Things just got interesting.
- Duke beat Wake Forest in a game that had Duke players hugging each other and Coach K like they just won the national title. Seriously how big of an accomplishment is it to beat a Wake team that is now 2-4 on the road in the ACC? The Deacs were flummoxed by Cameron, recovered some composure but eventually got closed out in a game that featured zero defense. Cue the flood of talking heads telling us Duke is back, K is a genius for changing the rotation like you have to be a genius to know that Brian Zoubek should not be playing…ever.
- Clemson and Florida State took care of their respective business over the weekend and as a result there seems to be a breakaway pack in the ACC standings from the Muddled Middle. It is clear you have Duke, FSU and Clemson in the best position heading down the stretch.
- Despite the loss at Maryland UNC is still one game ahead and in complete control of their own destiny. On the basis of the present standings, UNC can even afford one more loss as long as it does not come against Duke. Another loss is not advisable given the seeding situation in the NCAA Tournament but there is nothing about the Heels’ situation I find precarious in the least.
- Maryland could make the NCAA Tournament. With four games left they have at least two games they could win(NCSU and UVa) plus stealing one versus either Duke or Wake Forest. The main issue with Maryland is they are consistently inconsistent.
- Miami is in deep trouble. NCSU is looking good for the NIT. Virginia Tech better come up for air and soon.
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Who’s on the docket today?
Oklahoma and Kansas, who we may get another shot at again which is great since Roy says he will never schedule them. Pomeroy actually has Kansas ranked higher. It is hard to tell, because while Kansas only has one bad loss, to UMass, they don’t have any great wins either, pretty much just Temple, Tennessee and Siena. If Roy can’t get some revenge against these guys, he won’t get a better shot for a while.
Things will be slow this week, but here is a question for you guys.
Do you think that Coach K will end his career with a winning record versus all opponents that he has played over five times and do you think that he will end his career with the record for most ACC Tournament Titles?
Speaking of Wake Forest, did anyone else notice the graphic during our game of “signature wins” for the bottom six teams in the ACC? Four of the bottom six had wins against Wake (VT, Miami, NCSU, and GT). That means that, before last night, Wake’s four ACC losses were to the lower half of the ACC…
And now, of course, Maryland has their “signature win”. Criminy!
I know one thing, if I was a pretty good point guard (or even a mediocre one like Gonzalez), I’d want to be sure to have NBA scouts present when I played the Heels.
John Gasaway’s take on the Maryland game:
“North Carolina lost on the road. Yawn.
Try as I might, I just can’t work myself up into being worried about the Heels. Last year they lost at home to these very same Maryland Terrapins and still made the Final Four.”
Let’s acknowledge one thing. Vasquez was ready to be carried out on his shield if necessary to win this game. I don’t think Carolina tanked the game but I don’t think we had anybody ready to go out on his shield.
While stats can tell us a lot, they can’t tell us when one team really, really wants a win.
Go back sometime and look at the ACC Tourney results from 1957, the first year the ACC made it to the Final Four, through 1974, the last year where you had to win the tourney to get a bid. The fascinating thing is actually how few upsets there were in terms of expected winners. It was almost always the regular season champ who won the tournament and when it wasn’t, it was usually the second place team.
Teams knew back then they had to win the ACC Tourney and they did whatever it took to win, whether it was breaking out new trick plays or defenses or playing with injuries or playing to the point of physical and emotional exhaustion. That is why USC’s loss in 1970 was such a big deal, and it still took State double overtime slowdown victory to edge out the 16-0 Gamecocks (in ACC play).
The next year, UNC was 13-3 and USC was 12-4 going into the Final and South Carolina won an ugly one point triumph at the buzzer to become the first non-tobacco road team to win the tourney since 1958.
They were so spent that they lost in the first round in the NCAA in spite of having two excellent future NBA’ers, John Roche and Tom Owens, and another great player, Kevin Joyce on their squad.
William,
Knowing Coach K, he will probably come out on a walker to break Dean Smith’s record of 13. He needs 4 more (according to my calcs) and will have to average an ACC tournament win every other year if he coaches 8 more years until he’s 70. Of course, by that time, he’ll most likely be over 1000 wins so Dean’s record may not matter. His biggest obstacle? Deputy Roy is here to protect all that is sacred in Tar Heel country. As far as a winning record against all teams he has played more than 5 times, that’s a stat more obscure than I’ve been able to dig up.
Just like with Nadal and Federer, it will be hard for K to argue that he is the best if he didn’t have a winning record against Smith or equal his accomplishments. The NIT doesn’t really matter anymore. K has one more title, than Smith and both have now won the Olympics. I would have to check and count regular season titles. My thinking is that K does not achieve a winning record against UNC or 13 ACC titles.
Of course, Dean played on a title winner as well, so K will still be behind Bobby Knight and Smith in that regard.
If Duke ever gets to another NCAA championship game, is there anything to prevent Coach K from regaining his college eligiblity and playing in the game for 30 seconds, like the 73 year old man I saw recently who did it? Or did he use up his full four years?
Man, were they close in 1999 and 2004, definitely closer than Dean was any year save 1977. I assumed Duke had it both years. Of course, they were kind of lucky in both 1991 and 1992 but still, they would be unbearable with five NCAA tourney titles.
Good point. You know, we always talk about how you have to have some luck to win six straight games and the title. How about tough luck for all the near misses? Maybe it sort of averages out. One of the more remarkable levels of consistency in sports was Jack Nicklaus in the majors. With all his second place finishes (19) , he was just that close to having over 30 majors. Unbelievable.
The NCAA rule is once you start playing anywhere you have five years from that point to complete four. I still have a year of eligibility in cross country I never used but the five year window has expired and I am about 60 lbs heavier.
Jack Nicklaus was the greatest of all time. He had to face greats like Palmer, Trevino, Watson, Ballesteros and Player. Tiger either wins or gets skunked, usually and guys like Lefty are more on par with Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller than Tom Watson.
Got it, THF. The 73 year old who made an NCAA team, recently, and scored a free throw in a game, had actually had his eligibility reinstated because they deemed his dismissal from his team ,over 50 years ago, to be invalid. He was kicked off the team for slipping into the coaches’ office and filling his sneakers with shaving cream. (True story) I hear rumors that that’s what Will Graves did, but I just don’t think he would do such a thing.
I think Graves pilfered Roy’s Bob Marley CD….
I think, in a manner of speaking, that’s probably what happened.
UNC #5 in the Coaches Poll. Glockner (SI) and Lunardi (ESPN) each project UNC as a #1-seed.
Well, we have never won it when we were not a 1. Plus, Roy should try to get a third title in a row and that should ensure a 1.
They have also never won a title with more than two regular season ACC losses.
Greetings to all my friends here. I’ve been off for a while, on a weekend trip to the other side of the island to see the volcano. Although I took in the entire Maryland game, I did not throw myself in the crater. I think the gods are accepting only sacrifices of virgins, so it wouldn’t have done any good anyway.
I’ve read many although not all of the comments about the reason for our loss. Many were written by those with a more analytical and historically informed perspective than mine, so it is with due modesty that I offer this less sophisticated view.
I believe we have allowed the opposition’s best guard 30 or more points five times this season. We lost three of those games (and came real close to losing a fourth). We won every one of our other 22 games.
To me, this makes figuring out the problem easy (figuring out the solution is another matter). When the opponent’s guard has a field day, we lose most of the time. When he is even reasonably contained, we win. This is true in games where our shooting percentage is high, and in those where it’s so high. So the problem is to contain the guy who’s shooting the lights out.
Vasquez is a case in point. He’s a good player, no doubt about it. But our defense on him, such as there was of it, made him look like Jerry West. His average coming in to the game was 16 points; against us he scored 35, along with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
If we can’t hold a 16 point guard below 30, this is not the last game we’re going to lose. And the reason Vasquez got his points was not just that he was feeling it. Most of the time the defense was not even near him on his three pointers. His teammates got him the ball, and he launched while the “defender” was futilely running at him from roughly 12 feet away, sometimes more than that. When a defender actually got up on him, he beat his man effortlessly and got a layup (that is exactly what happened when he tied the game with 9.6 seconds left to go in regulation). And none of our big men got in his way as he came to the basket.
I don’t know if this ineffective defense was the result of the system we have installed or of individual failures by the players. I suspect it was some of both, although the system seems the more likely suspect, since I have seen the opposition get these wide open three pointers time and again this year.
If the system is mostly to blame, then obviously it has to change. I’m aware that basketball, like life, is a matter of trade-off’s, and that devoting more attention to the perimeter means devoting less elsewhere. But it’s a trade-off that, at this point, we pretty much have to make. We have lost two games, one on the road and one at home, to unquestionably inferior teams. In the post-season, that is not the kind of team we can count on facing.
There is one other, less important reason we lost, that being Hansbrough’s deficient offense. Maryland has zip inside — no height, no experience, and no (or precious little) talent. We have an All American. This was a game where TH should have scored 25 to 30 points, perhaps more. But it didn’t happen. Were it otherwise, the game never would have become close.
Hansbrough returned this year to win a national championship. He can still do it, but in games like this, where our outside shooting is having trouble, and the opposition’s interior defense is outmanned, he needs to be the Hansbrough of old.
Blake Griffin is out for tonight’s game. Given the short turn around, and how out of it he looked on Saturday, this is the only logical move. Will be interesting to see if this becomes a longer term issue. Would hate to see that.
Rath, Please don’t throw me into a volcano!
Anyway. I see dook losing at least one more (other than to us), Clemson not losing anymore and Wake dropping at least one more. Keep in mind that I have us dropping no more.
Just listened to an interview with Tim Brando on 850 The Buzz basically discussing, among other things, the Duke-Wake game, how coach K has tinkered with his lineup, and Gerald Henderson’s improved play and his NBA prospects. And the discussion of Duke’s improved play against Wake (I know, I can see your shoulders tightening up, but bear with me) inevitably turned to the obligatory, opposite-universe discussion of Carolina’s problems at Maryland. Now, of course, Brando, claiming no expertise himself but only conveying the thoughts of his broadcast partner, Mike Gminski, expressed the thought that UNC might want to consider tinkering with its’ approach also. Specifically, he suggested that we should possibly slow down our pace of play to: 1) save more energy for tougher perimeter defense and 2) help maintain our leads by giving our opponents fewer possessions to score and stay in the game. He cited the Duke game as an example of how when the pace of play actually slowed down was when we took control of the game. Well, it seems if one is in favor of tinkering in this manner then one believes something different needs to be done, in general, to correct a basic flaw. (As opposed to a specific game or situation ,such as the need to slow down to protect our lead at Maryland) I know these strategy philosophies are coming from a dookie, but I thought I would throw them out for validation or dismissal since they do parallel some of the ideas put forth in our post-Maryland.
uncgirl — There’s an exemption for people who love Hansbrough. So you’re safe!
Of course there’s the matter of those frat parties you’ll get invited to next year, but I assure you they’re all tame.
NOT!!!!!
I think we have two remaining loseable games, at Blacksburg and against Dook. Blacksburg is always a tough place to play, and Dook will feel they have something to prove (which they certainly do). So I’ll be nervous for both games, although we’ll be favored in each.
No frat parties for me! I will be at Starbucks/IHOP studying my butt off.
Anyway, slowing the pace down might work in situations like the MD game, but I think we play best using our fast paced style of play. The whole protecting our lead thing can be accomplished by defense which we need to work on. If we can’t get better on defense we could use that strategy.
I think we could totally lose at Blacksburg but I don’t think we will. If we come out trying to prove we can play well when we are not at home and ready to show up some on defense we will be okay. As for dook…very slim chance of us losing I think. First of all it’s senior night, I doubt any of our seniors will be willing to go down on senior night. Second of all, I will be there. We have never lost a game I went to and I doubt we will stop now. And third dook just will not be able to keep up with us. I mean this is dook, at the DEAN DOME, on SENIOR NIGHT. Yep, I really doubt it will happen.
But that is just my opinion.
Sorry, I have been away for a while.
LarryS, maybe Roy will take Brando’s and Gminski’s recommendations. After all, Coach Williams is known for change and making minute adjustments, no?
Williams is more like Lombardi. He tells you what he is going to do, which is run it down your throat and then dares you to try to stop him. He is the underdog from under the mountain and you have to love those things about him. But he better beat frickin’ Kansas from this way to Sunday when we play them this year and he better do like Gut did back in 1993, which was to kick their ass and be happy about it. Yeah, I am still mad about last April!
And we have lost 3 games in conference, more than our historic two, but then again, we didn’t win the tournament in ’93 or ’05, which was a break with history. We also have avoided being blown out, which is something the 1982 and 1993 squads cannot say.
If they win out 36-3 would be their third best record ever in a national championship winning season, and so, the 24-3 record is plenty good enough to provide us with hope. In 1981, they made it to the Finals, in probably the worst Finals ever based upon the teams’ record, with eight losses.
William, I find Duke unbearable with the 3 NCAA titles they hold. I agree with your comment on the 1999 team…2004 that team was equal to Uconn but not better, humbly saying is all. They could not handle Okafor…once he stopped sitting with 2 fouls.
Regarding the much earlier golf references to Nicklaus, on top of those accolades include this one: 73 finishes in the top 10 at major tournaments. 13 straight top 10 finishes in major tournaments. Remarkable seems to understate it
I loved that Duke unraveled down the stretch against UConn and I am hoping that Jack ends up still having his record for majors. I have nothing against Tiger; I just like Jack better.
I saw where Lunardi had us #1 in the South region today, with Kansas at #4. The man has a true dramatic flair. Yeah, Roy can be a little stubborn, but he does have one of those Hall of Fame certificates on his wall.
has anyone seen jim calhoun go crazy at a reporter about his pay? i understand his arguments but his approach was waaaaaay out of line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJkQTzbVEq4&feature=related
btw, watching the hbo show, i just realized that a young coach smith looks eerily similar to our tyler zeller.
heeledsoul, you’re absolutely right about the Zeller/Smith comparison. It must be the ears (and the nose).
also the other day, i watched our dexter strickland’s st. patrick’s against lance stephenson’s lincoln. this was the first full game i watched dex play other than highlight reels.
st. pat’s won but dex was guarding lance (a higher rated SG) and got in foul trouble so he had to sit out quite a bit. i believe he still led the team in points. here are some thoughts:
1. st. pat’s had a smaller quick player who dribbled up the court and then passed it on to dex at mid court. then dex became the floor general at that point. although this leadership was good to see, it was a tiny bit worrisome for our potential future PG star to not be the first option to dribble the ball up the court. and at times, dex forced the ball inside, causing a few careless turnovers.
2. dex is a scorer. he hit 3s, he slashed to the rim, and they set him up with a couple of alley oops.
3. st. pat’s had a pretty f-ing good full court press. dex was able to get a couple of steals from the press. dex had the tough assignment of guarding lance, which led to the foul trouble, but i have to say dex outplayed him on both sides of the ball with poise.
those were the main points i can remember. i came away from the game appreciating dex’s scoring ability the tar heels will have next year but i’m unsure now how effective dex will be as a PG. hopefully dex and drew will get the job done but we may have another year to go until we find some stability in that crucial position.
Thats why I thought Z looked familiar! Of course Dean Smith! Thanks HeeledSoul for pointing that out.
One time a letter arrived for Dean Smith at his home in Chapel Hill with no other address except Coach Nose, Chapel Hill, NC.
Does anybody know what the Male-Female ratio at UNC is now?
There are slightly more women, but I don’t know the precise ratio.
I was thinking 65-35 percent?
OK gets another loss. Yes, they have had injuries but they also have had a weak schedule and UNC, has had injuries, too. Now UConn and OK are getting beaten up a little as well.
william — I don’t think it’s as lopsided as 65-35. Maybe more like 55-45, but I don’t know for sure.
OK has been without Griffen essentially for two games, both of which they lost. At the beginning of the season, we were without TH for four games, all of which we won. This latter fact went unmentioned by the TV commentators for the OK game, who opined that the game would be good for OK because it shows how hard they played, and also good for Kansas, because it improves their chances for a high seed.
So it’s good for everybody. Well far out. I think that about covers the bases. How much do these guys get paid to be so vapid?
Griffen’s injury is unfortunate. The guy is clearly the POY, and hats off to him. His only problem is that he looks like Walt Hazzard — not to be mistaken for Tom Cruise, that’s for sure. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want Tom Cruise at power forward.
Sherron Collins hit some big 3′s late…which is about the time I started watching. Maybe i shouldn’t watch Kenny Powers on HBO…but it’s darn funny.
KU could be a good 3 seed, if they spring board to a big 12 championship then maybe a # 2. Tom Cruise is like shorter than Wojo…actually would make it easier to be a floor-slapper in Cameron.
william — You got me curious, so I just now poked around the internet. Something called Indopedia, which I never heard of before, says the ratio at Chapel Hill is 60-40 with women predominating.
I heard it had really turned since the mid-60′s. Thanks.
“60-40 with women predominating.”
This is actually pretty close to the national average. College educated males are rapidly becoming the minority in the U.S.
I think I would have liked those odds.
It is pretty fun to walk around on campus in the spring. It seems like 70-30 women to men.
“It is pretty fun to walk around on campus in the spring.”
There are few things better than a college campus at springtime, even in New York. I can only imagine what it is like in NC!
we talkin about b-ball or women this mornin?
although,wb3 is correct about the spring time.
………..brings back memories.
It always seems statistics get involved no matter which one we’re talking about.
this is true.
“It always seems statistics get involved no matter which one we’re talking about.”
Touche…
I expect the bball talk will pick up later. UNC doesn’t play for a week, and there were no games of real importance to UNC last night.
so kansas beat ok last night.have to give credit to them for trying to win without griffin.after hearing all the talk of how the big 12 is weak this year,that ok has played a weak schedule,i wondered what would happen if blake got injured.as far as the other projected #1s,all losses come at the hands of conference opponents and in a conf. like the big east,quite possible they could have more.i still like our chances,but would it kill us to play a little bit of zone sometimes?
Ahh, the memories of looking down from my perch on the 6th floor balcony at Morrison at all the girls getting their tans when the weather turned nice… OK, time for a cold shower!
Geez…I need to get something basketball related posted
Sorry THF, we have short attention spans
I wonder if my dorm is still even male. Graham, anybody know?
This is a lull week, C. Michael, and the onset of spring inspires our thoughts to drift to women, golf, flowers…….our camellias started blooming in the last few days and they are quite lovely. What am I doing? There’s always something to talk about with basketball.
I really enjoyed the KU/OK game last night. Collison was a killer down the stretch and OK made some big plays too. Unfortunately, it brought back some bad memories that caused me to sleep rather restlessly. I did think it was interesting that the announcers commented that these two losses would have no effect on OK’s seeding in the tournament, that the committee would recognize its’ strong showings without Griffin. I reaaly don’t see how 2 straight losses, with or without Griffin, couldn’t compromise a #1 seed if everyone else continues to come on strong.
Oops! Sherron Collins. I had him mixed up with a guard further to the west.
I was in a co-ed dorm. Very strange to go straight from living at your parents’ house to living with women walking around in towels, etc.
“our camellias started blooming in the last few days and they are quite lovely.”
We got 6 inches of snow in the last few days, and I assure you, it is anything but lovely!
I think your point on OU is spot on. If you want to be considered a great team, you have to be able to win games without your top players. UNC went 6-1 last year without Lawson, and is 4-0 without Tyler Hansbrough (not even mentioning the fact that they have played the entire season without once of their starters). What the last two games showed is that OU is not a good team when Blake is not playing. In the Tourney, games are called tighter and if he gets into foul trouble, they will be in trouble.
it was 65-35 in the late 90s-early 00s.
i lived in graham for one year. my floor was all male, but can’t recall the other floors. alexander was male in one half and then female in another half of a given floor based on the bathroom situation. carmichael was male or female based on a 3 (or was it 4?) room suite. same with teague (4 room suite).
c. michael, try telling the wuffies that 60-40 is the national avg. i think theirs is more like 70-30 male to female.
^That explains why I see so many of those: House Divided signs…NCSU men end up marrying UNC women.
THF, that unfortunate act by unc women is also called “trading down” or “capitulating”