Weird

What a weird, hard fought game for the Heels tonight.  

It was weird in a number of ways.  Weird to see Carolina have to play at such a slow tempo.  Even in the second half, when the Heels did a good job rebounding and therefore should have been able to run, the game was slow and played in the half court.

Weird in that Kendall Marshall had his second straight lackluster game in a row.  It's the curse of CHB blog perhaps?  Jordan Taylor and Wisconsin, not Marshall, set and controlled the tempo for this game.  We did not see vintage Marshall tonight.

That lackluster play from our point guard was one reason why our offense never flowed against the Badgers.  Harrison Barnes was fantastic in the second half, but he was by and large creating his own shots. Strickland had some nice runs on offense, but they mainly came when he was bringing the ball up. The guys who rely on Marshall to set them up, i.e. Zeller, Henson, McAdoo, etc. were non-factors on offense for most of the night as a result.  Weird.

But on the positive side, it was a gut-check, hard-fought (and cliche ridden) win over a top 10 team that will give Ohio State a run for it's money in the Big 10.

I mentioned Barnes, but he was so clutch and tough down the stretch in leading Carolina to this win almost single handedly.  Loved the methodical way he went about it, too.  He was cold and confident.  Barnes also finished with 5 blocks. 

Strickland was the offense in the first half and was magnificent in disrupting Wisconsin's offense in the second.  The Dex Factor featured a little bit of Derrick Phelps tonight in containing Taylor.  Huge night for Strickland (despite that one crazy turnover late).

Finally, in addition to Barnes our best option on offense in the second half a couple times was Reggie Bullock.  His late 3 was Barnesesque - cold and confident.  His performance was also proof that his breakout game against Tennessee State was not a fluke.

Though our offense sputtered, it was reassuring to see the way the Heels defended (Badgers shot 36 percent; Taylor was worse at 30 percent), rebounded (Heels out rebounded Wisconsin 39 to 26) and made free throws tonight (19 for 24, or 79 percent).  All three of those traits are excellent and meaningful measures of a teams toughness.  Very reassuring.

So with those 3 things on the upswing, here's hoping our offense - and Marshall -  and shooting bounces back by Saturday and the tilt versus Kentucky.  Having to worry about a Carolina team's offense?  

Weird.

ACC Doldrums

What's more depressing: losing the ACC-Big 10 challenge for the third year in a row; or the realization that Leonard Hamilton is the third longest tenured coach in the conference?

The ACC became the best conference in the country thanks - in part - to coaching giants such as Dean Smith, Everett Case, Norm Sloan, Lefty Dreisell, Gary Williams, Terry Holland, Bobby Cremins, Jim Valvano, Vic Bubas, Frank Maguire, Bones McKinney, etc. etc.

Now we have ol' Roy and Mike Krzyzewski . . . and that's it.  Leonard Hamilton is not only the third longest tenured coach, but a guy who has no earthly idea how to coach offense is arguably the third best coach in the ACC by virtue of going to three straight NCAA tournaments. 

That's how far the ACC has fallen. 

And it's not only Hamilton.  I think Tony Bennett is the fourth longest tenured, and he hasn't been in Charlottesville long enough to have a Virginia drivers license yet.

Things may improve.  After all, Jamie Dixon and Jim Boeheim are coming, and only one of them had to fire an alleged child molester this season.  And Mark Turgeon at Maryland is a Roy Williams disciple, Mark Gottfried may be able to jump start things at NC State, and the new coaches at Clemson and Georgia Tech have won at lesser schools.  

The football-powered expansion is one reason ACC basketball has suffered. But the main culprit is a lackluster series of head coaches on the bench of storied programs in Raleigh and Atlanta.

Bad Week For the ACC Gets Worse

First, the two best teams in the conference - Georgia Tech and Clemson - both lost to mediocre, in-state SEC rivals in football.

Then, for the first time in the 11 year history of the event, the conference lost the ACC-Big 10 challenge in basketball. 

Carolina did its part, handily dispatching Michigan State. And kudos to Maryland and especially Boston College for winning road games. The Eagles beat a ranked Michigan team, as did Miami in defeating Minnesota in Coral Gables. Virginia Tech also won a road game, but against a pretty bad Iowa squad.

But all six of the games the ACC lost were bad losses. Duke lost on the road to a good Wisconsin team. But the Badgers, not exactly a running team, looked quicker than the Blue Devils. What's up with that?

Sure, Virginia is rebuilding but how can you lose at home to Penn State. Terrible.

Northwestern is supposed to be decent this year but it's still a team NC State should  have  handled since the game was in Raleigh.

The only semi-legit losses - SEMI - were by FSU and Wake Forest.

Florida State lost to a good Ohio State team on the road. That's to be expected from FSU; no matter how talented the Seminoles NEVER ever seem to rise to the challenge (see last year's ACC tournament final, their loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament, etc.).

Considering that Wake Forest was coming off a home loss to William and Mary (a team of two players!), losing to a top-10 team like Purdue is almost a moral victory. Wake fans must be getting nervous. This team has stunk since February. The Dino Gaudio honeymoon is clearly over.

But the worst loss by far was by Clemson. The Tigers blew a 23-point second half lead at home in losing to half-way decent Illinois. Down the stretch Clemson did not do a good job of getting the ball to Trevor Booker, and generally panicked on their home court in the face of the Illini's press and urgent play. Horrible.

Losing the ACC-Big 10 challenge for the first time is not the end of the world but is disappointing nonetheless. With the Big East expected to have a down year the Big 10 now has the upper hand in the mythical battle for the title of the strongest conference in America.

But this year's challenge could have real consequences for ACC bubble teams.  Clemson in particular should make sure and win 9 or 10 ACC games; ditto for Florida State, who has lost both of its important non-conference games (Ohio State and Florida). 

On the other hand, Boston College and Miami really helped themselves so in the end it may even out. The ACC could still receive 6 and maybe 7 bids: Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech (who defeated Sienna last night), Clemson, and one or two from the group of FSU/UM/BC/Wake Forest).

World Cup Draw is Tomorrow (Dec. 4th)

The draw for the 2010 World Cup is tomorrow and will be shown live on ESPN.  Four pots will be used to determine the eight, four-team, groups.

Pot 1 consists of the seven highest-seeded teams (Brazil, Spain, Argentina, England, Germany, Netherlands, Italy) plus host South Africa. The US is in pot 2, a mix of Asian and North American teams, and Greece is in Pot 4, European teams. Pot 3 is Africa and South America.

To me, the best case scenario for the U.S. is: South Africa, the weakest team in Pot 1, by far; Uruguay or Algeria, the only two bad teams in Pot 2; and Slovakia from Pot 3. But according to the Washington Post and ESPN, Switzerland would be the best match up for us for the European pot.

I really hope that Greece and the US are in separate groups. I would love to see the U.S. play - and defeat - Greece in the final.  What are the odds of that?

Best case for Greece is to draw: South Africa; North Korea, arguably the worst team in the World Cup; and Algeria.

Worst case for both teams is to draw Brazil and a team like Ivory Coast from Pot 3.

Anyway, tune in tomorrow.