UNC 86, Eastern Kentucky 65
Eastern Kentucky gave us a good scare when they cut a 27 point to 4, but UNC regained composure and cruised to a victory in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. All five starters were in double figures with Hansbrough leading the way with 21 points on 9-11 shooting. This was his best game since he started wearing a mask. The new, better fitting mask he wore tonight suited him much better. You could tell it didn't bother him as much.
We shot extremely well all game -- 65% from the floor for the game. Reyshawn Terry continued his hot streak scoring 18 points on 8-9 shooting. Turnovers killed us. We had 22 to EK's 16. The extended defensive pressure really gave us a hard time. At this point in the season, it really shouldn't have been a big deal, but it was.
The first 10 minutes of the game gave as much hope as the second 10 took away. I'm not exactly sure where things stand now. It is what we've come to expect out of this team. We played extremely well at times, but ran into a couple of dead spots where we lost intensity and looked lost on the offensive end. Needless to say this kind of inconsistency won't get us by the likes of Texas or Georgetown. But I don't want to get too far ahead yet, we face Michigan State on Saturday.
Second half notes:5:01. 77-56. Reyshawn Terry continues to give the team a lift. He can't miss!
7:01. 71-52. Finally, the UNC team that won the ACC Tourney decided to show up again after a 10 minute hiatus.
13:28. 55-44. A couple of good transition buckets and we finally start playing again.
17:43. 47-42. Wow, EK has it down to a 5 point lead.
