have been somewhat exaggerated. No, they're not in 2005/08/09 form yet, but a 6-1 record in the ACC including a 50+ point margin over their last 2 games (including a 32 point road romp at BC) is a good sign for the Heels.

seems like barnes has figured it out

Larry Drew II has left the team.

If he had left sooner, Roy would have figured out the PG situation sooner. Sometimes guys just aren't a good fit for the speed Roy wants to play. At KU, he had a guy who wasn't even a PG (Hinrich) running the point because he could play Roy's tempo.

20 point win against FSU today. Marshall set all-time single game ACC assist record for UNC, and all-time any game assist record for freshman. By Larry, don't let the door hit ya...

Not what I wanted against Duke, but anybody who saw the game knows that UNC's seed isn't gonna mean much come March - they are gonna be a very tough out. Marshall is just sick, the way he always keeps his head up - kinda reminds me of Acie - lefty, doesn't blow by people, but always gets into the paint. Acie was a better finisher, but Marshall is a freshman.

...and the ACC standings confirm the OP...

good win tonight. This team is fun to watch

next is a tough game @ FSU before the re-match with duke on saturday

Harrison Barnes with the game-winning 3 tonight @ fsu

it's a longshot since they're both projected to be lottery picks, but if barnes and henson both come back next year I think the heels have to be considered one of the favorites to win another national title.

Henson has become a totally different player the past month. He shoots the ball with touch, puts it on the floor away from the basket, and makes his FT's. I wouldn't be surprised if he develops NBA 3 point range if he keeps improving at this rate.

UNC went to the Final 4 with Cota as a freshman. I would not be surprised to see Marshall lead them there this season. They are a top 10 team right now.

I agree but their lack of depth scares me too much to confidently pick them for a final 4 this year

they're down to 8 scholarship players after Bullock's season ending knee injury against maryland

regular season ACC champs.

what's the highest possible seed they can get if they make the tourney final? 2 or 3?

Right now they're sitting on the 2/3 line. With the down conference, wins in the quarters and semis won't mean much. They will probably be a 2 or 3 no matter what.

DM,

I don't know how old you are, but this team is reminding me of the '97 team a lot.

cota, jamison, carter, shammond williams, haywood, ndiaye, and okulaja

how did that team not win the ncaa title?

The '97 team went 3-5 the first half of ACC, then ripped off 15 in a row to get to the Final 4.

Haywood wasn't there yet. Serge Zwikker was the center.

I thought they would win it in '97, but to answer your question, they lost to a 5 seed Arizona squad that had a not-too-shabby guard lineup of Mike Bibby and Jason Terry.

Miles Simon and AJ Bramlett also had short NBA careers, but Simon is better known for his affair with Lute Olson's wife.

[This message has been edited by 94chem (edited 3/6/2011 7:02a).]

the roster that I looked at last night for 97-98 had Haywood on it (but he only averaged 2.9 per game)

either way that was a good squad. I was a sophomore in high school during that year. I'm sure I watched them in the tourney, but didn't follow them anywhere close to the way i do now.

Haywood was a freshman on the '98 team and didn't play. Guthridge was in his first year as coach and played a 6 man rotation exclusively - Ndiaye, Cota, Carter, Jamison, Williams, Okulaja. They all got equal minutes, and nobody else ever played during meaningful games. The failure to develop Haywood may have cost them the national semifinal against Utah - Ndiaye lost his cool, and Williams went extremely cold.

Survive and advance. From unranked to a 2 seed.

man that was probably their worst performance since the georgia tech game for about 33 mins.

found a way to get it done though. sometimes the first game is the toughest. hope they can find their offense a little quicker tomorrow

Barnes just dropped 40 and set a freshman record for points in an acc tourney game

shouldn't have been as close as is was though, they've gotta find a way to get off to quicker starts

HB can score as many as he wants to score. When you're 6'8" tall and can put eaglets back in their nests without a step ladder, it's tough for anybody at the college level to guard him. Starting to remind me of Penny Hardaway. He's taking every shot in the rhythm of the game, too. No forced shots.

i know, it only took 17 attempts for him to get to 40 pts. that is efficiency right there.

Got their well-deserved wake-up call today. I hope the committee doesn't drop them to a 3 seed because they will demolish A&M if they meet in the second round.

man that is a terrible draw for the heels. tOSU is their 1 seed

they got the lowest ranking of the 2 seeds and their 3 seed is syracuse who obviously plays zone.

if the heels could barely get by the zone of miami, it is gonna be really tough to beat the orange.

washington in the 2nd round will be a dogfight as well

the only good thing is the first 2 games in charlotte (if i'm not mistaken they've never lost an NCAA game in the state of NC)

side note - Hansbrough went for 29 and 8 today in a win over the knicks in new york

it wasn't pretty but the heels are back in the sweet 16. Very good chance to make the elite 8 now that syracuse is out

Anybody who thought that wouldn't be a dog fight was deluded. UW's expereince from last year, their tempo, and their ability to shoot the 3 made this a very difficult match-up. imo, that game was won by Harrison Barnes' perimeter defense.

Similarly, anybody could've guessed that Duke would struggle with Beilein's offense. That team is built to pull March upsets.

man i enjoyed that game tonight

they might not be good enough to beat ohio st, but it's been a good year either way

Kentucky 12-22 on 3's today, and several of the misses were desperation shots. They lost last year with all world talent because they kept jacking up 3's against WVU. This year, they jack up 22 and punch a ticket to Houston with a much lesser team. Carolina didn't contest enough of them, but still - 12 of 22? I think those won't fall next weekend, and UConn will win by 7 - 9 points...oh well...

As a UK alum, I was more concerned with UNC then I was Ohio State (although honestly I didn't expect to win either game). I thought UK matched up pretty well with Ohio State but UNC was a tough match up given the size and speed of UNC's front line. UK shot well during the game but they have shot well all year. I thought the bigger factor in their win was their defense, particularly controling UNC's break and the overall tempo of the game. UNC started to run in the second half and pulled pulled closer. Overall it was a well played game on both sides and I'm sure folks that were fans of neither team enjoyed it.

I was very impressed with UNC's team, particularly Zeller, and if everyone comes back it should be another good game in Rupp next year.

If Henson doesn't get saddled with foul trouble like an idiot (his 3rd foul in particular when he was guarding some guy near half court, which wasn't a foul but he shouldn't have been in that situation to begin with) the game is completely different