on the court. Hansbrough had a rough first half. He only scored 2 points (on free throws). Hopefully we can get him going in the second half.
2:56: 38-23. Hansbrough scores his first point of the game on a free throw.
3:10: 37-23. 16-5 run by UNC
5:00: 34-23. AZ’s Marcus Williams goes to the locker room with a sprained ankle.
5:14: 30-23. AZ’s big man Hill goes to the bench with 3 fouls. Deon still playing wel.
6:14: 28-21. UNC missed three straight opportunities in a row due to good AZ defense.
8:01: 27-21. Stepheson is playing well with 6 points.
8:58: 25-21. Lawson has scored 6 points on drives to the basket.
10:18: 21-18. AZ is winning the game on the boards.
10:53: 19-16. AZ freshmen Budiger and Hill on the bench with 2 fouls
12:16: 19-14. Deon is playing well filling in for Wright.
14:48: 13-6. UNC is playing well. Arizona has several turnovers.
18:21 6-0. UNC started with 2 3 pointers
