Many felt that even without point guard Kendall Marshall, North Carolina would have no problem with Ohio in the Midwest Region Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Well, the Tarheels did have problems and needed a 10-2 run in overtime to put away Ohio, 73-65.

Stillman White started in place of Marshall and did his part, by not turning the ball over and dishing out six assists. However, UNC just couldn’t get into an up-and-down pace.

Ohio actually had a lead with three minutes left in the game, but couldn’t make the plays to put away UNC. They lost the game on three major points: two-point shooting, rebounds, and free throws. Ohio made 12 three pointers, but just 11 from inside the arc. They were out-rebounded 55-27. Ohio was 7-for-8 from the free throw line, but UNC was 14-of-24.

Tyler Zeller led the way for the Tarheels, as he scored 20 points and hauled in 22 rebounds. Reggie Bullock was the x-factor with 17 points and ten rebounds.

Ohio was led by Walter Offutt, who scored 26 points, and Nick Kellogg, who made 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

» Continue reading “UNC and Kansas to Meet in Midwest Region Final”

The ACC teams got underway on Friday in the NCAA Tournament. It was a wacky day, as the ACC went 3-2 on the day.

NC State 79, SDSU 65: ACC action in the NCAA Tournament got underway with the first game in the Midwest Region and the first upset of the day. Led by Richard Howell for most of the game, NC State dominated inside and kept the big three for San Diego State from scoring consistently. The Wolfpack also stepped up their defense with about five minutes left in the first half and continued that into the second half. NC State shot a whopping 58.5% from the field (compared to just 37% for SDSU).

Howell finished with 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting, while fellow big DeShawn Painter chipped in nine points off the bench. Others in double-figures for NC State were Lorenzo Brown (17 points), CJ Leslie (15 points), and Scott Wood (ten points). Brown also finished with nine rebounds and nine assists.

Chase Tapley had zero points at the half, but became more aggressive in the second half for the Aztecs to score 19 points. However Jamaal Franklin did most of his damage in the first half (13 of his 23 points). Xavier Thames scored just five points.

The Wolfpack (and their seven-player rotation) will face Georgetown on Sunday at 12:15pm ET on CBS, as the Hoyas beat Belmont, 74-59.

» Continue reading “NCAA Tournament: ACC Goes 3-2 in Second Round”

The ACC received five bids to the NCAA Tournament. The hottest team may be Florida State, who beat Duke and North Carolina on back-to-back days to win the ACC Tournament. But can FSU stay hot after a week off?

FSU is led by Michael Snaer, who averages 14.5 points per game. Bernard James averages 8.2 rebounds a game and Luke Loucks averages 4.3 assists per game.

The Seminoles will face A-10 Champion St. Bonaventure at approximately 2:45pm ET on CBS and will have to deal with versatile big man (and potential NBA first-rounder) Andrew Nicholson. I believe the key to victory is how FSU deals with the A-10 Player of the Year. He single-handedly beat Xavier in the A-10 title game. If FSU can contain Nicholson and get him into foul trouble, they will have a great chance of winning. If not, the Bonnies will be pulling off the shocking upset.

*The ACC regular season champions, North Carolina, earned a number one seed in the Midwest Region and will play around 4:10pm ET on Friday (TBS) against Vermont, the winner of Wednesday night’s play-in game.

UNC has a high-octane offense that scores 82 PPG and shoots 46% from the field. They are led by the front court trio of NBA prospects in Tyler Zeller (16.5 PPG), Harrison Barnes (17.4 PPG), and John Henson (13.8 PPG). Henson also averages 10.1 RPG, though he is questionable for the Tarheels first game. The bigs accumulate a lot of points via offensive rebounds, but they also have Kendall Marshall (9.7 APG) to deliver them the ball.

Vermont only scores 67.3 PPG, but only allows 60.5 PPG. The Catamounts have three players who score in double-figures: Four McGlynn (12.2 PPG off the bench), Matt Glass (11.9 PPG), and Luke Apfeld (10.1PPG). Brian Voelkel is their leading rebounder (8.7 RPG) while also their leading assist man (5.2 APG).

» Continue reading “NCAA Tournament: Preview of ACC Teams”

The ACC Tournament gets underway with first round action on Thursday at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. North Carolina won the regular season title and own the top seed. The top four seeds (UNC, Duke, Florida State, and Virginia) received a bye to Quarterfinal Friday.

*The 8-9 matchup opens up first round action at noon ET. Maryland will face Wake Forest. Maryland beat WF back in January. The Terrapins didn’t play well to finish the season, as they lost three in a row. WF lost three of their last four games.

Players to Watch: Maryland’s Terrell Stoglin leads the ACC in scoring at 21.2 points per game. Wake’s CJ Harris (16.8 PPG) and Travis McKie (15.9 PPG) rank in the conference’s top ten in scoring.

The winner will face UNC to start Quarterfinal Friday (noon ET). Maryland lost to UNC twice, while WF lost once.

*The five-seed NC State (who is sitting on the NCAA bubble) will then face 12th-seeded Boston College. NC State beat BC twice during the regular season. The Wolfpack ended the season winning two in a row, but lost four in a row prior. BC ended the season losing five out of six.

Players to Watch: NC State’s CJ Leslie averages 14.3 PPG and 7.1 rebounds a game. Scott Wood of NC State leads the ACC in three point field goal percentage (41.5%) and he makes at least two 3-pointers a game. BC is led by freshman Ryan Anderson, who averages 10.8 points and 7.2 rebounds a game.

The winner will face UVA in the second game on Quarterfinal Friday. NC State lost to UVA by just one point, while BC lost, 66-49.

» Continue reading “ACC Tournament Preview”