Carolina March

ACC Conference Baseball Starts This Weekend

2010-03-12T13:13:35Z

ACC Conference Baseball Starts This Weekend

The College Baseball Blog has previews. UNC, currently ranked 11th in the country, meets Duke.

Salt in the Wounds

2010-03-12T13:02:12Z

Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio, right, is seen in the waning moments of an NCAA college basketball game against Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, March 11, 2010. Miami won 83-62.

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So not only was UNC knocked out in their first tournament game – second time Georgia Tech's done that to Roy Williams by the way – but they were the only lower seed not to advance. Miami, N.C. State, and talent-deprived Virginia all had better tournaments than the Heels. Don't expect that trend to continue, though. The bottom four seeds are 2-8 on Friday since the tournament expanded. N.C. State has had the greatest success, making it all the way to the finals as a ten seed in 2007.

The Wolfpack remain the only team to win three ACC tournament games and not be awarded the title, having done it twice, both that season and in 1997, during the days of the Les Robinson Invitational. They're the most likely to advance today as well. Florida State, despite winning a lot down the stretch, has been playing slower and slower, and getting narrower and narrower in their victories. It's the last game of the night, they'll have had the longest time off, and they're ripe for the upset.

UNC will be back in Chapel Hill,of course, hoping for an NIT bid. If you need something to debate, here's Larry Drew's postgame quote, one of the few new criticisms of this team I've heard in some time:

"If I had to say something, I would probably say in certain situations Coach will call a set play and guys, I feel, are so caught up into carrying the play out that they're not really letting their basketball instincts take over."

Thoughts?

Georgia Tech 62, UNC 58

2010-03-12T03:16:33Z

More photos » Gerry Broome - AP

North Carolina's Marcus Ginyard (1) misses a shot during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, March 11, 2010.

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Can we just end this season now? I'm serious. Decline any NIT bid that might float UNC's way. Ignore the CBI. Just walk away. I'm tired of watching this team fall apart.

For awhile at least, this team played like they wanted to be there. Some of it was more Tech's ineptitude than anything else; the Yellow Jackets came out slow and unfocused, with nine turnovers and 2-11 shooting from behind the arc in the first half. The Heels, on the other hand, outhustled, outrebounded and plain embarrassed Tech in the first half. Even with their all-too familiar poor shooting, UNC went into the locker room with a ten point lead, led by Marcus Ginyard, who was everywhere on the court spurring the team on.

Less than four minutes into the second half, that lead was gone. And Carolina was never able to pull back away, despite Tyler Zeller's first career double-double. With John Henson on the bench in foul trouble for large stretches, the Heels had no answer for Derrick Favors and no ability to get the ball in the basket. UNC was 10 for 33 from the field in the second half, and scored their last field goal with 5:11 to play. The defense was pretty good down the stretch, but Deon Thompson had a silly foul with thirteen seconds remaining on the shot clock, and that was all she wrote. A typical end to a very atypical season.

Carolina won't turn down an NIT bid, of course. Williams has already said as much. I think the fans would prefer it if he just spared us all the pain, though. Spring football has to start up soon, right?

ACC Tournament Game Thread: Georgia Tech

2010-03-12T00:00:30Z

Chuck Burton - AP

Wake Forest's Ishmael Smith (10) Chas McFarland, (13) and Tony Woods (55) react after an NCAA college basketball game against Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, March 11, 2010. Miami won 83-62.

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Well, after this morning it's quite clear I know nothing about basketball. Perhaps you'd like to try the mothership, instead?

Here's hoping UNC can continue the lower-seed trend Miami and a Sylvan Landesberg-less Virginia have started.

Looks Like a Different Side of Greensboro This Year

2010-03-11T04:12:39Z

Chuck Burton - AP

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I admit, when I first stumbled back into the country on Sunday, jet-lagged, I read that Carolina would be playing Georgia Tech and thought, "Well, at least it's someone UNC's beaten this season." Of course, I was confusing Tech with the other gold-clad team in the ACC, Wake Forest; Georgia Tech shellacked the Heels in both of their meetings this season, and only a heroic performance by Will Graves in the home meeting made the score close. It was an easy mistake, however. Both teams were absolutely abysmal on the road, Tech going 1-7 and Wake 2-6 in conference. (Both teams count Chapel Hill as a win, by the way.) Neutral courts weren't particularly kind to the Yellow Jackets either, as they lost their biggest game on one, a four-point loss to Dayton (!) in Puerto Rico.

The confines of Greensboro Coliseum might be helpful here, as we can presume GT will try the same game plan as the previous two games. A fast tempo coupled with a quick barrage of threes to put the Heels in an early hole, after which you can sit back and enjoy the panic. (See also: every ACC game this season.) Missed shots on an unfamiliar court could rattle Tech, a team that has struggled down the stretch. If UNC can play to their potential, they can easily win this game. Not for nothing do the log5 predictions give Carolina the best chance of the bottom four teams to make the finals. (More on that later.)

I'll say one thing about Coach Williams' attitude about this team. He expects this team to go out and win the ACC Tournament. To wit:

"I'm approaching the tournament like it's our only chance left, and that does make you look at it a lot differently. Deep down inside, I'm still not going to go there, but this is my favorite experience in the ACC Tournament. It does. It gives us the chance to still play for a big, big prize. That's the way we're looking at it."

He's since walked that back a bit, with the standard "We’re going to focus on playing Georgia Tech. If we play well, perhaps they’ll let us stay around and play somebody else." But they really are coming in expecting to go four rounds. Unfortunately, they're the worst team to play the plucky underdog. They won't have fan support – UNC fans aren't going to come out en masse, and the rest of the league won't root for the Heels no matter how big of an underdog they might be – and they are woefully short on the depth they'll need for four games in four days. Better to take it one game at a time.

As for the rest of the Thursday games, the higher seeds are probably the way to go. Miami and Virginia are arriving in Greensboro with three and nine game losing streaks respectively. (And let's take a moment to be amazed again by the fifteen point loss to the Cavs. Virginia's won one game since then. They're the worst-rated team in the conference by almost every measure. And again, they won by fifteen.) Of course, since the tournament expanded in 2005, the lower seeds are a respectable 10 of 19 on Thursday, peaking in 2007 when they swept the day. Still, if I'm going to pick an upset, it's State over Clemson. Why? State's been playing well against admittedly weak competition over the last two weeks, and the Tigers are everyone's favorite underdog anyway.

Why They Can't Get It Together

2010-03-10T00:42:51Z

More photos » Gerry Broome - AP

7 days ago: North Carolina coach Roy Williams looks on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Durham, N.C., Saturday, March 6, 2010. Duke won 82-50. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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So the question is: why can't they get it together? Why can't they at the very least play defense like their lives depended on it?

You can cut Strickland and Wear some slack as freshmen, and mostly exempt Henson from this discussion as he showed more heart and passion than the rest of his teammates, but otherwise, what the hell? How did Williams lose this group?

Even after you make allowances for injuries, the answer has to come down, primarily, to coaching. Why is it that Zeller would rather shoot from the foul line than bang inside? Why can't someone persuade Drew to not make pointless, random forays into the lane? Why isn't William Graves playing to his strengths? As big and strong as he is, why isn't Thompson more of a factor inside? How can they keep just tossing the ball to no one?

That's from the Duke Basketball Report's coverage of the game, and it seems like as good a place to start as any. First off, I don't have answers to any of those questions. I don't think anyone does. I'm not sure you can blame it on the coaching, however.

Roy Williams' postgame comments have become a broken record by this point, always boiling down to the same point. "We came into the game wanting to do this, this, and this, and we didn't do them." There's been, to my knowledge, no change in coaching style, no implementation of a different style of play, and no drop off in intensity from Williams. It's the same coaching that won two national championships. Nor has there been some tectonic shift in the college basketball landscape since last April that would require a major adaptation to which UNC has been unable to manage. It's simply, UNC wants to do this, this, and this, and they don't do it.

I can't imagine it's laziness amongst the players, as that would have been run out of them early in the course of a season, with the number of people jockeying for playing time. And there haven't been whispers of discontent in the locker room. The best argument I could entertain is that not enough time is being spent on fundamentals, as evidenced by the horrid shooting and turnovers, but I have no way of knowing what the breakdown of a practice is like and won't begin to speculate.

And frankly, it's more gratifying for an opposing fan to attack the coaching as opposed to the playing ability, as next year will bring new players but the same coaches. I'm not above this; I've often looked upon Krzyzewski as an overrated coach, especially over the past half a decade when copious numbers of McDonald's All-Americans entered and left Cameron without showing much improvement.

The other thing is, you can look at the one player who has improved the most over the course of the season, John Henson, and chalk up much of said improvement to coaching. Specifically, moving him from the three spot, where he came in wanting to play as that's where he expects to be in the pros, to the four, where he's used his height more and even built up a bit of strength. I assume Williams isn't only coaching Henson in practice, while the other fourteen players goo on Twitter; why he's evolving while the rest of the team doesn't is a mystery to me. (It helps that him and Larry Drew are the only players who come to mind who haven't been injury-plagued this season.)

So I don't know why this team can't get it together. Other teams this young have had this problem, but clicked and turned things around. The time to do that is January, however. Williams has high hopes for the ACC Tournament, but he's the only one. We'll discuss how that might go tomorrow, I think. The ACC does have a history of underperforming teams getting it together – Wake in '06, N.C. State in too many years to count – so that might be the place to start. It's not like things are rosy in Atlanta, either.

Duke 82, UNC 50

2010-03-07T05:14:34Z

Maybe when I get back to the States. But probably not.

Game Thread: Duke

2010-03-07T02:00:21Z

Robert Willett - AP

North Carolina student Christa Devette, center, cheers as the Tar Heels enter the Smith Center for their pregame warmups prior to their NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Chapel Hill. N.C.

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Oh, we don't give a damn about Duke University,
Duke University, Duke University
We don't give a damn about Duke University
'Cause we're from Car-o-li-na.

"I don’t think I could have picked a better time to be born. These four years: 500 wins for Coach W...

2010-03-03T14:20:50Z

"I don’t think I could have picked a better time to be born. These four years: 500 wins for Coach Williams, 600 wins, 2,000 wins, national championship, Obama; it’s just unbelievable the stuff that’s happened while I’ve been here. And I’m blessed every day to be a part of it."

Marc Campbell, whose had a pretty eventful time at college. Something to rib his dad, member of the '66 team, about.

UNC 69, Miami 62

2010-03-03T14:15:59Z

More photos » Robert Willett - AP

North Carolina senior Marc Campbell gets a kiss from his mother, Anne Marie Campbell, as he is recognized on senior night prior to playing his last game at the Smith Center, against Miami, at an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in Chapel Hill, N.C.

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Hurricanes vs Tar Heels boxscore

First things first, it's worth pointing out: UNC wins by an average of seven points when they start Marc Campbell, James Gallagher, and Thomas Thornton. The team's problem's are all but solved!

OK, so perhaps a sample size of one is not the best impetus for a wholesale lineup change. Either way, the seniors acquitted themselves well in their two-plus minutes of play, heading to the bench with a 4-3 lead, after which the standard starters tok the court and quickly extended it to double digits. After that it was the UNC team we've all come to know and scream at: too many turnovers (17), poor shooting (40.4%) and an inability to just put a team away. When your opponent is Miami, however, there's a limit to how bad things can get. Marcus Ginyard closed out his Smith Center career with his first double-double (12 pts, 12 boards) and Henson matched that rebounding total and continued to show flashes of the dominant player he can become over the next couple of years.

It was, of course, the university 2,000th win, as the Heels crossed that milestone just under the wire of their 100th season. There's not much about this season UNC fans are going to want to remember, but for one night at least, hisory was made and if you squinted, it looked like a Carolina team of old. Now they can take a winning streak into Cameron to close out the regular season, an perhaps ruin another Duke Senior Night along the way.

Game Thread: Miami

2010-03-03T01:00:32Z

John Bazemore - AP

North Carolina's Marcus Ginyard comes up with a loose ball in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010, in Atlanta. Georgia Tech won 68-51.

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Senior Day with the 2,00th win on the line. That's a little bit more pressure than I'd like for this team to be under during what should be a pretty unremarkable game. The good news is that the game's at eight and not seven, and there's no threat of snow, two things that most contributed to the lack of a home crowd at the Florida State game.

The Road to 2,000 Goes Through a Hurricane

2010-03-02T02:17:39Z

More photos » Lynne Sladky - AP

Any excuse for a Scheyerface.

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It wasn't too long ago that people were expecting good things out of Miami basketball. The team won all fourteen of their non-conference games, although that schedule was so soft they couldn't even crack the Top 25 with a 15-1 record. Since then, however, it's been a long stretch of misery for the Hurricanes. They've only won four conference games all at home, and now travel to Chapel Hill to face a Carolina team fresh off their first good win since Michigan State and looking at their best chance to hit 2,000 wins ahead of a rapidly approaching Kansas. Oh, and it's Senior Day, too.

The Hurricanes also have the misfortune of not being suited to capitalize on the Heels' weaknesses. They don't generate much in the way of turnovers on defense, and actually cough the ball up themselves at a faster rate than UNC. They play a slowed-down game, and for all their height are merely average on the boards. And they have the worst defense in the conference. Their one hope is their propensity to take threes, as an early hot hand from behind the arc has put UNC into quite a few holes this season they've failed to dig themselves out from.

The guys to watch in that regard are Adrian Thomas and James Dews – tall, lanky guard/forward types who like to hang around the perimeter. Neither have had much success against the Heels in the past, Dews especially, so if they don't get off to a quick start look for them to rely more on Dwayne Collins and freshman guard Durand Scott for interior play. On defense, Miami will almost certainly pack it in and bait Carolina into shooting over them. This is a team with numerous shot blockers, led by Collins, and they have the bodies to beat up on the Heels in the paint.

Last year's game against Miami was an uncomfortable close affair that required serious heroics from Ty Lawson to avoid an upset. But that team had Jack McClinton, now graduated, and there's no one on this year's team who can take over a game like that. Couple that with the emotions of the seniors' last home game and the chance to nab a historic-numbered win, and it's hard to see how Carolina can lose. But this team keeps finding ways to do so; hopefully the Wake game ended that particular tendency, and the new-look Tar Heels can get a winning streak going.

Danny Green Returns to the Cavs from D-League

2010-03-02T01:39:29Z

Danny Green Returns to the Cavs from D-League

Green spent only two games in Erie before being called back to return Cleveland to the title of most UNC alumni-laden team.

Sorting Out the Last Week of the ACC Season

2010-03-01T04:19:50Z

With Sunday's games in the books, it's amazing how the conference has neatly divided itself into tiers. I covered the bottom five, which unfortunately includes UNC, yesterday. With one possible exception, they're guaranteed seeds eight through twelve. Duke and Maryland have distanced themselves from the pack; they'll play Wednesday, but even with a Maryland win UNC will also have to beat Duke to get the Terps to the top spot. The Blue Devils control most of the tiebreakers by way of losing to worse teams.

Seeds three through seven are another free for all, with four teams currently tied at 8-6 and a fifth, Georgia Tech, a game behind. Not only are these teams fighting to secure NCAA spots and Thursday byes in the ACC, but the five of them are doing it only six games. Only Virginia Tech and FSU play anyone outside the fivesome, drawing State and Miami respectively. Everyone else has two tough games to get that coveted third seed.

Carolina fans should be rooting for the quickly falling Wake, as having a win over a highly-placed team could come in handy if UNC wins out and gets in some interesting 6-10 ties. Sadly, the more likely outcome is the one determined by location, not skill. These teams are a combined 11-24 on the road in conference, with all but two of those losses coming against UNC, State, Virginia, or BC. Everyone has one home and one away game remaining. Odds are four teams finish 9-7.

If that is the case, here's how things fall out. Clemson would be 2-2, Florida State also 2-2, Virginia Tech 2-1, and Wake 1-2. Clemson would get the tiebreaker by virtue of a win over Maryland.

A couple of more scenarios, if you're a Georgia Tech fan. If Tech wins out, they'd replace Clemson in the four-way tie. In that case, FSU tops everybody at 4-0, Georgia Tech comes in next at 2-2, Virginia Tech follows with a 1-2 record, and Wake brings up the rear at 1-3. However, if Georgia Tech can't win another game, they'll finish 7-9. If Virginia can win out and tie them at 7-9, the Cavaliers will get the tiebreaker and the Yellow Jackets will fall all the way down to eighth. That's the possible exception I referred to earlier.

The interesting thing for UNC is that their best case scenario is to remain tied to N.C. State, no matter what. Having the same record as the Wolfpack automatically pushes Carolina up a seed in all tiebreakers. So get behind Wake all the way, and State to the extent you think the Heels can match. And root against Duke, naturally. Let's not go crazy here.

How UNC Can Avoid the Dreaded Twelfth Seed

2010-02-28T00:50:59Z

More photos » Chuck Burton - AP

North Carolina's Larry Drew II, center, draws a foul as he drives into Wake Forest's David Weaver, left, and Gary Clark, right, in the second half of North Carolina's 77-68 win in an NCAA college basketball game in Winston-Salem, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010.

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UNC isn't the only Triangle school pulling themselves out of a slump lately. N.C. State has won their last two, a fourteen point rout over Wake and a 71-66 win today over Miami. That last game leaves State, UNC, and Miami all tied for last place at 4-10. If the season ended today, UNC would be in good shape, as their two victories over the Wolfpack would be the tie breaker over State's 1-2 and Miami's 0-1 collective records. The season doesn't end today, though.

State's last two games are at Virginia Tech and at home against Boston College. The BC game alone should be an easy enough win to keep the Wolfpack out of cellar. UNC surely can't count on them to lose both and guarantee that Carolina won't be twelfth. Which makes the Miami game critical. A win, no matter what happens elsewhere, ensures Carolina wins any tiebreakers between State, Miami, or even Boston College. A loss requires State to lose out to keep them out of last.

But what's the best a win over the Hurricanes can accomplish? Provided they don't also upset Duke, that would leave UNC with a 5-11 record. It's possible that State, Miami, and one of either Boston College or Virginia could end up with the same record. Here's how the tiebreakers work out:

UNC, State, Miami and BC are all 5-11: This means State beats BC on Sunday. Among this group, Carolina would have a 3-1 record, as would Boston College. State would be 2-2, and Miami 0-4. The next tie breaker is record versus the top team in the ACC, and on down through the standings after that. Those standings are pretty fluid right now, but UNC's best win is over Wake, and BC's over Clemson. Whoever ends up higher determines if UNC is seeded ninth or tenth.

UNC, State, Miami and Virginia are all 5-11: This means UVa loses their last three. Considering they're already on a six game losing streak, this isn't particularly unlikely. UNC is again 3-1, along with Virginia. Miami is 1-3 and State brings up the rear at 1-4. Virginia's best win is over Georgia Tech; that will again determine if the Heels are ninth or tenth.

UNC, Miami and BC are all 5-11: This assumes State wins out. Among the three teams remaining, BC is 3-0, UNC 1-1, and Miami 0-3. Carolina is seeded 11th.

UNC, Miami and Virginia are all 5-11: Same deal with State. The Cavaliers go 2-1, UNC 1-1, and Miami 1-2. Another 11th seed for UNC.

UNC, State, and BC are all 5-11: This assumes Miami loses to FSU as well, and finishes in last place. Among these three, UNC is 2-1, BC 1-1, and State 1-2. UNC gets the ninth seed.

UNC, State, and Virginia are all 5-11: Virginia is 3-0, UNC is 2-1, and N.C. State 0-4. UNC is tenth.

State wins out and Miami loses out: No matter whether UNC ends up tied with BC or Virginia or neither, they're a solid 11th.

So there you have it. Print it out, stick it to your fridge, and figure out who you have to root for this week. A win over Duke doesn't help the Heels that much, by the way. With Boston College playing Virginia, one of those teams will also finish at worst 6-10, and both teams hold tiebreakers over Carolina. Only if State also makes it to 6-10 do the tiebreakers get interesting. More on that later, once I get the taste of rooting for State out of my mouth.

"Some of the stuff that the guy put in there is just so ridiculously false. It’s just crazy – like m...

2010-02-27T22:50:43Z

"Some of the stuff that the guy put in there is just so ridiculously false. It’s just crazy – like my parents are involved in an unhealthy way? That’s not true at all. They said my girlfriend is an influential figure. I don’t have a girlfriend. Why would they put up that?"

Larry Drew, on transfer rumors. I'm shocked – shocked – a random internet site might be wrong about these sort of things.

UNC 77, Wake Forest 68

2010-02-27T22:38:11Z

More photos » Chuck Burton - AP

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Tar Heels vs Demon Deacons boxscore

All season long, folks have been suggesting solutions for this team. And they've all be wrong. Apparently, what UNC has needed all along was goofy haircuts for the freshmen.

John Henson and Leslie McDonald arrived at Lawrence Joel sporting fauxhawks, and had the best games of their careers. Henson finished with 9 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks and the largest smile on his face I've ever seen. McDonald led all scorers with sixteen and was a big part in a defense that held Ishmael Smith to 5 of 21 shooting. The end result was a 77-68, UNC's first win against a team not named N.C. State since January 10th.

The game was a great example of a team accepting its limitations and succeeding in spite of them. The missed shots are still a problem, there was a stretch early in the second half where the turnover problem raised his head again. But the defense, which has been improving up until the FSU game, stepped up and frustrated Wake into their worst shooting performance of the game. They kept Chas McFarland and Al-Farouq Aminu on the bench with foul trouble for critical portions of the game, allowing more perimeter pressure. The same Wake team that shot 56.3% from behind the arc in Chapel Hill was held to 37.5%, and a season low shooting percentage overall. Smith was held scoreless in the first half, and L.D. Williams was driven to try to do to much, getting his points mostly from the line after going 3 of 13 from the field. McDonald and the rest of the Heels were much better at stopping the dribble penetration, limiting the kickouts for open threes.

Speaking of the line, that too continues to frustrate the Heels. or at least Larry Drew. Drew took almost half of UNC's free throws, and it obviously got into his head. At one point he was 2 for 10, late in the game when Wake was fouling to keep it close. The poor shots eventually got him benched, and he bounced back to sink two late to keep the game out of reach. Free throws continue to be a problem overall, and if the game had slipped out of their hands because of it, I don't know what that could have done to this team's fragile psyche.

It didn't though, and UNC became the first ACC team to leave Winston-Salem this season. It also means next week's winnable game at home against Miami will be for Carolina's 2,000th. A nice farewell gift for a senior class who've had a very rough time of it this season. It's a little late to turn everything around, but this is a start.

Game Thread: Wake Forest

2010-02-27T19:00:32Z

Robert Willett - AP

North Carolina coach Roy Williams question an official after no foul was called in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Florida State on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010, at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

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You may look at Wake and say, "8-5? This is doable." Unfortunately, all five of those losses are on the road; Wake is undefeated in conference at home. They've only won two ACC games outside of Lawrence Joel. One of those was the 13 point win in Chapel Hill. Expect UNC to score less than Williams' blood pressure. Diastolic, even.

ACC to Menace Women's Basketball Fans with Giant Shoe

2010-02-27T16:21:13Z

ACC to Menace Women's Basketball Fans with Giant Shoe

This entire press release just reads like an Onion article. "Giant shoe to drop giveaways, including t-shirts and stress-relieving dumbbells, to screaming fans next week." "Blimp will step foot in the Greensboro Coliseum, and it marks the first chance for fans to catch a t-shirt or redeemable coupon from its sole." "Hello, airplanes? This is blimps. You win." Oh, wait.

Florida State 77, UNC 67

2010-02-25T03:21:01Z

More photos » Robert Willett - AP

I swear, the AP's photography editors are just taunting me. Taunting.

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Seminoles vs Tar Heels boxscore

Look, there's nothing in tonight's game that you have seen all season long. Except the uniforms, of course. They were different. Also horrid; the warmup jackets, were white with what appeared to be tire treads on the front. Coincidentally, the team played early like they had been hit by a bus and never recovered.

Teams have realized that the quickest way to put the Heels away is to bombard them with points early, and wait for UNC to seize up and start turning the ball over. Which Florida State proceeded to do. The Seminoles, who hadn't hit more than seven threes in ACC play, shot 9 for 15 from behind the arc in the first half. Denied Solomon Alabi, their 7'1" center and the conference's leading shot blocker for most of the game due to foul trouble, FSU didn't bat an eye, completely shutting down Carolina's interior offense and still tallying six blocks and 34 rebounds. Chris Singleton outhustled the entire Tar Heel team, finishing with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. UNC's biggest rebounder, amongst all their height was... Marcus Ginyard with 10.

This was another one of those games when most of the offense fell to Will Graves shooting over his opponent's height, not unlike the first Georgia Tech game. And he delivered, finishing with 21, but even he looked tentative at times. No one on the team wants to shoot at this point and it shows. UNC couldn't get the ball down low inside against the FSU defense, and no big man had more than four field goals. The brightest point was Leslie McDonald's late play, which at least showed some intensity that was lacking from everyone else.

On the bright side, anyone flipping past the game probably didn't even recognize that it was UNC, and not some other team down by 15+ for much of the game. Perhaps we can look into having different uniforms for the rest of the season? I'm thinking something in a navy blue or gold; might as well make folks watching think it's Duke or Wake flailing away.