Tonight at the Smith Center #4/#6 North Carolina (7-2) will be hosting Long Beach State (4-4), tip off at 7:30 pm EST (televised on ESPN3), in a match up that should bring back memories for this Tar Heel squad. As I said in my other preview at isportsweb The Aces, behind 57 second half points, made last season’s game into way too close for confort one for head coach Roy Williams and his team. I am sure that the coaching staff has reminded this to each and every player, and if they play with the same intensity has they have in the last three games it should not be a problem. But if the team comes out flat, like they have in a couple of games, and has lapses, like they did against Kentucky, where they do not score for five plus minutes, this could be another one of those games where the team has to work a lot harder than they should.

Both teams like to run, which should favor UNC and their talent, as well as make point guard Kendall Marshall have a good day in getting assists. One more point for senior center Tyler Zeller and he will become the 64th Carolina player to score 1,000 points, which is going to be a NCAA record. The last player donning carolina blue to get to this plateau was Deon Thompson, who ended with 1,412 points, in the `09-`10 season. Behind Zeller the next closest to 1K points are John Henson, who has 771 points and Harrison Barnes, with 735. The Aces are very thin, going seven deep at the most and where most of their scoring comes from four starters, all of them in double digits. The one thing that could worry coach Williams’ team is that their top scorer is a guard, and we have seen many times those type of players go off on UNC. On the other hand, with the improvement of Dexter Strickland as the perimeter defender this does not bother me as much.

In the end I see Carolina winning this one by double digits but not hitting the century mark, with the final being 92 to 76. Then the Tar Heels will head off for a break and come back at it a week from tonight to face off against Appalachian State.

In less than half hour the game most college basketball fans have been waiting since the first minute of this season, fifth ranked North Carolina (6-1) versus top ranked Kentucky (7-0) at Rupp Arena (CBS), will be tipping off. Since I did not have time to do two previews for the game here are some others from the world wide web…

First off here is the one I did at isportsweb where I say the Tar Heels will win 85 to 82 thanks to the better play at the point guard. Another UNC blog, Tar Heel Fan blog, goes with Kentucky by 5, final score being 77 to 72.

It’s going to be a bunch of talented young men with the Wildcats, starting three frosh and two sophomores, against a team that played for the most part together last season and came back for one more run. It’s also a game that could be revenge for Carolina as it lost to Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, and one of proving they belong, as coach Calipari has his team on top of the rankings. Two of the best team of this season, as well as two of the winningest programs overall, meet up shortly, and it should be a fight from the beginning to the end!

If you wanted a team that would test everything that the Heels aren’t doing as well as they should then tonight’s match up at the Dean Dome between fifth ranked North Carolina (5-1) and Wisconsin (6-0), the last game of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, is the game you would ask for. At 9:30 pm EST on the World Wide Leader of Sport we will be watching, very carefully I might add, exactly that. For head coach Roy Williams and his team tonight’s match up is going to show if they can bounce back after the loss to UNLV or if the flaws shown are a lot harder to fix. In all this is going to be a game, the second one of the season, that it’s not just about what UNC does, but what their opponents can do as well.

As I said in my other preview over at isportsweb this game is going to be about who can put their game plan into effect. The Tar Heels love to run, the Badgers love to crawl, and then play tough defense, and have been very good so far this season, even if their opponents are not of the best quality. On a one on one basis the point guard match up is going to another one that should be watched carefully tonight. Marshall is loved by all at Carolina, but today he is going to probably face the biggest competition he will this season in Jordan Taylor. One thing I noticed in the game against Nevada-Las Vegas is that when Marshall was getting beat coach Williams never switched him up with Dexter Strickland, so I have to wonder if that could happen if the same thing happens against what some say is the best point guard in the country. While the other thing most fans will be watching how well Harrison Barnes will do with his tweaked his ankle. From a small article on ESPN it is said that there is no doubt that the sophomore All-American will be playing, the key is how well he will be, especially when you remember that the young man left Orleans Arena in crutches Saturday night. Finally, one thing that I will be looking for is how well does senior big man Tyler Zeller comes back from what is probably the worst game in a long time for the seven footer.

In the end I have to hope that the front court for coach Williams should be able to do what most of the fan base in Chapel Hill believe and take control of the game early, making their shots and when fouled hitting their free throws. If that happens I do not see a problem for UNC winning this Top 10 match up against Wisconsin, where the line has them as a 7.5 points favorite. But, if they do not do the basics, such as manage the boards and hit their shots from the free throw line then this could be a long night for both the team and the fans.

After a good Thanksgiving meal and more left overs today/tonight it’s tough to think that you have to stay up until midnight, but that is exactly what you have to do if you want to watch top ranked North Carolina (4-0) go at it with South Carolina (2-2) in the semi-final of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. The game, which is being played in the Orleans Arena, will start at 10:00 pm EST and will air on ESPN2. As I said in my preview over at isportsweb once again this game is almost all about what head coach Roy Williams’ squad should and will do and not so much what their opponents will do. Of course the one thing that you can not do with teams that have nothing to lose is let them stay close enough that they begin to believe they can win.

On the offensive side the two key question for the Tar Heels are still their shooting from the charity stripe and from beyond the arc. If the team can handle those two parts of the game then you have to believe that it’s going to be very tough for any team to beat Carolina. While playing D the team has to work on stopping the dribble penetration as South Carolina is going to shoot the long ball being that inside the Gamecocks are going to be outmatched. Another thing that will be interesting to watch is how UNC is going to adjust when pit against a lot of fresh legs as it seems that S. Carolina does like to put plenty of bodies on the floor. On the other hand the Gamecocks could throw even more players at the Heels, the difference is talent is just so wide that it’s not going to matter.

Look for Kendall Marshall to get another good number of assists as the group of bigs pound the ball inside and Harrison Barnes shows off some of his great skills. I am going to look to see if John Henson keeps emerging as the leader of the team and if James McAdoo keeps improving with each game. I am also going to watch if Tyler Zeller plays once again strong inside like he did against Tennessee State and if Dexter Strickland comes back strong after a so-so game in his last outing. Lastly, as team, I want to see if coach Williams’ team comes back focused after having had a good outing, a short turnaround and traveling cross county. Sometimes teams say they play 5 vs 8, having the refs against them, for the Heels they might be playing 5 vs 6, with jet lag being against them.

The Las Vegas line has North Carolina as a 20 point favorite in this one, and I tend to agree with it, seeing UNC taking this one by the final of 89 to 65. (On a side note, I truly believe that the should be a law against a line being set on games played in Sin City). The team will have little rest as they will play another game in this tournament tomorrow night, the opponents being either Southern California or Nevada-Las Vegas.

If you watched the game last night Dino Gaudio, the ex Wake Forest head coach and now tv announcer, said that the difference he sees between this team and the `09 National Championship one is that on the latter there was Tyler Hansbrough, the “iron fisted leader”. Watching the game last night between top ranked North Carolina (4-0) and Tennessee State (2-3), where the Heels crushed the Tigers 102 to 69, I would say that there might be a leader emerging on this squad as well, junion power forward John Henson, who has had his 3rd straight double double and 12th in 14 games. Before I go on, let me say that I do not agree with the iron fisted part of the comment, but for both Zeller and Henson I do believe leader fits. The label of the tough guy might just go to the common denamenator on both teams, head coach Roy Williams!

In this game there were many great performances as I wrote about over at isportsweb in this game, but for me the one that stands out is Kendall Marshall’s 15 assists. While it’s not his own record, nor the school’s record, it is the second time in three games that he has had 15+ assists and the third one in 24 starts. The sophomore point guard is the only Tar Heel to ever have more than one of these types of performances, thinking back about the floor generals that have donned the carolina blue that is an amazing statistic in itself. It also has to be included that after some dismal shooting from outside, where coach Williams’ team was shooting 28.9% from beyond the arc (11 for 38) shot 11 for 18 (61.1%) against Tenn State. Most of them coming from Reggie Bullock, ending the game 6 for 7 and a game high 23 points last night.

Lastly, Tyler Zeller, who had 16 points and 7 rebounds, might not be the biggest part of the night’s game, the way he scored was, as the senior center got a lot of dunks instead of lay ups. The ESPN3 commentators said this of the seven footer “Zeller reminds me of a Eric Montross. Runs court better… maybe a modern day version”. For those of us who were able to watch Montross I would say that comparison is a pretty good one, and the comment about Zeller running the court better is also correct. While this was a great win for this team the fact that their free throws are still way too low for my taste, 9 for 16 (56.2%). Dino Gaudio said last night that “You can teach free throws”, while coach Williams said that the team hits a lot better at practice, hopefully they will begin to hit the same way during the games.

On Friday Carolina will be back in action on the West Coast as the fly to Las Vegas for a game against the other Carolina. Look for my grades on this game for each of the players later today and of course the coverage of the football team on Senior Day against in-state rival Duke both here and on isportsweb.

It’s game time once again as top ranked North Carolina (3-0) gets their second game in two days at the Dean Dome facing Tennessee State (2-2) tonight at 7:30 pm EST (ESPN3). While the opponent is not the strongest, they do have some size in the front court, they are coming off an upset win against the other Carolina and they, like many other teams in the early season, nothing to lose playing a game like this. For head coach Roy Williams it’s about fixing things that are pretty fundemental if this squad wants to win it all come March Madness: the free throws and the three point shooting. As I said in my piece on isportsweb this game is once again about what UNC can and will do that what the opponents do, in my opinion this means hitting their shots.

I am looking for several things in this game. First, an overall game from the team to be a bit snappier from the beginning of the game, last thing that anyone wants to see is a team who just had an upset sticking around with you and believing they can do it again. Second, an improvement on the perimeter shooting from this talented squad. Third, another game where the bench plays a good amount of minutes and none of the starters have to go anymore that 27 minutes. Lastly, more individually here, I like to see Kendall Marshall hit a couple of shots, as he needs to be able to do so in order to keep the defense honest. For the rest, I like to see if Justin Watts is ok from the injury he substained on Sunday and that the freshmen are getting their legs under them.

Even with the early season flaws I just do not see this game being a problem for the Heels. I do want to see a bit more sharpness from their game, and just like Sunday put the opponents away before the end of the first half. With the trio of John Henson, Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes playing well I am sure that the post will be fed early and often, something that I have doubts the Tigers will be able to stay with that type of man power. In the end, while I doubt that UNC will cover a 27.5 points spread, as well as getting to triple digits, I do see them winning easily, with the final being 89 to 67.

Before yesterday’s game between the Tar Heels and the Bulldogs I blogged that I would be looking at the back court and the perimeter game for head coach Roy Williams’ squad. I have to say I was not disappointed with it, as top ranked North Carolina (2-0) used a good end to the first 20 minutes to take down UNC-Asheville (0-2) 91 to 75. It is to be said that this game had the Heels coming from the West Coast after playing MSU in the first ever “Quicken Loans Carrier Classic”, but it’s also to be mentioned that a NBA size front court line up was looking at a starting five that had a 6’6″ as their biggest player. And while the host team did have a seven footer he played nothing more than a couple of minutes and the subs for UNC-A with any minutes were all in the 6’6″ range. Then again, with few exceptions, it won’t be likely that this squad will have a team that can match up in height with them during the season.

Point guard Kendall Marshall had six points and 15 assists (just one TO) in the game, and was the floor general for the Heels, making crisp passes and always keeping his head up anytime he had the ball. The outside the arc shooting was still so-so, as UNC only went 2 for 7, but both, one from Marshall and the other from freshman P.J. Hairston came at times when Carolina needed them. Altogether, after fourty minutes, this team seems to be what most of the pre-season hype said it would be: lots of talent, however with some flaws. While John Henson was the stand out on Friday, this one went to his front court team mate, Tyler Zeller, who scored 27 points (11 for 13 from the line), to go with eight rebounds. Henson did have a double double in this one, with 20 points and 12 boards, while Harrison Barnes scored 17 points. All of the starters, like the first game of the season, had 30+ minutes in the game, and it looks like coach Williams is headed into an eight man rotation.

I will try this year to give a small report card to the players in the game, so here goes for this game:

Tyler Zeller, A, only reason he does not get the + behind it is because of the four personal fouls. Against such a small team that should not have happened.

John Henson, A, double double is enough to get him an A, add two blocks (giving him 11 for the year) and you have to believe this is not the last grade of this kind the young man will get.

Kendall Marshall, A, with fifteen dishes (one shy of his record) that alone gets him the grade, the rest is just gravy when it comes to the team’s floor general.

James McAdoo, B, points scored (six) compared to minutes played (9) would probably get him an “A” if he was playing more minutes, but he isn’t and so that is why the grade.

Dexter Strickland, B, good game overall but the young man needs a bit more points in 31 minutes if he wants the better grade

Harrison Barnes, B, and it could have been a bit lower for Barnes as he had a good game but also had six turnovers against much lower competition.

P.J. Hairston, C, would have been a “B” but he had the 2 turnovers that cost him the grade.

Reggie Bullock, C, another one that I was borderline on the vote, but thought he would be good right her and if he can show me more I will be moving him up.

Justin Watts, INC, seven minutes and two boards, not much to say on that and so I will give him this vote and wait for the next outing.

The one thing that this team needs to cut out, and it was the thing that kept the Bulldogs in the game yesterday, are the turnovers. In all the Tar Heels had seventeen of them, while that can happen against a team like UNC-Asheville and still find a way to get a good win, against other squads this is going to hurt Carolina. This problem is one that can be worked on, which I am sure with a week now until the next game the team will surely do that. The other thing I like to see is more hustle on the boards, which is shocking to say as the Heels had a 41-27 margin in this one, against Michigan St. they were demolished and that can not happen again against above average teams. Coach Williams will have the next three games to fine tune all of this, including the rotation, and then will come the back to back Top 25 match ups, as North Carolina will face #13 Wisconsin at home at the end of the month and then go to #1 Kentucky at the beginning of December.

It’s the second game of the season for the Tar Heels and I believe it’s the first trap game of the year as well. Top ranked North Carolina (1-0) is going to face UNC-Asheville (0-1) at their new arena this afternoon at 4:00 pm EST after flying back from the West Coast having played in the inagural “Quicken Loans Carrier Classic”. In other words one team is about to face the top college basketball has to give this season while the other team is coming off an experiece of a life time. If you do not think that this is not a scenario for what could be a trap game then I am not sure there is one. Head coach Roy Williams’ squad will be fighting a team that is playing in their new arena, jet lag, and having the bullseye of being the top team in the country.

The two teams met one another last season, when UNC-Asheville lost 80-69 in Chapel Hill, but not before cutting the lead to just six points in the second half. From that game Carolina returns five starters and UNC-A returns four, which makes the match up even more interesting, and even more scarier for the Heels. But while I am worried about this game, it seems that the head coach has a different theory on it…

“We have a pretty good team, so I think we should challenge them,” Williams said. “If it were like ’06 and 2010, I would have been scared stiff, but we want to see how we respond.”

Maybe because I am one of those fans that worries until the final buzzer sound, I might not be scared stiff, but I am somewhat scared of this game. When you are the top team in the country you have always everything to lose, when you meet a team like the Heels will today, they have nothing to lose, as this is their national championship, and that again, scares me. On the other hand, having watched basketball for over three decades, knowing the game, I have to admit that in order to be the best you have to set yourself up for it. A turnaround game like this one, against a team that got to the second round of the tournament last year and is the favorite to win its conference, is a good way to prove to yourself that you can play hard two games in a row.

The things I am going to look for in this game is if the perimeter game gets better, as the Heels will be playing back in a normal venue, but with tired legs. And with those same tired legs, will Carolina be able to have its patented running the floor style of game. Which means in this game I will be more interested in how the duo of Kendall Marshall and Dexter Strickland do than the trio of Tyler Zeller, John Henson and Harrison Barnes. I will also be more interested in the ones that are not starting than the ones that do, to see if coach Williams goes back to his normal rotation or if he keeps giving the starters more minutes than he has in the previous seasons. The Vegas insiders have Carolina has a 16.5 points favorite, and while I am pretty sure that this team can cover it, the above mentioned concerns will have me say that the Tar Heels win this one by double digits, just not by that much.

On Friday we saw the Tar Heels begin their season, and while the venue was completely different than the usual, as the USS Carl Vinson, an aircraft carrier was turned into a basketball court, the start was the same as we have become accustomed to with Carolina, not revving on all cylinders. In the end #1 North Carolina (1-0) took down Michigan State (0-1) by the final of 67 to 55, but as in most cases, the final score doesn’t tell much of the story line of the game. The first thing that if you dig a bit deeper than the score you will see that head coach Roy Williams played his starters a bit more than you would expect for a November game, making you wonder if this was one of those games that was a sort of “must win” due to the location and meaning of it. Let’s face it here, this game was played in front of the President of the United States along with thousands of military personnel on Veterans’ Day. Or, maybe best said, there will only ever be the first ever winner of the “Quicken Loans Carrier Classic”, and holder of an 85 pounds trophy. This one was a game of spurts, with both teams making their moves during the game, but in the end the talent of the Tar Heels showed itself in more ways than one.

There is no other way to say this than in the end coach Williams’ team got it done and when they were playing like most expect them to they were good, very, very good. But this team, even all this talent, has to make steps forward in some sections, such as the defensive rebounding, which kept Michigan State, who had 24 offensive boards, in the game for most of the first half. The free throw shooting has to improve, 65.2% (15 of 23) is just not good enough if you wish to be the top squad in the nation, and finally 33.3% (4 for 12) from beyond the arc brings back memories of how much lament there was about the outside shooting last season. And while I believe that in this game the real rotation was not shown by the Heels, they will need more than 13 points off the bench if they want to be able to win it all come March/April.

On the other side, you have to say that John Henson, with 12 points, 7 rebounds and a career high 9 shot blocks, seems ready to have a break out season for this squad. Harrison Barnes, who scored a team high 17 points looked good as well, while Tyler Zeller got inside, but none of his shots seemed to want to stay down at the beginning of the game. Point guard Kendall Marshall made some great passes during the game, but he did commit 5 turnovers in this one while having five assists. Strickland also had a good game, scoring 10 points and getting the same amount of assists as Marshall had. So, when it’s all said and done we can say that while there is work to be done the nucleous for a great season is evident in all phases of the game. To be noted once more, all these numbers have to look at with a grain of salt, as it was the first game of the season, as well as it was on a ship. The next few games, starting with the one today against UNC Asheville, will show us a lot more about this team.

Well, for all of you that have been waiting to see the top team in the nation begin the long haul that ends up in New Orleans to crown a national champion, today is the beginning of all of this. North Carolina (#1 in both the AP And Coaches Polls) takes on Michigan State (who receives votes in both polls) in what has to be one of the coolest venues ever: an aircraft carrier. The USS Carl Vinson will be the place where the first ever Quicken Loans Carrier Classic will take place, and here you can check out more about the ship that will host the game tonight, with tip off time being 7:00 pm EST (ESPN). And before I say anything about the game let me state that I find it awesome several things. First off that the NCAA is finding a way to celebrate the true heroes of this country of ours, and secondly that private donations are paying for the game, and that all proceeds from the game will help the “Wounded Warrior” and the “Navy-Marina Corps Relief”. For both UNC and MSU this is the first game of the season and probably for all involved it will be one that they will never forget, due to the location of the game.

While Carolina has its entire starting line up coming back, the front court trio being NBA first rounders, let’s not go over board with thinking that the Tar Heels are a lock to win it all. The likes of Kentucky or Ohio State are going to be right there when it’s all said and done and whomever wins it all will have to earn it this season. Yes, there is experience on this team and chemistry, as the team starts two seniors and two juniors, but on the other hand, the main core of this squad will be made up of five sophomores or freshmen. While on the inside we all know that the three starters, Tyler Zeller, John Henson and Harrison Barnes, and the top reserve, James McAdoo, will all be effective in their own way, the outside shooting is still not perfect. This will be the second season for Kendall Marshall at the point, but also the first one where teams had a full season to prepare for him. Why am I saying all of this? Easy enough, let’s not get too far caught up with thinking that this squad is perfect, because it’s just not the case.

One thing that we all must watch is how much sophomore Harrison Barnes has improved from one season ago. Many say that the young man is now a better ball handler and looking to drive more than last year. It will be interesting how he shows up to the first game for Tar Heels. But the one thing that not ever the sophomore All-American swing-man might not be able to stop is the hype that the media will make of him, be it positive or negative. On the other hand I believe that the whole team will have to deal with the spotlight that will be placed on them as they enter the year as the top team in the country and with some many talented players on its roster. Head coach Roy Williams believes that they will be able to deal with it…

“I think they’ll handle it, they don’t have a choice,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “If you want to be good, you have to play well. I think that our guys have been focused and have great challenges in front of them.”

Last year UNC ended the season with a 29-8 record (14-2 in the ACC) taking first place in the conference against heavy favorite Duke and getting to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. The talent is there, we all know that, the comparisons between this squad and the one that won the title in `09 have been made way too many times, and there might not be too many teams that can stop the high flying offense that this team can have. The sophomore point guard might have said it best when he told the media that the worst enemy of this team could be themselves…

“We don’t have many weaknesses,” Marshall said. “But one thing that can become a weakness is if we get complacent. We have to keep that fire and play hard every game, every possession.”

Another thing that could slow down this team is sub par play by the bench. If that was the case the starting line up would be pressured more and more during the season. But in the end, when it’s all said and done, this team could be as good as its X, or best said the deXter strickland factor. As I have stated before, this team has three first rounders in the front court, could have a fourth coming off the bench in McAdoo, they have four starters named to the Wooden Award list, the sole exception being the shooting guard. But Strickland is going to be the man coach Williams will count on for perimeter defense and when Kendall Marshall needs a blog at the point. If the junior can do all of that well on a constant basis this team will elevate itself to a status that maybe many can not think they could.

The Vegas insiders have the line going anywhere from 9.5 to 11.0 points favorites. I see no reason why that Carolina should not win by that much, if not more! It’s going to be a long season for the Tar Heels as they will be the national championship game for many teams, getting the best shot from all they face. Tonight, on a special venue, for a special reason, coach Williams and his team need to make a statement that they will give just as good as they get, and while the Heels are not famous for coming out quickly the first couple of games, I am hoping that playing on the carrier might spark them into a fast start.