Believe it or not, as you can check out from my Day One preview post the first four games went according to plans, which is good for my ego, going 4 and 0, but could also be worrysome as we all wait for UNC to take the court at noon today. Why do I say that? Because it’s seems to me that when the first day goes smooth and no upsets happen, the second one has a couple. of games that go the way they shouldn’t. So, when you look at #1 North Carolina (24 and 6) vs #9 Miami (19 and 13) there are two possibilities: first, the ‘Canes were physically and mentally drained in the OT victory against the Hoos, or the second, U of M takes their last minute come back and uses it to propel themselves for an upset.
One thing that does bother me in this game is that Miami has had way too many close games during the season that with the ball bouncing their way most of them could have been wins. And even worst, the Hurricanes are also a team that the Tar Heels do not match up too well, the only game these two squads played against each other it took a down the stretch three pointer by freshman Harrison Barnes in order for UNC to come back home with a 74 to 71 win. Having said that, the other side of the equation is that this Carolina team seems a lot stronger than the one that went to the sunshine state and the emergence of Kendall Marshall the play keeps getting better and better.To be noted, Marshall did start this game, but he was still splitting the minutes with LD II, while in this game another contributer was Reggie Bullock (8 pts & 5 rebs in 23 mins), who we know is out for the season.
The good thing about this game is pretty simple, North Carolina has more to gain with a win than Miami does. The ‘Canes will only be going to the Big Dance if they win the whole tournament, while the Heels winning this game puts them on a solid two seed! In order to win head coach Roy Williams’ squad has to contain Reggie Johnson, who is a lot bigger than both Tyler Zeller and John Henson. Secondly the Hurricanes have a smaller line up and that is going to force one of the Tar Heels’ bigs to play out of the paint, making it harder for them to block shots and hold down the defensive rebounds.
One thing that must be said is that while most of the headlines coming out of day one of the ACC Tourney are about the great come back by Miami, no one is looking at the fact that a much weaker squad held the `Canes to a dozen points before letting them score at will the last minute of play. With the reality that UNC is playing good D this season and that I seriously doubt they will fold like UVa did, there is no way that we do not see coach Williams’ squad playing in the semis tomorrow. Will it be a tough game? Probably, and we might still be in a battle when the teams go in at halftime, but then the speed and talent of the Tar Heels will just show against players that have played yesterday and their legs aren’t fully rested.
The one thing I want to see from this team is how well they take on the role of playing in a “one and done” atmosphere. Their last regular season game showed us that they can be focused against the best, now we will see if they can be focused no matter who/what the competition is. I believe they will and the final score of 88 to 67 will reflect it.
Original Story:
http://www.the5thcorner.com/1-unc-vs-...
