Kinda think State has a shot.
Kinda think State has a shot.
Preprare to be disappointed. Watching unc/ncsu is two hours of your life you'll never get back. Always. Every year. No exceptions.
Different year same old State. The only thing that was missing tonight was that stupid red sportscoat.
Based on this game it doesn't look like losing Strickland has hurt UNC's defense too much, at least it didn't tonight. (Their 3pt D did kind of stink though) If anything, it could very well end up helping their offense since they'll now rotate plenty of minutes to two pure shooters who should get plenty of good looks with the two inside threats and HB's scoring ability. Even with two players out UNC is still scary good, so much talent over there.
Should be interesting to see how State bounces back from this. They have UVA at home next. This game will be key. I believe the pack has the potential to make some real noise in March.
"Just be you. You is Enough."
I stated when McDonald went down that it was a blessing in disguise for Carolina because Coach Williams' biggest weakness is his inability to manage the rotation. He plays too many players too many minutes. However, in the long run, I am of the opinion the loss of Strickland will hurt this team. He is their best defender and back-up point guard.
Bob Green
Noted that NC State got outrebounded more than 2-1, and each team had roughly the same number of missed shots. Usually rebounding is a product of effort. Was State not even trying out there?
Sagegrouse
If Vitale can be believed, UNC is the least peanalized team in the NCAA? I don't know why that is surprising to me. Why is there not an uproar about this in the press? Where are the talking heads that question every call made in favor of UNC as if it is part of a sinister plot?
Yet, alas Duke gets all the calls... facts be damned, Duke gets all the calls... say it enough and it becomes the "truth".
Interesting that, even though Zeller led the Holes in scoring and rebounding, the headline in SI reads "Barnes, No. 7 North Carolina dismiss NC State."
That's just their script, no matter what happens. All major media do it, of course - push the "stars" at all costs. Rather pathetic, but apparently a reflection of their estimation of the public's intelligence/attention span.
I thought UNC looked like a final four team last night and State looked very out of it. Clearly the Tarheels/crowd/refs got in their head and they couldn't recover.
State looked completely different last night than what I've seen of them the rest of the year.
This is what the State fans that I've talked to saw as well and they were greatly disappointed. One friend of mine this morning said that it looked like they reverted back to playing like last year's team. The UNC@Ch fans that I've talked to...oh wait...I don't talk sports with UNC@CH fans.
State played about as poorly as I have seen them this year, missing open shots badly (it seemed that Brown kept airballing open shots and opening up to a heel transition) and CJ Leslie might have done more damage to his future by continuing to try taking Henson one on one. Wood was a non-factor until the game got out of hand. Howell was a non-factor because of fouls. So on and so on.
Bottom line: State made UNC look good, and they are good, but this game was a joke for a lot of reasons.
I continue to be amazed that Carolina fans are louder when they are blowing out a team than when the game is close. What a contrast to Cameron!
I also wonder why Roy didn't send his scholarship players to the locker room early (with him in the lead) when he put the scrubs in. Wasn't he afraid the Tarheel faithful would rush the court?
I agree. State's game with Virginia this weekend is a big test and opportunity. Virginia comes in at 16-3, but it's hard to compare these two teams. A lot of people think State is better than Virginia. If State drops this game, it falls to 15-7. This would, IMO, leave them pretty far on the wrong side of the bubble. They would have only one bad loss (Ga Tech), but their best win would be against a 7 loss Texas team that is not setting the world on fire.
GTHC
True, with the exception of Syracuse and Vandy (both losses) the non-conference schedule has been relatively soft. But I think the Texas win is a good one. They are 4-2 in the conference right now. If they can get by UVA this weekend then, barring some sort of meltdown, they should be in good shape for a decent ACC finish. 10-6 would obviously get them in the tournament but would 9-7? They need to win this weekend and win a few on the road. I do think this is a good team, I'm thankful we don't have to play them at their place.
"Just be you. You is Enough."
This is a UNC team that has still not played to their potential, and they are improving.
Last night was better focus and intensity, and the result was a very strong defensive effort. The length of UNC is hard to score on, and it showed against a solid State team. When they are active and play with some determination, they are one of the top teams in the country.
I have no clue why they can't seem to play with that same effort all the time.
The loss of Dexter really sucked, along with the loss of Leslie. Dex's loss has now changed the style of play, and may or may not make them better. His loss certainly makes UNC different. Just goes to show you never know how a season will unfold in colloge Hoops.
With the loss of Dexter, UNC becomes a more potent 1/2 court offensive team, but will suffer some in transition offense. I think with the lack of overall ballhandling/slashing type players, the offense will now rely on the passing, screening, cutting post up game that suits these guys better than the push, push, push Roy really prefers to play.
I was impressed with Bullocks D on Wood. He moved his feet well and he is long. Woods off night had a lot to do with Reggie's D, make no mistake. His shooting stroke was confident too and he played hard. He really stepped up.
If PJ can break his shooting slump coming in off the bench, UNC will really up the level of their play.
Saw some of the Duke/MD game the other night and liked Mason's effort. He's getting more confident and the teams getting more confident getting it to him. He's so strong he just overpowered the MD defense. If he can continue to become smoother with his shots and the team gets him the ball in good position to take his shots, Duke can become an elite team this season (they are already very good).
On fouls...UNC gets a lot of foul calls because they deliver more passes into the post and therefor are creating tough situations for defenders. Same thing happens to Duke defenders when the ball gets fed into the post to Mason. In general, opposing teams are shooting jump shots against UNC and not pounding it inside to have the same pressure/effect on UNC's defenders.
There's no bias, it's indicative to the style of play.