Whatever hangover North Carolina may have had following the 43-point
whipping the Tar Heels took at Florida State apparently has been
short-lived.
The Heels recorded their third consecutive
double-digit victory since that embarrassment with their 93-81 victory
over Georgia Tech.
The game, which followed a 19-point win over
North Carolina State and a 14-point decision at Virginia Tech, really
wasn't that close.
The Heels led by 20 at the half and were never challenged over the final 20 minutes.
"Similar
to some of the things we did the other night against North Carolina
State, I thought at times we were really good," coach Roy Williams said.
"I didn't think we held our focus very well in the second half for them
to shoot 55 percent against us in the second half; I'm not very pleased
with that."
With the victory, the Heels improved to 18-3 overall
and 5-1 in the conference, good for a tie with Duke and Florida State
at the top of the standings.
Virginia was right behind at 4-2, but every other team had at least three league losses.
The
Tar Heels were on the road for their next two games, at Wake Forest and
Maryland, but then were set to host to Duke on Feb. 8 in the first of
two meetings with the Blue Devils.
The rematch is in Durham on
March 3, the final day of the regular season. The Heels don't get
another shot at Florida State in the regular season.
NOTES, QUOTES
--Sophomore
G/F Reggie Bullock moved into the starting lineup for North Carolina
with the season-ending injury to G Dexter Strickland and has responded
well in his first two starts.
After going 4-of-9 from the field
(3-of-5 on three-pointers) for 11 points in the win over North Carolina
State, he came back with 11 points again against Georgia Tech, this
time on 4-of-7 shooting (3-of-6 on treys).
He had four assists and two turnovers in the two games combined.
--Sophomore
PG Kendall Marshall had 23 assists -- 11 against N.C. State and 12
against Georgia Tech -- in Carolina's last two games, through the
weekend.
After 21 games, he had 204 assists, only six short of a
10-assist-a-game average. He had nine games with at least 10 so far this
season, including a season-high 16 against Long Beach State on Dec. 10.
For
his career, which is less than two full seasons, he has 434 assists,
which ranked 13th in school history. With one assist against Wake Forest
in his next game, he will tie Jeff McInnis for 12th. Matt Doherty is
sitting in 11th place with 446 in his career.
Marshall reached 400 assists in just 55 games, the fastest pace to 400 in school history.
--North
Carolina may not be shooting a high percentage from the free-throw
line, only 64.6 percent after the 17-of-25 effort against Georgia Tech,
but the Tar Heels have made 346 free throws in their 21 games while
their opponents have attempted only 240.
The Yellow Jackets got to the line only 11 times, making 10.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"It's
important that we go there and be ready to play because those two games
there are kind of going to separate the top and the lower tier of the
ACC. We need to get those two wins." -- Junior F John Henson, on North
Carolina's upcoming games at Wake Forest and Maryland.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
--at Wake Forest, Jan. 31
Junior
G C.J. Harris is a consistent double-figure scorer for the Demon
Deacons, and F Travis McKie also was averaging in double digits,
entering the week. But the Deacons don't have the talent and depth to
stay with the Tar Heels, even on their home court.
--at Maryland, Feb. 4
Maryland
has been a pesky opponent for North Carolina in the past. The Terrapins
are dangerous on the perimeter because of the three-point shooting of
Terrell Stoglin and Sean Mosley. Freshman Ashton Pankey moved into the
starting lineup and has has 16 points and 19 rebounds in the two games
against Duke and Virginia Tech.
FUTURES MARKET
The
season-ending knee injury to G Dexter Strickland has created an issue
at point guard for the Tar Heels. Strickland primarily played shooting
guard, but he also served as starting PG Kendall Anthony's backup for
brief periods. Likely candidates are freshman G Stillman White and
senior Justin Watts. Anthony played 34 minutes, about three over his
season average, against North Carolina State in the Tar Heels' first
game without Strickland and 31 against Georgia Tech.
PLAYER NOTES
--Sophomore
F Harrison Barnes led four Tar Heels in double figures with 23 points
in the win over Georgia Tech. He has reached the 20-point mark eight
times in 21 games this season.
--Junior F John Henson blocked 15
shots over a three-game span after getting four against the Yellow
Jackets. That raised his career total to 247, putting him past Sam
Perkins (245) for second place on the school career list. Brendan
Haywood has the record at 304.
