Looking forward to this afternoon’s game between #1 North Carolina (26-5 ~ 14-2 in the ACC) and #4 Clemson (21-10 ~ 9-7 in the ACC) one might think that with the Heels coming off an emotional game and having beaten the Tigers twice this season this should be another W. But we all know that when it comes to the post season all of that goes out the window and so the reality is that this should be another hard fought game between two teams that need the win for different reasons. UNC needs the game in order to keep working their way up the seeds for next week’s Big Dance, while Clemson, who has won five of the last six games (only loss to Duke), needs the game to stay away from going any lower than a 12 seed and maybe slide back towards that awful place they call the “bubble”. In other words, neither wants to end their Greensboro experience today, and that might just make it for a heck of game today at 1 pm EST (televised on ESPN).
When the two squads met in the regular season UNC won the first game at home by 10, 75 to 65, while it was a 2 point squeaker on the road, with the final score being 64 to 62. Today it will be once again a home game feeling for the Heels, but it will be against a team that can hit three’s like Miami can and can also handle themselves on the boards, more so than the ‘Canes. This to me means that Tyler Zeller has to come alive a lot earlier than he did in yesterday’s game, and has to be able to contribute from the first whistle to the last buzzer. Especially with a shot blocker like John Henson on the floor it’s got to be the rest of the team that works the glass or else the Tigers will be able to get offensive rebounds and easy put back baskets.
College Basketball(Game One: Clemson @ UNC)
Another player on head coach Roy Williams’ roster that needs to get going a lot sooner than the last game has to be Kendall Marshall, who didn’t score until he initiated what was the best comeback for the Heels in the last five years. However, I doubt that UNC could do this against Clemson and I doubt that either the coaching staff or the players want to find out. Today they must once again show what got them a #1 seed in this tournament and a great victory against Duke in the final game of the season. This is the type of game that I believe needs to be won in the first couple of minutes by setting the tempo and making sure that your bread and butter (no pun intended Marshall) are executed well. Which means setting up the inside game and feeding Harrison Barnes to establish both the paint and the perimeter game.
NCAA Basketball Stats(Game Two: UNC @ Clemson)
There is no doubt that this team can be good, and in the last part of the game against Miami they showed us just that. Having said that they must realize that if they intend to win this tournament and go deep into the next one there can be no lapses like the one they had against the `Canes. We all know that in college basketball teams will have runs, but no team can let their opponents have the run of the floor for three quarters of the game and expect to come out with a victory. It happened yesterday but it is now up to the team never to let it happen again, and they can do that by playing a good game from the start to the end.
With UNC knowing that the two teams from the Big East that were looking at a one seed (Pittsburgh and Notre Dame) both out of their tournament this is their chance to go after it. It also means that they could be facing arc rival Duke once again tomorrow, and that alone should be motivation enough for anyone donning a Carolina Blue jersey! It will be a tough game, played for 40 minutes, but it will be the Tar Heels coming out on top by 5, with the final tally being 78 to 73.
Original Story:
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