State-Carolina fallout
Reggie Bullock (35) lays the ball up to the basket during the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. North Carolina State Wolfpack NCAA basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C. Thursday, January 26, 2012.
Jan 27, 2012
Okay, so Thursday night’s NC State-North Carolina game wasn’t exactly Duke-Kentucky 1992 or even State-Carolina 1989. The Heels showed why not to poke a sleeping bear, and the Pack played like a team that, as Mark Gottfried so often says, has “a long way to go.”
John Henson admitted he and his teammates were tired of hearing from Wolfpack players and fans about how this year’s game would be, well, a game. Instead, it was a repeat of the last five years.
Give North Carolina credit, critics have openly asked how good the Heels can be when it plays like they care. Against Florida State, they didn’t. Against State, no question they did. You can usually tell within a few minutes after tipoff if a Roy Williams’ team’s head is in it. And Thursday night UNC was up by nine before the 15:00 mark.
Williams also used the extended time off to work Reggie Bullock into the starting lineup, and Bullock performed admirably, keeping the ball out of Scott Wood’s hands.
The first half was a how-to on defending State: limit Wood’s looks, keep Lorenzo Brown from attacking the rim, force Richard Howell away from his right hand and get him in foul trouble.
This is why Thursday looked like all the recent run-of-the-mill State-Carolina games. The Heels got in State’s head defensively. The Pack nearly airballed more jumpers than they made, and the ones that did go in were often bank shots. As Gottfried kept telling his players throughout, State stopped trusting its system. Gone was the unselfishness the team had shown all season. Back was C.J. Leslie foolishly trying to go one-on-one and challenge Henson like it was the summer league. Of course, if Gottfried had watched the tape from last year’s games…
Big picture, the Pack must bounce back to beat Virginia at home Saturday. That would put them at 5-2 in the league and still within striking distance of the 10-6 ACC record that would get them their ultimate goal: a berth in the NCAA tournament. A loss would make that much tougher with a road trip to Duke and home games against FSU and UNC still left to play.
The Carolina game was one of those “measuring stick” contests, and the Pack simply didn’t measure up (Did we really think they were going to challenge for the ACC regular season title?). As painful as that is to State fans going to work or school on Friday, the fact is that many teams lose in Chapel Hill—30 in a row, to be exact—and the Virginia game will have a much greater impact on the future of the season.
For the Heels, this is the edge they need to play with every game. Kendall Marshall attacked as if he wanted to prove he was the best point guard in the ACC, not Lorenzo Brown. Tyler Zeller was the good Tyler (21 points, 17 rebounds) and not the bad Tyler who allows himself to get shoved around in the paint.
However, this game wasn’t the best way to find out how Carolina will be without Dexter Strickland. We know Bullock can defend, and his 11 points in a career-high 33 minutes comes as little shock.
The bigger question is how UNC will further work its backup point guard situation. Against State, Williams sat Marshall before a few media timeouts and played Stillman White in his place. But by the time White took the floor, the game was never in doubt, and Marshall still played 34 minutes. Will that take its toll in March when they’re playing every other day?
As for the State-UNC matchup down the road, I think it can and will be competitive again. But it has “a long way to go.”
Most Recent Comments
Posted Jan 30, 8:37 a.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 11951
Joined: Dec, 2006
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: State-Carolina fallout
The UVA game was a tough follow-up to the Carolina game, IMHO. State almost, ALMOST won that game; hopefully, they can regroup and win the next three very winnable games and keep NCAA hopes alive. Gott is a good coach and he has State on the right track; its understandable if they get derailed time to time, but the big picture is bright.RE: State-Carolina fallout
I'm a UNC fan but I can honestly say, I think Gottfried is the man to lead State. The game tonight is much more important then the game last Thursday night.Posted Jan 28, 11:16 a.m.
Rank: Veteran Posts: 207
Joined: Feb, 2010
Location: Ahoskie, NC
RE: State-Carolina fallout
Ok, State played poorly. We got beat by 19 at Chaple Hill, by the team that is supposed to win the National Championship. I feel ok right now. We must hold serve with UVA tomorrow. Is it not obvious that we need a big man that can play with the big boys. Leslie has got to get some confidence in an outside shot. Carolina is only going to lose one more game before the ACC tournament. You can guess where.- Posted by Doaker
And, best wishes to the Pack. As UNC has to do following a loss, just "put it behind you" and keep the chin up.
It will take time, but I think NC State is on the right road to recovery.
RE: State-Carolina fallout
Ok, State played poorly. We got beat by 19 at Chaple Hill, by the team that is supposed to win the National Championship. I feel ok right now. We must hold serve with UVA tomorrow. Is it not obvious that we need a big man that can play with the big boys. Leslie has got to get some confidence in an outside shot. Carolina is only going to lose one more game before the ACC tournament. You can guess where.RE: State-Carolina fallout
Carolina played with a purpose, State had no answer for anything.Hated to see what looked like, to me, collective mental "tanking" about 15 minutes in.
Congratulations to UNC, well-played game.
