For the Heels it’s the Hokies

Head coach Roy Williams and his number one ranked (and top seeded in the ACC Tourney) North Carolina (27-3, 13-3 in the ACC) know who they will be playing tomorrow at noon, #8 Virginia Tech (18-13, 8-9 in the ACC), who defeated Miami (FL), a three point favorite, by the score of 65 to 47. The question on everyone’s mind is with whom will he play against the Hokies at the point? Will it be the ACC POY junior Ty Lawson, which I highly doubt, or will it be the combo of senior Bobby Frasor and freshman Larry Drew II? Putting this question out there I will say this here and now, I do not see Carolina having a problem winning this game with or without Lawson, as long as the players on the court go to the bread and butter of this squad.

That means, going inside first, feeding the four time unanimous All ACC first team selection Tyler Hansbrough along with a much improved Deon Thompson and an ever more learning Ed Davis. This trio, along with Tyler Zeller, who in my opinion should get some decent minutes tomorrow, need to be the backbone of the team. If they do their job, on the perimeter Wayne Ellington and Danny Green should be able to hit their shots because Va Tech won’t be able to collapse and react fast enough. Plus, this squad, especially without Lawson, must get another thing going. The bench must not hurt them, meaning that whoever comes in for any minute must do their best not to have the opposition cut into the lead so that the starters can get as much of a rest as possible. Let’s remember this is a back to back to back series (if you win) and so bench minutes become crucial here, a lot more than when you have a day or so to rest up for the next game.

The two teams should remember one another well, as UNC traveled to Va Tech on their second to last game of the season, a tough played game in a hostile enviroment that Carolina won by the final of 86 to 78 on Virginia Tech’s Senior Night. For more on that game you can check out my recap of the game, where I started it off by making the title of the post “it was tough, it was ugly, but it was a win”. My thought on the game was that while some might have not liked how that game went, I thought that the Heels proved to themselves that they weren’t going to let another game slip away in a hostile enviroment after having done just that a couple of games prior at Maryland. Now, on neutral ground and without a key element, UNC must once again prove to themselves that they can overcome hurdles. The benefits of that is that teams that can overcome usually are the ones that make it far when it comes to the Big Dance. I will also say this about the first encounter between these two teams, UNC won because they went to their bread and butter. In that game Frasor and Drew II combined for 17 minutes, in this one, if Lawson is out as expected, the two players might just have to play 17+ each.

So, once again, something that has been the case for most of the time for this very talented and experienced team, the outcome is going to depend on how they play this game. Will the pressure of not having someone like Lawson be too much for a group of players beginning their last run together, or will they step it all up and show the college basketball world that this team can do it? Will the three key bench players be able to step it up now that they are in the one and done part of the season or will the frosh fear rare its evil head? We all know that the talent is there, five Heels made the All ACC teams, but we also know that this tournament is for all the other teams to have another shot at the best team in the conference, and for some (including me), the best in the nation. For teams like Va Tech, who are on the outside looking in for the Big Dance this could be their way in, or at least that nice win to make a case for it.

Hansbrough is 53 points away from breaking JJ Redick’s All ACC scoring record and he should get a pretty big chunk in this one, I would say cutting that number in half. The biggest key will be for Frasor and Drew II to bring up the ball without turning it over, and that will mean that Ellington and Green will have to be very aware to help out if the Hokies decide to trap. If Va Tech gets burnt enough with easy baskets they will lay off the pressure, and that will help out the two back ups for Lawson. In the end, what should have been a pretty easy game for the Heels is going to be a much tougher one without their point guard, but that might just help them come tournament time, and there is nothing wrong with that. I do see the Tar Heels making it to the Saturday game, after having played well against a pesky, but less talented Hokies squad.

I leave you with what CBS is saying of this match up: