We are winning by healthy margins, but to me the games seem a lot closer than the score indicates. This game is another example. OSU played us close for 30 minutes, but we pulled away in the final 10 minutes. Neither team shot well at all. Ohio State shot an abysmal 27% from the floor while we shot 38% (not much better). From 3pt range, they shot 30% and we shot 27% (led by Bobby Frasor going 0-5). This game shouldn't have been close. We should have blown them out (not because OSU is a bad team, but because they had an off night shooting). But we didn't.
Part of our problem against OSU was we couldn't break the zone and that can be attributed to Ty Lawson not being in the game. Ty had to sit this one out as he lets his ankle heal (reports are he's going to play against Kentucky on Saturday). We need him! I'll say it again, while Bobby and Q do a decent job at the point, they are not Ty Lawson. We can't win a championship without Ty.
The two bright spots offensively last night were Wayne Ellington (again) and Deon Thompson. I've been fairly critical of Deon so far this year, especially on the defensive end, but he really played well (at least offensively) against OSU. Wayne shot 8-15 from the field and scored a career high 23. He nailed a huge 3 pointer under five minutes just when it looked like OSU might get back into the game. Last year I wasn't confident with Wayne taking the last shot against Georgetown to send UNC to the Final Four, but this year I absolutely would want him taking that shot. He plays so much more confident now.
Tyler had a decent night, but not great. He shot 4-13 in the first half and was 1-4 from the free throw line on the game. I think the refs missed several fouls against Tyler that are normally called. The guy averages going to the line 11 times a game and he only went 4 times last night?? They missed calls.
Despite some of the issues I've highlighted, it is always good to get a win on the road especially against a talented Ohio State team.
Stats that stick out - Rebounds: 58 (UNC), 42 (OSU) - Free throws: 7-14 (UNC) - Blocks: 9 (OSU), 5 (UNC - 3 from Alex Stephenson) - Three point shooting: 1-5 Danny Green, 0-5 Bobby Frasor
In another game that played much closer than the final score indicates, UNC had its hands full with the inside-outside combination of Plaisted (24 pts, 17 rebs) and Tavernari (6 three pointers). The big news in this game was that Ty Lawson went to the bench after just two minutes into the first half with a rolled ankle. In his own words, "I don't know how long I'll be out." Eck! Bobby Frasor (and Quentin to a lesser degree) did an ok job filling in, but it isn't the same as with Ty in the game.
Much of the first half went back and forth. We couldn't stop Tavernari who had 5 of his 6 threes in the first half. Overall I thought we played pretty well in the first half. Defensive intensity was good (I'd like to highlight Alex Stephenson who did a great job) and rebounding was good. We had a 10 point lead, but then went 4 minutes without a point to let BYU back in the game. Our three point shooting was horrendous (0-6 in the first half). Even with BYU playing really well, if it wasn't for a late Tavernari three to close the half, we would have had a double digit lead going into halftime.
If we looked pretty good in the first half, we looked like total crap to start the second half. BYU took the lead just 4 minutes into the second half. I thought: Here we go again! This was when it really hurt not having Ty in the game to calm us down.
We scrapped back and shut BYU down for 6 minutes! Despite having an off night, Wayne hit another huge clutch three pointer (from beyond NBA range!) that sealed it for us.
Tyler had a strong game scoring 21 points and regaining his free throw form going 9-9 from the line. Danny Green didn't have a great night shooting (4-11 from the field), but scored 14 and made some crucial plays.
The Tar Heels have really shown me something over the last few games. We've taken the best punch from a couple of really good teams and not backed down.
Next up UNC visits Ohio State and Kentucky. We need Ty back!!
This one was closer than the final score shows. In fact ODU led for much of the first 15 minutes of the game. ODU's Brandon Johnson was unstoppable early on, but we finally contained him in the final minutes of the first half.
UNC shot a scorching 71% from the floor and 7-11 (63.6%) from the three point line! Ty Lawson tallied a career high 23 points on an outstanding game. But not to be outdone, Tyler scored a game-high 27. Wayne Ellington had a quiet 17 points, but he was solid the whole game. He is the most improved player from last year and is exactly what we need (consistent and making smart decisions).
While the first 15 minutes of the game were frustrating, once we picked up our defensive intensity, it was UNC all the way. Overall this was a good game for our guys.
Eleven, that's right, eleven UNC players scored tonight. It was a thorough thrashing. It was one of the few UNC games not televised this year, so listening to Woody Durham on the radio was the only option, but I'm not complaining. Tyler and Wayne led the way, but in general it was a well-rounded game from all positions.
We have Old Dominion on Friday and a possible showdown with Louisville on Saturday. Not to mention Ohio State and Kentucky right around the corner (all on the road). We are going to see what this team is made of real quick!
If the Davidson game made you feel a little uneasy, this game should make you feel a little better. We played a solid game pretty much the whole way. Iona was clearly outmatched. They were undersized and undermanned, but still took an aggressive approach toward Hansbrough early on. Iona had 7 fouls in the first 5 minutes of the game. Hansbrough went to the line 15 times during the game (making 11). He scored a game high 27.
Ty Lawson also came back from his 0 assists performance against Davidson to tally 9 assists tonight (I believe that ties a career high for him). Wayne Ellington also continued to impress me. He shot 4-6 from 3 point range and 5-10 overall.
All 16 players on UNC's roster got on the floor tonight. It was a good win after our near loss a few nights ago. Next up is South Carolina State on Tuesday. The Bulldogs have started the season 0-3 so this will likely be another blowout.
I had a feeling this one would be closer than most people thought. No big surprises in the starting lineup. Tyler, Ty, Wayne, Deon and Marcus. There were some questions as to whether Marcus would start or Danny. Both played decent in the game. A big part of this game was the officiating. They called every touch foul under the sun. Ty went out of the game in the first half with 10:30 after picking up his 3rd foul.
We didn't look good for the first 15 minutes of the game and finally took the lead with 6:47 before the half. Hansbrough had a really good first half and not so great second half. He had a double-double with 6 minutes left in the first half! While our shooting looked shaky at times, we ended up shooting 58% in the first half.
We had a big let down to start the second half: Davidson scored 8 straight points and we couldn't hit the side of a bus. Then Hansbrough got called for a BS technical because a Davidson guy tried to walk through him. He was assessed a personal foul before that so he picked up 2 fouls in one shot!
We scored 2 points in 6 minutes. Danny Green showed some leadership nailing a 3 pointer and then making a 3 point play on the next strip down the floor to give UNC a 52-50 lead. Hansbrough picked up his 4th foul with 6:26 to go in the game and was a non-factor the rest of the way.
Davidson tied things up at 61 all with 3:44 to go. It wasn't looking good for us. Ty had an off game scoring 5pts and 0 assists. He tried to step up down the stretch, but if it wasn't for a clutch step back jump shot by Wayne Ellington in the last couple of minutes, I'm not sure we would have won.
So for the good and the bad. Let's start with the good. The team on the floor looked extremely similar to last year's team that made it to the Elite Eight and won the ACC Regular Season and Conference Tournament. We are only missing Brandan Wright and Reyshawn Terry and while they had significant roles, the other ten returners played a lot too.
Now the bad: this year's team looks a lot like last year. The big thing we lacked last year, besides experience, was consistent outside shooting. I have a sinking feeling we are going to suffer from that again (as we did against Davidson). Now mind you, Wayne Ellington did score a team-high 20 points. He played very well. But it is the same faces on the court that missed our last 20 shots to lose to Georgetown. We just don't that deep threat everyone has confidence in (like a Rashad McCants). That's not to say we won't be really, really good this year. We will. I'm just saying that it won't surprise me if we have those games where we go for long periods without scoring as we did several times last year.
Bottom line: We aren't an AP #1 caliber team YET.
Posted by Robbie Allen @ 11/16/2007 04:10:00 PM 4 comments
Tonight is the big night!
The season starts tonight for UNC. With all of the big upsets already this year (USC, Kentucky, and MSU in exhibition) not to mention close calls, I'm a little nervous! If you look at the AP Poll votes, Davidson ranked 31st this week, so they are no pushover.
Hansbrough leading vote getter for AP preseason All-America team
Just like last year, Tyler was the leading vote getter for the AP preseason All-America team. But let's hope things a little different at the end of this season. Last year he made second team All-America. This year he better be first team! (ok, so are expectations just a little high or what?)
Posted by Robbie Allen @ 11/06/2007 11:09:00 AM 0 comments
New commit: Tyler Zeller Big news yesterday on the recruiting front. Tyler Zeller, a 6-11 power forward out of Indiana selected UNC over Indiana and Purdue. Zeller is rated #16 overall by Scout.com and was one of the few remaining elite high school seniors not to have chosen a school.
Posted by Robbie Allen @ 11/06/2007 10:56:00 AM 0 comments
UNC ranked #1 in both Coaches and AP polls
Last week the AP Poll came out and the week before that the first Coaches Poll was released. There was no big surprise that UNC was ranked #1 in both. This is both good and bad. Good that it is well recognized that UNC has a really good team. Bad that it is well recognized that UNC has a really good team (and everyone will be gunning for them). But that isn't much different than any year. UNC always gets opponents' best shot.
The first regular season game is a little over a week away (next Wednesday) against Davidson. If you noticed, Davidson came in 32nd in voting in both the AP and Coaches poll, so it isn't like they are a big pushover. Our recent record is 3-1 against the Wildcats:
