Just one more time? Or just one more Win?
And so here we are, not too far away to what could be the end of the 100th basketball season at Chapel Hill. One that a lot of the fan base would like to forget as quickly as possible. Tonight, at 7:00 p.m. EST (televised on ESPN2), North Carolina (16-15 & 5-11 in the ACC) will take on Georgia Tech (19-11 & 7-9 in the ACC) at Greensboro Coliseum in the 7/10 match up. As a fan you do not want to hang on to anything else this season, hang on to the fact that winning this game would mean that UNC will finish with a record above .500, and while that might truly stink in the overall scheme of things, it might just be a small victory when it comes right down to it. On the other hand, when it comes to this tournament game it’s pretty simple: the bottom line is that Carolina needs to win this game to continue playing in the tournament and having a real chance of making the NIT.
The Vegas odds makers have the Tar Heels as a four points underdogs, which is nothing unusual seeing the season that head coach Roy Williams’ squad has had and that the Yellow Jackets have beaten them twice this season. As a matter of fact I thought that the four points was quite low, but it is what it is and so we move on from that. The key is what does Carolina have to do in order to win this game? First and foremost: keep the turnovers at a minimum, meaning that both Larry Drew, Dexter Strickland, Marcus Ginyard and all the other Heels have to keep a good hold on the ball and not give Ga Tech a chance to get easy buckets in transition. The second thing is that coach Williams’ squad can not let the Jackets have any type of run, be it a small one of six-seven points or the 20+ that have occured during this season. Which means that UNC has to play better on D than they have all year long. Are those two things possible? Sure, if the team plays together, and that is what might worry most of the fan base. Can this squad that hasn’t jelled for most of the year be able to do so now, on the road, in a “win or go home” situation? Chances are they might not, but I never say never when there is Roy Williams at the helm of the team.
It all has to start inside, where Deon Thompson, John Henson and Tyler Zeller have to come out and have great performances, and by that I mean 2 out of the three need double double games. If North Carolina can pound it down low it might just give enough space that when Will Graves touches the ball he will have the space to shoot from beyond the arc, and hopefully make them. On the defensive end the front line can not allow any of Tech’s bigs to dominate, the Yellow Jackets have to have a one and done each time the come down the court on offense.
And in the end what will be the fate of UNC tonight? I am pretty confident that the fan base is going to get one more chance to cheer on this squad in the tournament and probably do the same in the NIT, as North Carolina beats Georgia Tech in a squeaker 74 to 71.
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