Well I took a little trip up to New York and Atlantic City this week, leaving at midnight on Friday and getting in to the Big Apple around 10am Saturday morning. I was completely exhausted from the 10 hour drive, so I decided to have my friend who was putting me up for a few days record the UNC-Kentucky game to watch when I woke up. Just as I expected, the Tar Heel crowd was much rowdier than usual, and the extra energy they provided carried the home team to a 75-73 victory despite shooting only 41% from the field, including 1-11 from 3-point range. The devastating duo of Tyler Zeller and John Henson had another monster game down low, as they combined for 40 points, 23 rebounds, and 8 blocks against Kentucky. This wasn't really surprising as the Wildcats are a perimeter oriented team, but Zeller and Henson have been really good of late and are doing a great job of covering up the lackluster play of the guards. Drew and Strickland once again played way too many minutes with limited production, and Marshall and Bullock spent the majority of the game on the bench. If you would have told me the minute distribution for the UNC guards before the game I would have thought Kentucky would have won, but an energetic crowd and a horrible 3-17 performance from star freshman Terrence Jones allowed the Heels to pull out a close one. UNC won despite a huge effort from Kentucky freshman Doron Lamb, who scored 24 points and seemingly made every shot from outside. This was a huge win for the Tar Heels, as Kentucky is a great team and will be a threat come tournament time. Luckily for UNC, the Wildcats' best players are all freshman, and this was their first game on the road in a hostile environment. A win over what will likely be a top 10 Kentucky team by season's end will go a long way on the NCAA tournament resume, but UNC still needs a lineup change before they will be serious contenders for anything.
I missed the Evansville game, but it appeared to be more of the same for the Tar Heels. UNC was just too big and too fast for Evansville, and Zeller was once again the star. He finished with 18 points and 8 boards, and this time was joined by Justin Knox down low, who chipped in 13 points and 5 rebounds in a very efficient performance. The guards did very little as usual, with the exception of Reggie Bullock, who had 9 points in just 10 minutes. Although he didn't shoot particularly well, Bullock is a scorer from the wing, something the Heels desperately need, especially if Harrison Barnes continues to struggle. Barnes had another horrible shooting night, hitting just 3 of 11, including 0-5 from 3-point range.
UNC faces Long Beach State tonight before a "neutral court" game against Texas at the Greensboro Coliseum next Saturday. I really hope Roy Williams finds a way to get the lineup of Zeller, Henson, Barnes, Bullock, and Marshall (Knox for one of the other bigs would work as well) on the court for extended time tonight, because as long as he refuses to play the best possible combination of players together, this team will never reach it's potential. UNC (6-3) should coast by an over-matched Long Beach St. (5-5) team, but the guard play has to improve if the Heels want to beat Texas next Saturday.
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