Tar Heels Face Wisconsin

  The Carolina Tar Heels rolled into the SWEET SIXTEEN by knocking off Arkansas, 87-78. The game was close in the first half, but then UNC star guard Marcus Paige scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to pull the Heels ahead and allow them to break away in the closing minutes.

  Now UNC advances to the round of 16 for a record 26th time, but faces the #1 seed Wisconsin.  Even if Carolina upsets Wisconsin to play in the West Regional final, it will most likely face another behemoth in #2 seed Arizona.  Both the Badgers and the Wildcats sport identical 31-3 records, two of the best season records in the tournament.  

DAVID & GOLIATH

  The UNC-Wisconsin game measures up as a David vs. Goliath matchup, not only because of the Badgers' impressive record, but because of the stars of the respective teams.  While 6'1"guard Marcus Paige leads the Tar Heels, 7'0" giant Frank Kaminsky is the leader of the Wisconsin squad.  They also are their team's scoring leaders at 18.4 (Kaminsky) and 14.1 (Paige).  The underdog role is heightened by the fact that UNC big man Kennedy Meeks went down in the Arkansas game with a left knee sprain, and is considered unlikely to play on Thursday night against Wisconsin.

   It is my opinion that UNC will pound the ball inside, hoping to get Kaminsky in foul trouble;  while Wisconsin is loaded with big, tall players, none of them is as potent inside as is Frank Kaminsky.  So getting him into foul trouble early would greatly help the Tar Heels' chances.

   The Tar Heels will have to shoot well, and handle the ball better than they did against either Harvard or Arkansas, to be able to win against Wisconsin.

   While Carolina's record of 26-11 isn't as impressive as either Wisconsin's or Arizona's, they have come on strong lately, especially in the postseason, beating Virginia in the ACC semifinals and two hard-fought wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA's.   They are a definite underdog to Wisconsin, but not a huge underdog.  The Badgers are favored by a mere five points.

   If UNC gets out of the West region, I really like their chances in the Final Four.  Some of this feeling stems from my thoughts that more high seeded teams are likely to get knocked off before it comes down to Indianapolis.   In particular, I'm looking for Kentucky and Duke to fall, but that is not a certainty.  Either way, if the Heels get to that point, they will be playing good enough basketball to win it all.

   But that doesn't really help them this weekend.  More updates after the Wisconsin game.   Here's hoping for a victory on Thursday night, and advancing to the Regional Final.

  GO  TAR  HEELS!  

UNC vs. Harvard-- The Tar Heels Escape

   It's been awhile since I've written about Tar Heels basketball.  This blog was meant to be a game-by-game coverage of UNC's seasons.  As I've said before, I don't get paid for this, so sometimes other things take precedence, and lapses do occur.  I apologize to you for this.  

  This 2014-15 season for UNC basketball has been a series of ups and downs.  The team is 25-11 and should be about 31-5... in my opinion.  The only losses that I see as excusable are those to Duke, Virginia, or Kentucky.  The other losses were to weaker teams, and were due to poor and inconsistent play on the part of Carolina.  In many of these losses, the Tar Heels held a double-digit lead late in the second half, and managed to squander it away.

   The same was also true tonight in the opening NCAA Tournament game against Harvard;  however, UNC somehow held on to win the game, 67-65, and advance to the next round.  Carolina led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but allowed Harvard to claw its way back into the game, and actually take the lead at one point.

Justin Jackson

   Freshman Justin Jackson and Marcus Paige led the way with 14 and 12 points, while Isiah Hicks provided some good play off the bench.   UNC won despite allowing a game-high 26 points to Harvard ace Wesley Saunders.

   The bottom line in tonight's game was--- the Tar Heels played well enough to win... but barely escaped.  A three-point shot by Harvard with less than a second on the clock could have sent Carolina home for the season, but caromed off the back of the rim.   As is the usual case, the Heels played extremely well in spurts, but as Paige put it, (they) "got complacent" in the second half.  This changed a potential blow-out into a close game at the end.  For some fans, this would've been an entertaining game to watch.  For Tar Heels fans, we wish they would "put the nail in the coffin" when they have a game in hand.  

   If UNC is to advance much farther, they must play each game consistently for forty minutes.   These inconsistent lapses will not hold up in games against better teams in their WEST bracket like Wisconsin or Arizona, both with 31-3 records.   

NEXT UP :  WOFFORD or ARKANSAS

Saturday (3/21)