UNC Basketball Update News and game summaries from a life-long North Carolina Basketball fan(atic)

UNC 88, Nicholls State 78   Yes, we recorded our 10th win last night. Yes, the last three times UNC has started 10-0 we went to the final four. Yes, we are ranked #1 in the nation. Despite all that, we just don't look very good right now. I thought we started playing a little bit better over the last two games, but last night was a step backward. Talent-wise, we should have beaten Nicholls State by at least 20, if not more, especially at home. We should have easily scored 100 points. But we didn't. A lot of credit goes to Nicholls State. They made 14-28 three pointers! That's an extremely high percentage for that many attempts. They spread the floor and passed it around until they got an open look. For the season they average a scant above 32% from beyond the arc. Was our defense just that bad or was Nicholls St having a really good night? A bit of both. The outcome of the game was never really in question and we led by 20 at times. We denied the ball extremely well at certain points and Nicholls State had a hard time passing the ball around. Then again at other times we look uninterested and they drained threes on us. We lack the killer instinct that we're going to need to go all the way this year. And our shooting is still inconsistent. Wayne Ellington was 7-17 last night. Sure, he scored 20 points, but missed a lot of open shots. Ty Lawson and Danny Green had decent nights, but not outstanding. Marcus Ginyard missed a couple of shots that looked like airballs on TV. One of his free throws barely nicked the front of the rim. Maybe these guys have Christmas on their minds (although from the post-game interviews it sounds like they are just as worried about their poor play). Tyler had his fifth straight double-double. He scored 27 and grabbed 11 rebounds. Nice job. At this point I'd trade our next 4 "gimmes" for 1 top 25 team. Since Kentucky and Ohio State are down this year, BYU was our last win against a quality opponent (almost a month ago). I'm concerned the ACC season is going to hit us like a ton of bricks from a competition perspective. College Basketball Stats by StatSheet.com Posted by Robbie Allen @ 12/20/2007 11:13:00 AM Comments: I expect UNC will win their next four games but they are hardly "gimmes." All four of UNC's next opponents are in the Pomeroy top 100, with Kent State rated 48th, which is currently second to BYU among Carolina opponents. Nevada and Valparaiso are certainly no longer unknowns in college basketball. In spite of the fact that OSU and Kentucky are down this year, Carolina beat both of them in true road games and currently have the second hardest schedule this far among the Sagarin top ten. Davidson will be in the NCAA tournament. Old Dominion beat Virginia Tech and has lost only to Carolina, Georgetown, Louisville and Clemson. Because of the Duke rivalry, Carolina is guaranteed two games each year against the other elite national program. No other team in the country plays twice against such a perennial power. On January 6th, Carolina goes to Clemson, which is also likely to be undefeated and we should know a lot more by that time. # posted by  William O. Douglas Loeffler : 1:49 PM   I couldnt agree with you more. I think we need to make big time improvements before conference play starts. What really worries me and probably everybody else is how we cannot make shots. We have to make these if we want to go all the way. We are really struggling from the 3 point line and last game was embarrassing. One thing I noticed with this carolina team and last years as well is that they need a reason to get mad and then they play well. Its like Roy has to chew there butts everytime to get them to play hard which shouldnt be the case. There a team that rises to the occasion and seem less interested in playing when their not playing against "big name" teams. Although I hate saying this I think they should watch how Duke bonds as a team and use that because at times these guys dont look like there a close group at all. Dont get me wrong I am a hardcore carolina fan but i think their chemistry is off right now and i dont believe we are the top team in the country right now but we certainly can be. # posted by  Anonymous : 2:16 PM   You may be talking about this year's Duke team (which as of yet has played 0 road games), but certainly you cannot be talking about Duke in general in terms of bonding. Last year's Duke team was in fact known for the opposite, leading to lackluster performances and its final fiascoes with Gerald Henderson and Josh McRoberts embarassing the program and then going out in the first round in the ACC and NCAA. # posted by  William O. Douglas Loeffler : 3:42 PM   First of all yes..I am talking about duke in general because they usually are a close group. Secondly I think everyone knows last years duke teams was not a typical duke team. And thirdly..playing road games has nothing to do with bonding..in fact if anything road games would probably tend to bring them together more since they are in a hostile environment. Again..my point is this carolina team is missing something right now and my hope is that we can become what we should be with the talent we have. # posted by  Anonymous : 10:30 PM   Great comments about the game...it seems at times that the Heels play down to the level of opposition. I think Coach Williams will correct this and we'll see improved cohesion and a 'step on the throat' mentality develop. # posted by  Joe X : 8:40 AM   I don't believe that Duke appeared especially "bonded" together last night, losing a 17 point lead in what was for them a virtual home game. Sorry, I don't buy the notion that our program has anything to "learn" from Duke or Coach K. We go far deeper than virtually any other team in the country, year in and year out and obviously that can impact on initial cohesion. Right now, the key weak point is defense. But if you look at the history of Roy Williams' teams, they often start a bit slow and then move into high gear in February. And to those who worry about our strength of schedule: At this point, according to Sagarin, Duke and Carolina have played the toughest schedules of any teams in the top 15 and Carolina's difficulty index is only going to go up in the next five games which culminate in the match-up with Clemson in Death Valley. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkt0708.htm # posted by  William O. Douglas Loeffler : 10:35 AM   Bonding together had nothing to do with duke getting beat last night. The game was expected to come down to the wire. Either team could have won..it was evenly matched. Losing big leads is common in college basketball..it is a game of runs. Also..I dont think we have to learn anything from duke..we have to learn the basic principles of a good team..and that would be a close group. Duke is just an example of this. On the issue of Roy williams teams having slow starts you may be right and i hope you are. With all this said i still like our chances this year and i think we will be a great team..we just arent there yet. # posted by  Anonymous : 5:30 PM   Post a Comment << Home