MBB: (24) UNC-CH 93, (3) Louisville 84

[El_Diablo]

#3 Louisville is down by 12 points with ten minutes remaining to some barely-ranked team that recently lost to Belmont.

[Billy Dat]

I don't want to bag on the Heels, but Louisville looks horrendous in this second half. The Heels are playing fine, but the Cards are playing very un-Pitino defense...they have allowed several leak outs for dunks and their offense is anemic, settling for lots of long bad 3s. I feel like they are having trouble with UNC's size and Chane Behanan looks like he's missed a month of basketball.

[ChillinDuke]

I don't want to bag on the Heels, but Louisville looks horrendous in this second half. The Heels are playing fine, but the Cards are playing very un-Pitino defense...they have allowed several leak outs for dunks and their offense is anemic, settling for lots of long bad 3s. I feel like they are having trouble with UNC's size and Chane Behanan looks like he's missed a month of basketball.

Yeah, Louisville looks so bad. They are constantly bumping and hand checking on their full court D which just doesn't fly this year, didnt they get the memo? Settling for tons of threes. No driving, which you would think would get them to the line with players like Smith and Jones.

Also, Paige looks really good.

- Chillin

[Bob Green]

From the Belmont thread:


Ah, it's the annual "Stick a fork in Carolina, they're done" thread on DBR. We got this one going early this season.

Lots of basketball left to be played with over 8 minutes in the game; however, win or lose, Carolina has some talented players and will adjust and move forward with or without PJ and LMac.

[FerryFor50]

Yeah, Louisville looks so bad. They are constantly bumping and hand checking on their full court D which just doesn't fly this year, didnt they get the memo? Settling for tons of threes. No driving, which you would think would get them to the line with players like Smith and Jones.

Also, Paige looks really good.

- Chillin

L'ville's defense works only against teams that don't get calls....

[Gthoma2a]

The big thing to me is that they look like they are all ball watching on offense. If one of the ball handlers isn't doing it, then nobody is. That's not a good way to play the game. Then, not getting back in transition caused them to give up several baskets on easy run-outs. Now, they can't get a rebound to save their lives. They miss Georgi. It reminds me of how we looked to Austin at times during the last stanza of the 2012 season (Mason was rebounding, but we relied way too much on one player to be our offense, and our D had narcolepsy from time to time).

[dukelifer]

From the Belmont thread:



Lot's of basketball left to be played with over 8 minutes in the game; however, win or lose, Carolina has some talented players and will adjust and move forward with or without PJ and LMac.

They have a roster full of high school all Americans- I have no idea why people are ready to write off UNC. They are young and getting better. They can play with any team and I expect them to move up in the polls by the new year.

[moonpie23]

heels handing their bidness without weed or guns or mouthpieces…

[Gthoma2a]

They have a roster full of high school all Americans- I have no idea why people are ready to write off UNC. They are young and getting better. They can play with any team and I expect them to move up in the polls by the new year.

To be fair, it is understandable to have thought that it wouldn't have been this game that they came to life in

[dukelifer]

It should be noted that Paige played one of those incredible games and I am pretty sure he will not average 30 - still a mighty impressive performance

[Newton_14]

What channel??

[Wheat/"/"/"]

That was an outstanding coaching effort by coach Williams. He's not a hall of fame coach because of his looks.

Paige showing his grasp of the game and leadership.

Beating the #3 team and still nowhere near the quality of play this team is capable of, and that's encouraging.

[westwall]

-- 13 points and 11 rebounds. Hmmm.

[bbosbbos]

Louisville is a very very dirty team. They beat us last year thanks to the poor officiating. I do not have any respect to them at all. So today I have to root for Tar Hole.

In this game Roy outcoached Quicky Ricky. I actually think Tar Hole will surprise everyone at the end of the year even without PJ.

[gurufrisbee]

Paige looks terrific, but I watched the whole game and the overwhelming storyline of that game is Louisville just shot themselves in the foot over and over. Unforced turnovers, missing open lay ups, no teamwork on offense at all. That looked like a team that will struggle to get an NIT bid. They miss Siva and Diang a lot. They don't rebound well at all and Jones is a huge step behind Siva. One of the last possessions they were running down and Van Trease was wide open under the hoop and ahead of the pack and Jones never even looked because he was too determined to shoot (and miss) a three. Pitino's got a lot of work to do there.

[Gthoma2a]

-- 13 points and 11 rebounds. Hmmm.

The biggest joke is being told by his own fans. They say he will mitigate the effects of Okafor next year. That's just not going to happen.

[ClosetHurleyFan]

-- 13 points and 11 rebounds. Hmmm.


Kennedy meeks outlet passing is incredible. He had 4 or 5 outlet pass assists in second half. On the money, bullet passes. He could be an all american when its all said and done.....

[bbosbbos]

I hate Tar Hole but we have to respect their bigs. Their bigs will outrebound most teams.


They don't rebound well at all.

[gurufrisbee]

I hate Tar Heel but we have to respect their bigs. Their bigs will outrebound most teams.

Maybe so. But Louisville rebounds like crap.

[Duvall]

They have a roster full of high school all Americans- I have no idea why people are ready to write off UNC. They are young and getting better. They can play with any team and I expect them to move up in the polls by the new year.

Well, let's be clear - several of those high school all Americans spent most of their college careers playing like garbage. Not sure one game changes that.

[ClosetHurleyFan]

I hate Tar Heel but we have to respect their bigs. Their bigs will outrebound most teams.

Between athleticism of Hicks and Johnson and McAdoo.....and toughness and size of James, Meeks and Hubert.....they do bring a lot of depth accross the front line. Hell, even Tokoto is getting 5 boards a game

[ClosetHurleyFan]

Well, let's be clear - several of those high school all Americans spent most of their college careers playing like garbage. Not sure one game changes that.

I hear you, but, if Paige continues to play this way (with Britt doing nice job backing him up so far) and Hairston and McDonald do return, their back court starts to look really good.

[bbosbbos]

I do think this UNC team will be really good at the end of the season. Beating Paige might be the key to stop their offense.


Between athleticism of Hicks and Johnson and McAdoo.....and toughness and size of James, Meeks and Hubert.....they do bring a lot of depth accross the front line. Hell, even Tokoto is getting 5 boards a game

[Potato Head]

I think this is more on the fickle nature of basketball as a sport than being an accurate read of where UNC is at right now. I think it's dumb to think that UNC is going to be the Virginia Tech of the ACC this year, but it's still reasonable to expect them to be significantly down from where they normally are at, just based on having less talent to go along with off-the-court issues. I'm willing to eat these words at some point down the line if they prove me wrong, but I don't think one big win proves more than one big loss and and another near big loss.

[BD80]

Good for the conference. Improves everyone's SOS.

[bbosbbos]

It does not matter they are good or bad. We beat them anyway. :cool:


I'm willing to eat these words at some point down the line if they prove me wrong, but I don't think one big win proves more than one big loss and and another near big loss.

[BlueDevilBrowns]

I think this is more on the fickle nature of basketball as a sport than being an accurate read of where UNC is at right now. I think it's dumb to think that UNC is going to be the Virginia Tech of the ACC this year, but it's still reasonable to expect them to be significantly down from where they normally are at, just based on having less talent to go along with off-the-court issues. I'm willing to eat these words at some point down the line if they prove me wrong, but I don't think one big win proves more than one big loss and and another near big loss.

Agreed. Further, it's too early to tell exactly how big of a win this actually is anyway.

Remember last year when we beat UK on a neutral court when they were ranked 3rd? Boy, didn't all of us say "what a big win that was!". As time went on, not such a big deal to defeat a NIT team.

So while it's easy to say UNC's back, let's wait a little while before we anoint them FF contenders.

[OldPhiKap]

I think this is more on the fickle nature of basketball as a sport than being an accurate read of where UNC is at right now.

As was the loss to Belmont.

Just sayin'

[ClosetHurleyFan]

Agreed. Further, it's too early to tell exactly how big of a win this actually is anyway.

Remember last year when we beat UK on a neutral court when they were ranked 3rd? Boy, didn't all of us say "what a big win that was!". As time went on, not such a big deal to defeat a NIT team.

So while it's easy to say UNC's back, let's wait a little while before we anoint them FF contenders.

dont think anyone was saying they are a final four team. Just that they are startying to look like they can be a pretty good team. Make no mistake, we will know more after playing Mich St and Kentucky

[DBFAN]

Just wonder if it has occured to anyone that maybe just maybe, Louisville isn't as good as their ranking They lost some major pieces from last year. I don't really mind them being ranked at number 3, because they won the championship last year. Most teams get ranked high if they win it all, regardless if they are good or not. Perfect example is UK.

[DBFAN]

I imagine UNC will be a team all year long that will play up, and down, to their competition. Just don't want to hear the media anointing Old Roy as Coach of the year already

[Potato Head]

As was the loss to Belmont.

Just sayin'

I agree! But they also barely beat Holy Cross (also in Chapel Hill), and struggled a bit to get by Richmond in the first round. The sample size of the season so far is still small, but it still might be a better indicator than one game.

[MChambers]

Kennedy meeks outlet passing is incredible. He had 4 or 5 outlet pass assists in second half. On the money, bullet passes. He could be an all american when its all said and done.....
Meeks had a very good game. Of course, during the portion I watched, UNC played a zone. I don't think Meeks can play man to man. He's just not mobile at all. Good skills, but he makes Sean May look skinny.

[FerryFor50]

Just wonder if it has occured to anyone that maybe just maybe, Louisville isn't as good as their ranking They lost some major pieces from last year. I don't really mind them being ranked at number 3, because they won the championship last year. Most teams get ranked high if they win it all, regardless if they are good or not. Perfect example is UK.

It occurred to me - I called L'ville overrated when the initial rankings came out.

[OldPhiKap]

I agree! But they also barely beat Holy Cross (also in Chapel Hill), and struggled a bit to get by Richmond in the first round. The sample size of the season so far is still small, but it still might be a better indicator than one game.

Agreed. I think it might be an inconsistent year if PJ is out. They certainly have talent, if Roy can use it right.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Thanks for moving us up in the polls.

[arnie]

Agreed. Further, it's too early to tell exactly how big of a win this actually is anyway.

Remember last year when we beat UK on a neutral court when they were ranked 3rd? Boy, didn't all of us say "what a big win that was!". As time went on, not such a big deal to defeat a NIT team.

So while it's easy to say UNC's back, let's wait a little while before we anoint them FF contenders.

Didn't see the game and am really shocked the Heels could win this game. At least Bob Green is happy tonight.

[ClosetHurleyFan]

Didn't see the game and am really shocked the Heels could win this game. At least Bob Green is happy tonight.

Think lot of people are missing the point. Lville likely overrated but bottom line is that for a young team like UNC missing two key parts, this is a huge win. Granted you have to keep winning but confidence in buckets can be accumulated on shoulders of a win like this. Especially with a group of young players.

[Duvall]

Thanks for moving us up in the polls.

Why would Duke move up in the polls?

[BD80]

Why would Duke move up in the polls?

Leapfrog Looeyville

[Duvall]

Leapfrog Looeyville

That would be moving Duke in the wrong direction.

[BD80]

That would be moving Duke in the wrong direction.

Duke currently #6, UL #3

[Duvall]

Duke currently #6, UL #3

Right. Duke should be moving down, not up.

[arnie]

Right. Duke should be moving down, not up.

Can't disagree with that - we haven't shown we're a top 10 team yet.

[BD80]

Right. Duke should be moving down, not up.

Interesting perspective. Sorry I wasted our time

[jipops]

Oh please can we just de-value this unc win? :)

[kAzE]

Hm, UNC might not be as bad as we thought. Paige has obviously taken a big step forward, and that Meeks kid looks like a baller. 13 points 12 rebounds 7 assists in 24 minutes for him, that's a pretty serious stat line. If we don't improve our defense, we might have a pretty tough time against these guys, especially since PJ will probably be back by then.

[oldnavy]

Hm, UNC might not be as bad as we thought. Paige has obviously taken a big step forward, and that Meeks kid looks like a baller. 13 points 12 rebounds 7 assists in 24 minutes for him, that's a pretty serious stat line. If we don't improve our defense, we might have a pretty tough time against these guys, especially since PJ will probably be back by then.

Well, if we don't improve our defense we may end up in the NIT. No excuse for how we played the last two games on D. I know K is anti-zone, but for heavens sake!

Speaking of which, this may be the one game that I can remember that Roy made a move, going zone!, that helped his team win a game. He really did out coach Pitino in this one. Congrats, I'll gladly give him credit for the win.

Louisville was really bad. Some of this had to do with UNC, but most of it had to do with Louisville. They just looked disinterested.

Before we pronounce Kennedy Meeks, the next Aaron Rodgers, I see outlet passes like the ones he made today about 15 times a night at the YMCA. When your defense gets beat back EVERY time, it isn't that spectacular of a play to pass the ball down the court. Maybe he can thread the needle on these type passes, but he didn't need to in this game. UNC receivers were consistently behind the Louisville safeties.

Meeks did play very well. Grabbed some key boards and got to double figures in scoring. Overall, very nice job.

Paige was exceptional. I think he is a very good, perhaps AA good 2 guard. With a reliable point guard, and IF they get PJ back, this UNC team will be much better than a lot of us thought. Even without PJ, they can become a pretty good team.

If UNC played Belmont 10 times this year they would beat Belmont 9, if UNC played Louisville 10 times this year they would lose at least 8.

Good game by the Heels, I will have to put the hateraide back in the fridge for another night.