Duke at UNC

The 5th Corner

(The credit to the post’s title goes to @MG1NYARD (Marcus Ginyard), who said it on twitter as I was writing the piece. The picture is by @Buffv).

Good defeats Evil

As anyone that has watched any of the channels belonging to the World Leader of Sports would know this is Rivalry Week on ESPN. As Tar Heel fans that means it’s time for Duke (19-4 & 7-2 in the ACC) versus North Carolina (13-10 & 2-6 in the ACC), which will happen tonight at nine o’clock (or whenever the UConn vs SU game ends). While the game is still close according to the odds makers, with Carolina a 4.5 to 5.5 underdogs depending on where you check, it’s going to take a very good game by the Heels in order to keep it close on the court. And while the Blue Devils and Tar Heels are on the opposite side of the conference and seemingly heading in opposite directions this is a rivalry, a harsh one, and you have to take records out of the picture and just believe that the “hate” between programs will give you what is needed to have a great game. One thing that might inspire this is the fact that Tyler Hansbrough’s jersey will be officially retired at half time of tonight’s game. (Someone check if the now Indiana Pacers has any eligibility left!)

UNC Duke fact sheet

It is interesting that Hansbrough will be at the Dean Dome since the reality of this is that if North Carolina wants to win the game it needs to take a page out of the Duke/GTown game and expose the front court of their opponent. It is also a bit ironic that he will be there since forward Travis Wear is hurt with the team’s fourth or fifth injured ankle of the year. That means that Deon Thompson has to have one of those games that people will talk about for years to come, while Ed Davis has to have one just as big as his counterpart. This is the last time that Thompson will face Duke at the Dean Dome, and talking realistically, it could also be the last time that Davis will face the Blue Devils at home. If there is a way to go out in style, whatever the season still brings for this squad, a victory tonight would be it. Of course, there is also another player that won’t play the Blue Devils in the friendly confines once this one is over, a player that might have had the best game of the season against Maryland, and one that would love a great game tonight: Marcus Ginyard.

The three above mentioned players are going to have to give head coach Roy Williams about 45 points in order for the Tar Heels to have any shot at winning this game. Davis and Thompson are going to have to clean up all the boards (meaning close to 20 combined), while getting some on the offensive side as well, and Ginyard needs to be the leader of this game (meaning no turnovers and plenty of assists). Larry Drew, Dexter Strickland and Will Graves need to make an impact as well with good shooting, feeding the post, as few as possible turnovers, especially ones that lead to easy baskets for Duke. But most of all, as a team, what all of these young men have to avoid like the plague is a run by the Blue Devils. Duke is a three point shooting team, giving them easy baskets and runs is going to kill North Carolina, as it would mean having to make up a 1.5 shots to get the points back.

Duke UNC `09-`10 rosters & stats

Is this an easy task for this young and talented team that is trying to find the confidence to be what they can be while having a hard time adjusting to the fact they are losing like never before? Of course not, that is why the biggest weapon tonight might not be coming out of the locker room, but it might just be the one that no team can defend: the fans at the game! We speak so much about the players remembering that the name in front of the jersey is always more important than the one in the back. The same needs to be for the people at the game. Forget the record, forget everything else, and give 100% support tonight. This is our team, our program, not just in the good times, always. Tonight is your chance to show it! It’s your chance to thank these young men who give a lot of themselves to don that uniform. And in thanking them you thank the hall of fame coaches we have had here, all the All Americans (such as Hansbrough), the great fan favorites, everyone who has made this program what it is.

Maybe you have noticed, maybe you haven’t but I am not down on this team as much as others. Why? Because it takes a while to rebuild, whether you have McDonald’s All-Americans or not. Did I think this team would be at this point? No, but they are, and they are still North Carolina, and for that I am just as proud to be part of it as if it they were undefeated. Tonight, in our own arena, we have a chance to say “we are Carolina”, we are one of the most prestigious programs in the country, we are one of the most winningest programs of all time. You build a reputation over a period of time, some of these young men brought home the hardware last year, some could do it again if they stay. This year might not be the year, but that does not mean they don’t deserve our support!

I say, in an upset, in a tight game, it’s North Carolina taking it from Duke: 81 to 78.

Duke Basketball Report

In the movie Patton, there’s a scene where General Patton, shortly before the Battle of the Bulge, says: "there’s absolutely no reason for us to assume the Germans are mounting a major offensive…the weather is awful, their supplies are low, and the German army hasn’t mounted a winter attack since Frederick the Great.  Therefore, I believe that’s exactly what they’re going to do."  Duke fans  who think they’re going to win this game simply because Carolina has been struggling should take note.

The obvious antecedent is the 1995 game, which saw Jeff Capel hit a 40 foot jump shot to push the game into double overtime.  Duke’s struggles were much worse than UNC’s are now.  Or take the game in the Doherty era when UNC won in Cameron: Shane Battier, normally so brilliant, made a critical mistake, fouling Brendan Haywood at half court.  Haywood hit the late foul shots to win the game.

Or take the great game in, what, 1974? UNC was #3 in the country and Duke was an afterthought.  Robbie West won that game for the Devils when UNC was overwhelmingly talented and Duke had no business winning.

That’s the way it often works in this rivalry. It has a logic of its own and has little to do with who is favored.  As a matter of fact, when one team is down, it might even have an advantage.

And while the nature of the rivalry is always key, you can’t overlook the hole that UNC is in, which provides a whole different kind of pressure.  As much as UNC would love to beat Duke, at 13-10, and in 10th place and set to drop into a tie for last should they lose, they need a win.  Beating Duke would be better of course, but the reality is, they just need a win, and from that point of view, anybody will do.

Obviously this year’s UNC team is nothing like last year’s juggernaut.  It lacks outside shooting, the inside game has been called soft, and point guard play is spotty.  In their last game, against Maryland, the defense at times was awful.

Read the rest of the preview at Duke Basketball Report