North Carolina is waiting on the NCAA, Duke is depending on freshman to bring their Final Four aspirations to fruition while NC state hopes a few new comers can exceed expectations and Wake Forest hopes to avoid being in the bottom of the ACC for another season under Jeff Bzdelik.
How far can North Carolina go without Hairston and/or Leslie?
The Tar Heels lost to Belmont and all of #Tarheelnation went into panic mode. Belmont of course is a team many do not know about and UNC should not lose on their home floor, but when you miss 26 free throws to a team that has been to the big dance nearly bouncing the “Invincibles” down in Durham you shouldn’t be in the game to begin with. A week later North Carolina stunned Louisville by breaking their pressure time after time and taking advantage of their inside game game along with Marcus Paige’s spectacular shooting performance. The Tar Heels are probably somewhere in between the team we saw versus Louisville and Belmont which is going to frustrate and exhilarate fans all year.
Can Duke find a defensive presence inside to balance their team defensively.
After watching how the new rules in college basketball are affecting charges it will be interesting to watch how games are called in Cameron Indoor this season. Jabari Parker is special however he needs to improve on his turnovers. Tyler Hansbrough had a difficult time recognizing when to pass out of double teams and Parker is feeling his way through this right now. The Devils issue is protecting the rim and they have shown no evidence this weakness will end in tonight’s loss to Arizona.
Which Wolfpack Team can we expect for ACC Play?
Obviously TJ Warren has to be a big time player each night for NC State, but in the loss to NCCU the Wolfpack were dominated on the boards. At the beginning of the season we predicted Richard Howells presence on the backboard was going to be the hardest piece to replace for NC State. NCCU played Cincinatti tough and could end up in the NCAA tournament however the Wolfpack cant lose games like that at home if they are going to compete in the ACC.
Are the Demon Deacons back?
Wake Forest is 6-1 however their one loss may be their most impressive game losing to Kansas by only nine points. If the Demon Deacons play well and win against Tennessee then we will start looking for more out of Wake Forest this year.
