UNC vs. MIAMI

Miami has the one thing that the Tar Heels have proved ineffective in guarding--a guard who can score. Jack McClinton is averaging 18.3 points over the last eight games, and he is capable of taking over a game in the way that Tyrese Rice did for Boston College or Jeff Teague did for Wake Forest against North Carolina. If McClinton can get off, things could be tough for the Heels at home Saturday night. If the Heels contain him, Carolina should come out of this one with an easy win and a .500 record in ACC play at night's end.

13:53--Both teams are forcing one another to go deep into the shot clock. Miami is surprisingly hanging with Carolina, due much in part to their ability to get defensive rebounds. Whenever I am at Chapel Hill, I am surprised at how many of the fans know the rules better than the officials.

10:35--I've just seen three of the most athletic plays of the day. Danny Green recovered on two turnovers by the Heels to have two blocks on Miami fastbreaks. For the first time tonight, the crowd was really into the game. However, Miami 's DeQuan Jones took the ball from the wing in on a reverse dunk that was just as athletic as the blocks. McClinton has nine points, and this doesn't bode well for the Tar Heels. They continue to turn the ball over at the top of the key.

5:27--The Tar Heels have 24 points with five minutes to play in the first half. Hansbrough has 16 of those points. Thompson has not contributed. Ellington has not contributed. They have to get contributions, or they are no better than last year's squad. In fact, the way they are playing at the moment, they are worse.

Half--Carolina, who found itself down by as many as nine in the first half, ended the period with a 13-0 run, which was capped off by Danny Green's three-point basket. The Tar Heels are up by four, but Miami rebounded the ball well. In fact, they outrebounded the Heels 21-19. UNC could have climbed back into the game on multiple opportunities, but instead of committing to Hansbrough down low for automatic points, they continued to launch threes. I still fail to understand why they stick to the three even when it is not going in for them and when Hansbrough is dominating a team on the offensive end. Miami also cooled down at the end of the first half. This is still a game though, much more of a game than the fans and the talking heads anticipated.

14:37--Someone woke Wayne Ellington up at halftime. He has scored 11 straight points and has hit three three-pointers in a row. Not by a coincidence, Carolina finds itself up by seven and clicking on offense.

10:13--Ellington has continued to surge, hitting five three's here in the second half to help him to a 17 point explosion. As non-existent as he was in the first half, he has taken over in the second half. The game is emblematic of his entire career here at North Carolina. Gone one minute and the next dominating. Maybe this game will stir up some consistency in him as the Florida State game did for his high-school teammate Gerald Henderson.

3:13--Ellington has seven three's. The UNC record is eight, and it is held by several different players. Ellington is on the bench now. It will be interesting to see if Williams puts him back in.

Demon Deacons Still Have A Lot To Prove

At the end of the telecast Sunday night of Wake Forest's 92-89 win at home against the once unbeatable Tar Heels, Mike Gminski commented that the victory could be a signature win for the young team.

Agreed. But Wednesday could bring an even bigger victory for the Demon Deacons. Too often, a young team shows who it really is after a big victory, not after a big loss.

The Deacs should certainly win at Boston College in what is a matchup between the two ACC guards, Jeff Teague and Tyrese Rice, who have dominated Ty Lawson. However, young teams have a tendency to drop games. And it is not just young teams, but teams coming off a big victory can have a letdown, as well.

Just ask the Eagles and what they experienced with a Harvard team that should have had no shot in last week's contest. After being the first team to strike blood from UNC, Boston College lost to the Crimson 82-70.

Tonight should give us an even stronger measure of what Dino Guadio has been able to construct in Winston-Salem. If the Deacs win, there is no reason that they do not set the tone and become the favorite for the ACC title in establishing they can win both the big games and the games they should win.

Three's Company

It is with much remorse that I apologize to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski for not reporting or commenting on his #2 ranked Blue Devils last week.

Pardon me for not commenting on how they collapsed after holding a 25 point lead over a Davidson team, um, I mean Steph Curry.

Oh yes, and I apologize deeply for my final transgression for not commenting Saturday as they went seven minutes without a basket against Florida State and once again blew a lead.

Hopefully, this will make up for it. I salute the Blue Devils for dropping a spot and coming in at #3 this week. I hope everyone in the Triad and Triangle take notice. Especially a certain coach in Durham.

Heel Yeah, UNC Should Be Worried

First off, sorry for the lapse in posts. I spent my time over my break designing a nursery for the new addition to the family that will be coming in April.

My child's imminent arrival is a sure thing come the second week of April. The same cannot be said for a national championship's arrival in Chapel Hill. What once looked as a coronation at the end of the season is now very much in question for Roy Williams and the Tar Heels.

So why has what only a few weeks ago was considered the second coming of an early 90s UNLV become a sinking team in the top 10?

Well for starters, and I do not mean to sound redundant, but this team lacks the ability to mentally withstand a challenge when another team hits it between its eyes. Tyrese Rice's performance against Ty Lawson serves as a perfect example of this. And it should have served as a wake-up call to the guard and the rest of the team. However, we saw Jeff Teague again get inside of Lawson's head and out perform "the best point guard in the country."

Not only is Lawson not the best point guard in the country, he is not the best point guard in his own league. That honor now belongs to Teague.

And the honor of best team in the league now bleongs to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Lawson is not alone in his inability to stand up to the challenge. Wayne Ellington only decided to show up in the last five minutes Sunday night. Larry the Cable Guy had a better chance of winning a Golden Globe Sunday night than the Philadelphia native did of making a big shot.

Add to this Deon Thompson's regression since Tyler Hansbrough has returned full-time, and Heels fans have witnessed a team that does not play effective defense and can score inconsistently at best as a team.

Speaking of Hansbrough, when UNC needed a big three Sunday night, Hansbrough took it at the end of the second half. This falls on Roy Williams for letting his team do anything they want. The senior ESPN posterboy for doing it all right shot too early in the shot clock. And, at that juncture in the game, Hansbrough should be under the basket when a three is taken to battle for a rebound and second-chance put back.

A lack of mental toughness, a lack of defense and a lack of discipline make the 2009 squad no different from the Heels that failed to show up against Georgetown in the NCAA tournament two years ago and last year's group that was a no-go in the first half against Kansas in the Final Four.

If something does not change, this team will match the accomplishments of those two teams--empty-handed come the first week of April.

UNC vs. ORAL ROBERTS

Tonight's game marks the first time Tyler Hansbrough has been in front of the home crowd since early November. It also marks the first game in ten days for the Tar Heels, who have been taking exams. The crowd will be anxious to see their senior leader back on the court. It will be interesting to see just how much better they are on their home court with him. Ty Lawson has gotten better over the last month, but will he still be able to progress into possibly the best point guard in the country in an offense that will get back to focusing on getting Hansbrough the ball?

20:00: The starters for Carolina are Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Deon Thompson, Danny Green, and Tyler Hansbrough. It's a very full house for a game that is taking place the day after exams. The Dean E. Smith Center is the fullest it's been this year for these home out-of-conference games.

15:34: I heard another journalist tonight say before the game that Carolina needed to play smart tonight. So far, it doesn't appear they will need to. Oral Roberts has six turnovers in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the game. Maybe Carolina just scares people so much, they come out nervous, but if this trend continues this game, look for a repeat of what the Tar Heels did to UNC-Asheville a couple of weeks ago.

11:56: Hansbrough has scored on four of the last five Tar Heel possessions. He has also taken two charges. The crowd seems to have missed him in his absence. Tar Heels 27 Golden Eagles 14.

7:52: I wonder if a team can weaken themselves by doing things that are not in their character. I ask this because Hansbrough and Thompson continue to shoot outside shots from 8 to 10 feet. Hansbrough is making his, so the answer to my question is a resounding NO in this case. However, why do it when they will need to bang and play hard down low if they want to win an ACC and a national championship?

2:46: I went to the NCAA Tournament every year as a kid. In 1990, I saw Popeye Jones drop about 40 on Michigan State and upset a high-seeded Spartan team virtually by himself. An upset will not happen tonight in Chapel Hill, but Oral Roberts has only one player, a little guard who looks like Armanti Edwards named Robert Jarvis. He's got 13 first half points and is the really only scoring threat for the Golden Eagles. Even Roy Williams patted him on the behind a couple of minutes ago when he hit a three with Danny Green right in his face.

Halftime: Tar Heels lead 54-34. Butch Davis has delivered the only rousing moments of the night as he sold his pitch to those in attendance to join the football team in Charlotte for the Meineke Car Care Bowl against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

17:09: Deon Thompson had a career-high for a half in the first half. He had 16 points. He has picked up where he left off, scoring four of the Tar Heels' first eight points. On a team with an abundance of potential NBA talent, he still will make the best pro out of all these guys. I truly believe that.

13:55: Here's the night's interesting stat. The Golden Eagles are 2-of-4 from the free throw line tonight. The Tar Heels are 14-of-18. UNC 70 ORAL ROBERTS 47

8:49: Oral Roberts had made a 12-3 run and had pulled as close as they had been all game, 71-56. UNC has weathered the run by turning to Ty Lawson, who looks to be able to do anything he wants if the defender shows any inclination to hesitate. He is still this team's most important player for a championship run. It is not Hansbrough, who they have already proven they can win without. As a side note, Hansbrough just hit a three. It splashed, the crowd went crazy and it seemed to energize him, but why is he shooting three's? This gets back to an earlier point. The team has to show more discipline to play within itself.

2:17: The Golden Eagles have battled back in spots during the second half. However, Roy Williams is set to put in the reserves and clear the bench. In the postgame, he will probably be a little vocal about the defense letting up a bit in the second half. I would imagine the pressure was not as extensive as he would have liked to see from the 15-minute mark on.