NC has one major number that we'll have to offset. They are dominant inside. Their Perimeter game is poor and their guards are less than average for a Sweet 16 team. We have two players that can hurt us. Marshall the guard is a non scorer but has an outstanding A/TO ratio. He is a Freshman who has has 86 Asssists the past 8 games with only 26 TO. However he's only shot 20/59. However he's only 7/18 on 3s. As such, he follows the Cadougan philosophy of looking for the assist and settling for the 3 when all else is unavailable. He also isn't going to draw too many fouls off the drive, going 17/27 the past 8 games. For the year he's only 67% at the line. NC as a team is only a 67% FT team so we should be able to take chances putting them on the line if we need at the end of the game.
Inside they are dominant. Zeller, Barnes and Henson are just too big for us to matchup well with them. Zeller is the hottest recently, scoring scoring 32 and 23 the past 2 games. However I think we need to overlook his game vs LIU and reasonably expect a 12-15 point performance from him. Again, discounting the game vs LIU he doesn't draw a ton of fouls so Otule should be able to match up well against him. Henson, their 6-10 soph has had double digit rebounds the past 14 games and will be a major problem for us. Barnes is their highest scorer and he will take the 3 and have occasional good games. If he hits the 3s we're in a deep hole.
So how do we play them. I'd say we sag against the big guys but put pressure on Marshall. Cut off their head and we stand a chance to negate their big guys. Stop Marshall and we have a decent chance. if they get the ball inside, we're in trouble.
Barnes is a great player no question about that. Zeller is soft and well, a Zeller--not much. We will be fine with him. The rest of their team is young. They do not play any defense what so ever. We can score against them and if we come out and play intense defense like we have been we will be fine.
Lets go Warriors!
I think Jimmy matches up very well against Barnes. Same body type and somewhat of a same player. Should be very interesting to watch
Living in Raleigh and having a "Carolina girl" as a wife means I've seen many UNC games this year. The scouting report above is right. I think we will need a mixture of folks (Jae/Fulce/E-Will) to eat up fouls against Henson who shoots like 50% from the FT line. I think we match up well with Jimmy on Barnes (who is very smooth and I HOPE Jimmy can win this matchup), O'tule on Zeller (but please don't foul him as he is their big that can shoot FTs), and a combination of Buycks/Cadougan/DJO against their guards.
It'll be an interesting game. We MUST be excellent on-ball defenders to deny easy entry passes to their bigs. If we force them to take outside jumpers, we have a chance. I suspect that this game will be a lot more "open" up and down the floor.
Ring out Ahoya!!! Go Marquette!!!
We need them to score against our half court defense. We need to cut turnovers down and too many people crashing the offensive boards and giving up easy transition baskets. We have done a great job the last two games not giving up transition baskets. That needs to continue.
The key to Xavier was defending ball screens. The key to Cuse was not letting Jackson pick us apart. The key to Carolina is slowing the tempo and not allowing transition offense.
Quote from: MarquetteDano on March 21, 2011, 05:48:25 AM
We need them to score against our half court defense. We need to cut turnovers down and too many people crashing the offensive boards and giving up easy transition baskets. We have done a great job the last two games not giving up transition baskets. That needs to continue.
The key to Xavier was defending ball screens. The key to Cuse was not letting Jackson pick us apart. The key to Carolina is slowing the tempo and not allowing transition offense.
+1, Zeller can really run the floor. He was often the first guy down the court against Washington. No way DG can keep up with him. Even CO will get worn out by him.
I still have nightmares of the last time we faced a Roy Williams team in the NCAA tournament. The transition game is the most important to defend against.
Quote from: downtown85 on March 21, 2011, 06:06:44 AM
The transition game is the most important to defend against.
I agree with this, especially transition threes. Offensively, MU is gonna have to make a bunch of three pointers, and a bunch of free throws. In other words, we will have to do what we always try to do, and get the ball in the paint. When the kick it out, making the 3pt shots will be a must. There should be some offensive rebound opportunities as well...again, gotta take advantage.
I don't like the match up one bit, but it is not an automatic loss either.
Quote from: mutodd5 on March 21, 2011, 05:34:32 AM
It'll be an interesting game. We MUST be excellent on-ball defenders to deny easy entry passes to their bigs. If we force them to take outside jumpers, we have a chance. I suspect that this game will be a lot more "open" up and down the floor.
Ring out Ahoya!!! Go Marquette!!!
Totally agree. After watching the Washington game, I think it'll be crucial to provide on the ball pressure and deny easy dump-ins to Zeller and Henson. When Kendall Marshall had time, he always seemed to find an open cutter, or Zeller on the right block, where he at his best.
O'Toule has been the unsung hero in my opinion and we need to maximize his minutes. We are much better team with him on the floor. Our ability to defend without getting into foul trouble will be key in mind.