It wasn't the game I thought it would be, but a 4 point win sends the Tar Heels to the Maui Invitational championship tomorrow against Texas. I will admit that I did not watch the majority of the game. I put an airpod in at work and constantly kept looking down to check my phone as I had the game up on the ESPN app. I periodically checked it on the drive home and realized we were playing better when I wasn't watching so I did not tune in when I got home. I am very superstitious. Our first half performance wasn't great. We got off to another slow start, and I was honestly okay with only being down 4 at half. I thought we would eventually wear Stanford down because they play small, but we didn't. They hung tough and slowed the game down. We out-rebounded them 43-23 and it didn't seem to matter. 24 turnovers somewhat negates that margin, and our turnovers seem to keep rising game after game. Free throws were also bad at 62.5%. Three point shooting wasn't much better as we went 4-12. Thankfully Stanford wasn't much better at 5-20. They needed to hit some 3s to pull the "upset." I put upset in quotations marks because I really wouldn't have been surprised if we did drop this game. Haase knows Roy just about as well as Roy knows Roy and he landed one of the top recruits in the country. Stanford is also a team on a lot of people's radars. They will be a solid team this year in the PAC-12. All our starters were in double figures and Leaky Black had another good game. He had 10 points on 3-5 shooting with 7 rebounds. He made some key plays down the stretch with a drive with a little over a minute to go and a free throw with 5 seconds left to clinch the win. Bacot had 10, Brooks had 10, Davis had 11, and Love had 16. Kessler was almost non existent with 4 personal fouls. Sharpe had a quiet 4 points to go with 4 assists and 7 rebounds. Platek was solid, but only added 4 points. It seems as though I am a huge critic of playing Platek which isn't necessary true. I am all for the guy that works hard getting the playing time he deserves, but if he starts to make too many mistakes then you have to take him out. I hope Platek doesn't start making those mistakes.
This game was a good test ahead of our matchup with Texas. The game was close the entire way. Our largest lead was 6. Their largest lead was 8. It was good to see that a young team could pull out a win in a close game, and that a veteran player could help seal it. We couldn't win close games last year, so it was good that we got tested early in the year.
Our matchup with Texas will be our first game against a ranked opponent. Texas comes in ranked #17 and are 3-0 after thumping Indiana 66-44. Tomorrow's matchup very well could be a game we lose. I hate to say it and I am not trying to be negative, but Texas has had our number the last couple of years. Texas has some size and is a fast, physical team. Matt Coleman gave us trouble the last time we played Texas and he led the way for the longhorns against the Hoosiers. He had 16 points and was one of three players in double figures. Texas didn't quite have the balanced scoring they had their first two games. They had 5 players in double figures in the their opener and six against Davidson, but it was enough to blow out Indiana. It was Indiana's lowest output in a game since scoring 43 in a loss to Iowa in January 2010. Texas didn't shoot the ball well from the field or from behind the arc. Their field goal percentage was a hair below 39% and they shot 28% from 3. Their rebounding margin looked a lot like ours as they out-rebounded Indiana 48-29. They are an aggressive defensive team and how Davis and Love handle that pressure will be crucial. We have to limit live ball turnovers and we can't give them open looks from beyond the arc. They were cold against Indiana, it will be our luck they catch fire against us. Tomorrow night will be a great early season matchup to see where we stand before we travel to Iowa. Hopefully the University of National Championships can bring home another 'ship from Asheville.
A Delaware Side Note:
I don't remember if I ever gave any context as to why I am in Delaware so I figured now is as good a time as ever. I moved up here to be with my boyfriend who is stationed at the Air Force in Dover. So "getting a job in NC" is not really a thing right now. I was hoping to be able to fly back for some games, but the rona and ya boy Roy Cooper ruined that. Fun fact, there is no legit airport in Delaware, you have to fly out of Philly, Baltimore or DC. It is really awesome that I have had some really positive and encouraging feedback from my first couple of blog posts, but this Carolina girl is in Delaware for a little while.
Last time I called out some state fans, this time I am calling out a Virginia Tech fan. Again I am experimenting with ads on Instagram to try to grow this blog. Shameless plug... if you like it please share it with your fellow UNC fans and friends. Anyway this guy goes to the post and comments "I guess you aren't talking about academics. You're cheaters." Great guy right. I should introduce him to the bitter State fans. Anyway the only thing I have to say to that guy is "I am sorry your football team is trash now too." I know a couple of Virginia Tech fans though and they aren't like that so it is not a shot a V tech just at that one bitter individual.
Last thing... Bill Walton definitely smoked some weed with some Asheville hippies before that game. Holy s*** what was he even talking about. That is all. Go Heels!
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