Heels head to RBC looking for a win

Sometimes it takes something old to fix/change something new. In this case the new would be the fact that North Carolina has never had such a losing streak under head coach Roy Williams, and the old of course would be the rivalry between the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack. The key question will now be will North Carolina (12-7 ~ 1-3 in the ACC) be able to draw motivation from playing “down the road” against N.C. State (13-7 ~ 2-4 in the ACC) as the two face off at the RBC Center? Or is the fact that this is a rivalry game just adding to the pressure of this young and talented team, that will be without 7 footer Tyler Zeller once again and is probably without Ed Davis as well.

What’s at stake in tonight’s game? Well, a win by UNC against an in-state foe followed up by a home win against UVa Saturday puts the team at .500 in conference and back in the running for a decent record and a bid to the NCAA’s. A loss could truly mean that this year the Heels would not be going to the Big Dance, breaking Williams’ streak of going to the Tournament. Again, on one side this could be all motivation, or it could just be more added pressure on this team. All of this is just shouting loud and clear “this is going to be the most important game of the season” to me, and that will also mean that this game is going to be a very close one. Again, pressure or motivation, you decide!

As far as the team and what they have to do this is how I see it for this game: Deon Thompson and Travis Wear need to have the game of their lives (or at least of the year), with the senior leading the way and the frosh holding his own for every second that he is in. Like it or not, with the low percentage in the shooting from the outside, Carolina has to get their points in the paint in order to stay in the game. If Thompson/Wear do not step it up this game is going to be a long night for the Heels. Larry Drew and Dexter Strickland need to keep control of the team by not having too many turnovers and focusing on getting the ball to the right spot. Together this combo has to score at least 20 points and get 10 assists, while turning the ball over less than 6 times. But in the end this game is going to come down to one player I truly believe, Marcus Ginyard, who needs to play well on defense and get his points on offense (to make up for the missing ones from Davis).

So, what is going to happen tonight? The Vegas Insiders believe that North Carolina is a two points favorite, and I have to say it’s about what I think this game is going to go, with UNC defeating NC State by the final of 76 to 74. With this win the fan base are going to relax a bit on this team and they can get one thing off their back and be able to focus more on the next game, which will be Virginia at the Dean Dome.

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