One Play for Sunday
- Thread starter ironlock
- Start date
Wanted to add that for the life of me, I cannot comprehend how anyone can Play Fresno State today....that being said, I am not playing Ok state...but my god man, Fresno St. may be the one of the most consistently overrated teams of the year...
Steam is on em...but I aint..no way hosea....Okie or nothing, with or without Baker.
Steam is on em...but I aint..no way hosea....Okie or nothing, with or without Baker.
Agree with you, just checked the score Ok st 2 points in 9+
min, down 15 steam looking good early
min, down 15 steam looking good early
I think the Tarheel game plan is to slow the game down. The Tarheels know they can't run with anybody....and they sure as heck can't shoot the ball. Just my two cents/
Still, Maryland Coach Gary Williams does not want his team to be overconfident. The Terrapins likely will employ a game plan similar to that of North Carolina's other opponents, with a pressing and trapping defense. The Tar Heels have been one of the nation's worst teams taking care of the ball. They lead the ACC in turnovers per game (18.6 in conference play).
got this from the Washington Post.......do not think that Carolina will have a chance to slow game down.........
got this from the Washington Post.......do not think that Carolina will have a chance to slow game down.........
also read another article that Maryland was playing tired and this was a much needed rest.......after layoff legs are fresh and think to avoid coming out flat Williams will turn this into 92 foot game......
4$=Maryland-12.5
February 8, 2002
How the mighty Tar Heels have fallen
One of the proudest programs in collegiate athletics is suffering through an abysmal season
By Patrick Stevens
Diamondback staff writer
Tar Heels junior forward Jason Capel has had a tough season. Not only has his team plummeted to the bottom of the ACC, but Capel missed three games earlier this season after sustaining a concussion in practice. ACC MEDIA RELATIONS
Less than an hour after the Terrapin men's basketball team finished dismantling North Carolina Jan. 9, a reporter asked Steve Blake if he ever thought a Tar Heel team could so easily be demolished.
Blake stared for a moment before providing a telling response.
"Who is Carolina?" Blake asked. "They're just another team."
Just another team indeed. Just a team with 27 consecutive national tournament appearances and 31 straight 20-win seasons, both NCAA records. Just a team that's finished among the ACC's top three for 37 straight years.
Until this year.
The Tar Heels (6-14, 2-8 ACC) have plummeted to the bottom of the conference standings, an ignominious fall for a program with such a sustained tradition of excellence. Sunday, they'll try to pick off their biggest win of the season when the No. 3-ranked Terps (18-3, 8-1) visit the Dean Smith Center at 6:30 p.m.
Some of the woes were to be expected. Shooting guard Joseph Forte left school two years early for the NBA draft and center Brendan Haywood graduated. However, point guard Ronald Curry and forward Julius Peppers both decided well after the Tar Heels' campaign began they would not play basketball to concentrate on pursuing a professional football career.
The season didn't evolve into a fiasco, but rather began as one. The Tar Heels lost to Hampton, the darling of last year's NCAA tournament, in the opener. A loss to Davidson at home quickly followed.
A 61-60 victory over Division I newcomer Binghamton in December was ominous, yet the Tar Heels rebounded to enter the new year at 5-5. But ACC play loomed.
Wake Forest strolled into the Dean Dome Jan. 5 and left with a 84-62 victory, what was then the largest margin of defeat the Tar Heels had incurred at the 16-year-old building. Four days later, the Terps hung a 112-79 drubbing on the Tar Heels as North Carolina allowed the most points in school history.
January remained unkind to the Tar Heels to the end, as hated archrival Duke forced 25 turnovers and cruised to a 87-58 road win Jan. 31. North Carolina wilted in the second half in a loss at Georgia Tech two days later before suffering another blowout loss at Wake Forest Wednesday.
"We're licking our wounds," North Carolina coach Matt Doherty said ruefully. "Things have been better in Chapel Hill."
And the Tar Heels do indeed have wounds. Senior forward Jason Capel, who missed several games last month with a concussion, now has a sprained left elbow. Jawad Williams, North Carolina's highly touted freshman forward, has a bruised back. Sophomore point guard Brian Morrison is nursing a sprained ankle.
The injuries have wrought further havoc for Doherty because they mean fewer players to work with in practice.
"It's hard to get some continuity," Doherty said. "It's hard to work on things. All of the sudden, you get less depth. Instead of Jason going against Jawad or Jawad going against Jason in practice, he's going against a walk-on."
Doherty, a teammate of Michael Jordan's at North Carolina and later an assistant on several successful Kansas teams, seems to have handled what will likely become the Tar Heels' first losing season since 1961-62 fairly well. Nevertheless, he realizes the precarious situation he is mired in.
"You can't berate them," Doherty said. "They're down enough. They don't need to hear it from me and my coaches. But we still need to coach. When they make the same mistakes, I have to put them on the spot, but not do it so much that you disrespect them and you ... lose them. It's a fine line."
February 8, 2002
How the mighty Tar Heels have fallen
One of the proudest programs in collegiate athletics is suffering through an abysmal season
By Patrick Stevens
Diamondback staff writer
Tar Heels junior forward Jason Capel has had a tough season. Not only has his team plummeted to the bottom of the ACC, but Capel missed three games earlier this season after sustaining a concussion in practice. ACC MEDIA RELATIONS
Less than an hour after the Terrapin men's basketball team finished dismantling North Carolina Jan. 9, a reporter asked Steve Blake if he ever thought a Tar Heel team could so easily be demolished.
Blake stared for a moment before providing a telling response.
"Who is Carolina?" Blake asked. "They're just another team."
Just another team indeed. Just a team with 27 consecutive national tournament appearances and 31 straight 20-win seasons, both NCAA records. Just a team that's finished among the ACC's top three for 37 straight years.
Until this year.
The Tar Heels (6-14, 2-8 ACC) have plummeted to the bottom of the conference standings, an ignominious fall for a program with such a sustained tradition of excellence. Sunday, they'll try to pick off their biggest win of the season when the No. 3-ranked Terps (18-3, 8-1) visit the Dean Smith Center at 6:30 p.m.
Some of the woes were to be expected. Shooting guard Joseph Forte left school two years early for the NBA draft and center Brendan Haywood graduated. However, point guard Ronald Curry and forward Julius Peppers both decided well after the Tar Heels' campaign began they would not play basketball to concentrate on pursuing a professional football career.
The season didn't evolve into a fiasco, but rather began as one. The Tar Heels lost to Hampton, the darling of last year's NCAA tournament, in the opener. A loss to Davidson at home quickly followed.
A 61-60 victory over Division I newcomer Binghamton in December was ominous, yet the Tar Heels rebounded to enter the new year at 5-5. But ACC play loomed.
Wake Forest strolled into the Dean Dome Jan. 5 and left with a 84-62 victory, what was then the largest margin of defeat the Tar Heels had incurred at the 16-year-old building. Four days later, the Terps hung a 112-79 drubbing on the Tar Heels as North Carolina allowed the most points in school history.
January remained unkind to the Tar Heels to the end, as hated archrival Duke forced 25 turnovers and cruised to a 87-58 road win Jan. 31. North Carolina wilted in the second half in a loss at Georgia Tech two days later before suffering another blowout loss at Wake Forest Wednesday.
"We're licking our wounds," North Carolina coach Matt Doherty said ruefully. "Things have been better in Chapel Hill."
And the Tar Heels do indeed have wounds. Senior forward Jason Capel, who missed several games last month with a concussion, now has a sprained left elbow. Jawad Williams, North Carolina's highly touted freshman forward, has a bruised back. Sophomore point guard Brian Morrison is nursing a sprained ankle.
The injuries have wrought further havoc for Doherty because they mean fewer players to work with in practice.
"It's hard to get some continuity," Doherty said. "It's hard to work on things. All of the sudden, you get less depth. Instead of Jason going against Jawad or Jawad going against Jason in practice, he's going against a walk-on."
Doherty, a teammate of Michael Jordan's at North Carolina and later an assistant on several successful Kansas teams, seems to have handled what will likely become the Tar Heels' first losing season since 1961-62 fairly well. Nevertheless, he realizes the precarious situation he is mired in.
"You can't berate them," Doherty said. "They're down enough. They don't need to hear it from me and my coaches. But we still need to coach. When they make the same mistakes, I have to put them on the spot, but not do it so much that you disrespect them and you ... lose them. It's a fine line."
February 5, 2002
Despite win streak, exhausted Terps thankful for week between games
By Patrick Stevens
Diamondback staff writer
The Terrapin men's basketball team battled through more than half of its ACC schedule, keeping pace with Duke with its 8-1 league start.
Finally, the team will get a chance to rest in the next few days.
The Terps (18-3) have a full week off before playing Sunday at North Carolina, the team's longest idle stretch since a 10-day period during final exams in December. The team went six days between games against Norfolk State and North Carolina early last month.
"We're tired, so that's good," coach Gary Williams said after Sunday's 89-73 victory over N.C. State. "The one negative thing is we're playing well and you don't necessarily want a break there. I'll trade that right now and hope we can keep this level or get better because we need some rest. We were a very tired team out there."
The Terps, who took yesterday off, ironically had too much time between games early in the season. The team had six breaks, each at least five days long, before the end of December and Williams often said the Terps did not establish much of a rhythm in the first two months of the season.
Now, though, the timing of the break is perfect, even for energetic senior forward Byron Mouton.
"Everybody needs a rest," Mouton said. "I mean, I probably don't need a rest but my body needs a rest."
Freebies galore
Even when defeating the likes of Connecticut and Illinois early in the season, the Terps struggled at the free throw line. However, Williams' team has crept up to fifth in the ACC in the category.
The total is even better when counting just league games. The Terps are now shooting 73 percent against ACC foes, a total trailing only Virginia (77 percent).
Several players who struggled early at the foul line have drastically improved. Mouton made six of his first 14 attempts, but is since 45-for-59. Junior guard Drew Nicholas is 23 of his last 26 after a 6-for-13 start, while junior forward Tahj Holden has made 32 of 39.
"People are just stepping up and being mature about making free throws," Nicholas said. "I struggled a little bit there early in the year but now when I walk to the charity stripe I just look at it as free points for me ...
"We really worked on it as a team a lot during practice. We shot a lot of free throws and tried to make it during game-like situations. It's hard sometimes, but we've worked at it."
The trend is not entirely team-wide. Senior center Lonny Baxter has hovered around his current 58 percent all season and sophomore forward Chris Wilcox is still shooting less than 50 percent. However, Wilcox is at 63 percent (29-for-46) since missing 20 of his first 28 attempts.
Etc.
The Terps remained No. 3 in this week's Associated Press poll for the third straight week after defeating both Virginia and N.C. State ... Senior guard Juan Dixon averaged 21.5 points in the two games and earned ACC Player of the Week honors.
Despite win streak, exhausted Terps thankful for week between games
By Patrick Stevens
Diamondback staff writer
The Terrapin men's basketball team battled through more than half of its ACC schedule, keeping pace with Duke with its 8-1 league start.
Finally, the team will get a chance to rest in the next few days.
The Terps (18-3) have a full week off before playing Sunday at North Carolina, the team's longest idle stretch since a 10-day period during final exams in December. The team went six days between games against Norfolk State and North Carolina early last month.
"We're tired, so that's good," coach Gary Williams said after Sunday's 89-73 victory over N.C. State. "The one negative thing is we're playing well and you don't necessarily want a break there. I'll trade that right now and hope we can keep this level or get better because we need some rest. We were a very tired team out there."
The Terps, who took yesterday off, ironically had too much time between games early in the season. The team had six breaks, each at least five days long, before the end of December and Williams often said the Terps did not establish much of a rhythm in the first two months of the season.
Now, though, the timing of the break is perfect, even for energetic senior forward Byron Mouton.
"Everybody needs a rest," Mouton said. "I mean, I probably don't need a rest but my body needs a rest."
Freebies galore
Even when defeating the likes of Connecticut and Illinois early in the season, the Terps struggled at the free throw line. However, Williams' team has crept up to fifth in the ACC in the category.
The total is even better when counting just league games. The Terps are now shooting 73 percent against ACC foes, a total trailing only Virginia (77 percent).
Several players who struggled early at the foul line have drastically improved. Mouton made six of his first 14 attempts, but is since 45-for-59. Junior guard Drew Nicholas is 23 of his last 26 after a 6-for-13 start, while junior forward Tahj Holden has made 32 of 39.
"People are just stepping up and being mature about making free throws," Nicholas said. "I struggled a little bit there early in the year but now when I walk to the charity stripe I just look at it as free points for me ...
"We really worked on it as a team a lot during practice. We shot a lot of free throws and tried to make it during game-like situations. It's hard sometimes, but we've worked at it."
The trend is not entirely team-wide. Senior center Lonny Baxter has hovered around his current 58 percent all season and sophomore forward Chris Wilcox is still shooting less than 50 percent. However, Wilcox is at 63 percent (29-for-46) since missing 20 of his first 28 attempts.
Etc.
The Terps remained No. 3 in this week's Associated Press poll for the third straight week after defeating both Virginia and N.C. State ... Senior guard Juan Dixon averaged 21.5 points in the two games and earned ACC Player of the Week honors.
Marty,
Have this sinking feeling that NC gets the backdoor cover in this one. . . I'm gonna take Maryland for the first half as I expect them to come out focused and take a double digit lead into halftime. . .
Good luck tonight!
Have this sinking feeling that NC gets the backdoor cover in this one. . . I'm gonna take Maryland for the first half as I expect them to come out focused and take a double digit lead into halftime. . .
Good luck tonight!
Nickel.....keep in mind that Maryland hasn't played in a while and may come out a little flat.......i think they wear NC out if anything......do not like to go with "sinking feelings" myself......lol
Nickel-
While I have this sinking feeling that I lose both of these, as my big plays have stunk this year, I would also say that the people that have continually backed North Carolina game after game can only justify playing on them by using your logic, that "they are due", they will get the back door.....
You cant make a case with the numbers. You cant make a case of lack of heart. You cant make a case that this team is just playing badly... The fact of the matter is, this NOrth Carolina team is simply AWFUL... While I dont dismiss the possibility of the back door, in fact..its in my mind right now, the likelyhood of it is less that another in a long of list of blowouts for this team.
Hoops also mentioned to me that Capel grandmother just died, the team sounds banged up, has an extreme lack of talent, was just blown out by Georgia Tech no less....They can't be any more motivated than they have been...they have consistently been embarrassed, even at home.
I would however downgrade the over play to a 4 units play, as I think ppabart's comments do have some merit... Still think this thing ends like 90-69...or 86-72 or somewhere around there.... Maryland, while extemely talented on Defense, seems to lose focus defensively with a big lead...NC should score enough to put it over....if NC covers, it definately goes OVER...
Good luck all...
Iron.
While I have this sinking feeling that I lose both of these, as my big plays have stunk this year, I would also say that the people that have continually backed North Carolina game after game can only justify playing on them by using your logic, that "they are due", they will get the back door.....
You cant make a case with the numbers. You cant make a case of lack of heart. You cant make a case that this team is just playing badly... The fact of the matter is, this NOrth Carolina team is simply AWFUL... While I dont dismiss the possibility of the back door, in fact..its in my mind right now, the likelyhood of it is less that another in a long of list of blowouts for this team.
Hoops also mentioned to me that Capel grandmother just died, the team sounds banged up, has an extreme lack of talent, was just blown out by Georgia Tech no less....They can't be any more motivated than they have been...they have consistently been embarrassed, even at home.
I would however downgrade the over play to a 4 units play, as I think ppabart's comments do have some merit... Still think this thing ends like 90-69...or 86-72 or somewhere around there.... Maryland, while extemely talented on Defense, seems to lose focus defensively with a big lead...NC should score enough to put it over....if NC covers, it definately goes OVER...
Good luck all...
Iron.
LOL! Good point freeze. . . I like Maryland for the entire game as well. . .still believe they come out focused on the task (hopefully very easy) at hand and assume they will work the ball inside in order to get easy points and draw fouls early in the game. Once again, I just have this feeling that they lose this focus the second half and the final score falls close to the spread.
I do agree that Maryland could come out flat with perimeter shooting but I still believe their frontcourt will get most of the looks early in the game.
I do agree that Maryland could come out flat with perimeter shooting but I still believe their frontcourt will get most of the looks early in the game.
These big numbers suck but in this case I'm with you-
I hammered MD.
Footnote: I am having a big day-
offset many many loses with a few parlays that payed off
- I had Vir +14.5 straight up and they won by 14
or should I say-
I got slam-dunked by 1/2 a point !
Hate them monster ####'s
I hammered MD.
Footnote: I am having a big day-
offset many many loses with a few parlays that payed off
- I had Vir +14.5 straight up and they won by 14
or should I say-
I got slam-dunked by 1/2 a point !
Hate them monster ####'s
I'll take that first half win! Good luck with the rest of the game to everyone on Maryland. . . I'll be rooting for them to close it out.
I'll take the 1st half too, nickelback, but I'm on em for the game as well. lets just hope they keep it up!
RR
RR
Geeezzuuss, was I sweating the last of that game! Thought for sure it was gonna get us in the end.......
congrats Maryland backers!!
congrats Maryland backers!!
Great point Jack
It is amazing how hard a LOT of teams try to cover this year. Down by 17 fouling, pressing, etc..
I agree that there are no "formally" fixed games, but I gaurantee the players know what the line is, and maybe their trying to get a "moral" victory.
The thing I can't answer is why the favorite doesn't seem to care about the line. I guess they figue they got the real victory, so they don't need a moral one.
RR
It is amazing how hard a LOT of teams try to cover this year. Down by 17 fouling, pressing, etc..
I agree that there are no "formally" fixed games, but I gaurantee the players know what the line is, and maybe their trying to get a "moral" victory.
The thing I can't answer is why the favorite doesn't seem to care about the line. I guess they figue they got the real victory, so they don't need a moral one.
RR
