Update: Consider this your game thread for a game no one will see unless you are there or shelling out ten bucks. Use the live stats below to follow along if you are listening to the radio broadcast.
Where: Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC
When: Saturday, December 12th, 7:30 PM
TV: None
Live Stats: SCACC Hoops
Records: UNC 7-2; Presbyterian 2-7
Easily the biggest news coming from this game or at least the run-up to it is the news Marcus Ginyard will not play due to pain in his left foot. UNC is saying the pain is unrelated to the injury which cost Ginyard most of last season. Supposedly this is a purely pre-cautionary move. In other words if this any other player with pain in his foot who no history of issues with said appendage then I imagine that player would be in the lineup. With Ginyard, an overabundance of caution is prudent especially because they can. This game will be a cake walk and UNC does not play again until next Saturday versus Texas. That is essentially a two week break. Besides, this is the same kind of caution the medical staff used with Tyler Hansbrough at a similar point in the season a year ago.
Looking at the bright side, someone is getting some extra playing time today. It will be interesting to see how Roy opts to plug the gap left by Ginyard. Could he opt for the Larry Drew/Dexter Strickland backcourt? I suppose but it leaves him really thin at point guard. Perhaps go big with Tyler Zeller in the game and Will Graves as the two? Probably not since there would be too few decent ballhandlers on the court. We could see Graves at the two and either John Henson or one of the Wears at the three. I expect Justin Watts will see more playing time given how thin the backcourt is without Ginyard.
I would offer a scouting report on the Blue Hose(yes, really) but I am not sure there is much you can say about a 2-7 team from the Big South who lost by 43 to Clemson. They are a young team with no seniors and six freshmen. According to Pomeroy, Presbyterian has the 301st offense in the country and 319th defense while playing slow as mud ranking 338th in tempo with a fabulous 61.6 possessions per game. In other words, the Blue Hose can at least be thankful they did not play this game a year ago. The Heels would have dropped 120 on them. This season's team might break 100 for the first time. Biscuits!
UNC 101 Presbyterian 56