Where: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
When: Thursday, March 11th, 7:00 PM
TV: ESPN2
Livestats: SCACC Hoops
Records: UNC 16-15, 5-11 ACC; GT 19-11, 7-9 ACC
We have veered(careened?) into "what a difference a year makes" territory. Looking back at last year, UNC was in position to make an NCAA Tournament run but questions abounded about Ty Lawson's injured toe. It was the most talked about appendage in the history of college basketball. This season instead of one bad toe, we are looking at one bad team. The season teeters on the brink here and this could very well be the last time we see the Tar Heel play until November. No doubt that will get a "good" from some of you after all, there is really not much to salvage here unless the Heels find a way to put the pieces together and go on a four game run to get the automatic bid. Yes, this is how life is for most of the conference champions out there except in most cases they are not #10 seeds facing a path through four teams over whom they have yet to record a win unless Virginia Tech or NCSU show up at some point.
So what does that leave us? Just win baby. Seriously. Who cares how bad it has been. UNC takes the court tonight to try and win one more game. If they do then there the opportunity exists to shock the ACC world by beating Maryland on Friday. My hope is this team shows up, competes and someone in the bunch finds Randolph Childress' Secret Bottle of Mojo which I am convinced he hid somewhere in the Greensboro Coliseum 15 years ago. For once I would like to see a UNC team dish out the crap they received from NC State in 1987, that monumental upset run. Heck, Weber St. got a taste of the medicine they gave UNC in 1999 losing in their conference final after leading by 22 because Montana's Anthony Johnson scored 34 of his 42 points in the 2nd half. So why not UNC? Wait, don't answer that, I really do not need one of those threads going on.
John Henson said on Twitter that he did not want fans, he wanted believers. Well, I am going to choose to believe that somehow this team gets their house in order, for at least tonight anyway. What is there to lose at this point? After all I am attending the game in person and UNC has never lost in basketball when I have been there.
UNC 67 GT 65