Where: Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV
When: Wednesday, December 31st, 10:00 PM
TV: ESPN2
Records: UNC 12-0; Nevada 7-5
For those of us who have kids and will be home I can think of nothing better than ringing in the New Year with the Tar Heels on TV.
If I were Roy Williams, I would point out to the Heels that this week has been chock full of top ten teams getting upended. UConn lost to Georgetown in a battle of top ten teams. That was not shocking. Oklahoma losing to Arkansas in a game the Sooners were down as much as 25 in along with Purdue's loss to Illinois and what you have is plenty of examples where teams were surprised by lesser teams. Now most of this is your standard parity that comes into play once conference play starts. And in no way am I suggesting UNC stands to lose to Nevada in this game but the number of shockers this week should serve notice to the Heels that this one should not be taken lightly.
Nevada has been one of the more prominent mid-major programs in recent years. This version of the Wolf Pack is a tad on the young side and probably will not make it to the NCAA Tournament this season. That being said, playing any game on the road means there could be a challenge. Nevada is not a great shooting team from the perimeter coming in at 27% from beyond the arc. That could be a bit of an issue for the Wolf Pack since they also have no discernible inside presence to speak of boasting only 6-9 player in freshman Luke Babbit who is the team's 2nd leading scorer. Sophomore gaurd Amron Johnson is the only other double figure scorer on the team at 15.0 ppg but a woeful percentage from three point range(16%). UNC, if focused, should make short work of this team.
On UNC's side, the wish list would be for Wayne Ellington to find his jump shot and Marcus Ginyard to get better in-sync with the team.
UNC 95 Nevada 70