Among the teams I thought were unbeatable...the 1997 Kansas Jayhawks. Paul Pierce Raef Lafrentz Scott Pollard Jacque Vaughn They finished 35-2...so much talent. But all it takes is one loss in the tourney,and it's all over. They were out in the Sweet Sixteen.
Shh. We'll let those partial to UNC lick their wounds a bit. So who wants to be the first to account for what just happened against BC and why they will still win the championship?
Well, I'm just glad we lost now. Didn't really want the pressure of an undefeated season. Doesn't mean we can't win it all still.. the year we last won the championship, we lost to Santa Clara. Not worried
Santa Clara that year was the first game of the season, and Felton was out. That's when everyone realized that Felton was the key to that machine. The Maryland game last year is a better comparison. It was ACC play, IN the Dean Dome just like this BC game. Greivis Vasquez went out of his mind just like Avery Johnson, I mean Tyrese Rice, has done two years in a row now against UNC. The BC game brings up some questions in my mind: 1. Is Lawson a liability on defense? 2. Are teams going to resort to fouling Deon Thompson every time he catches the ball in the low paint? Right now his FG% (.581) is higher than his FT% (.580). 3. Can UNC play good defense against teams that do not turn the ball over? Try as UNC may to rely on the run-and-gun, they WILL have to play good half court defense if they want to win 6 in a row when it counts.
Teams should try this with Texas. We have a guy (Clint Chapman - about 10 minutes per game) shooting 8% free throws. Yes, that's right. EIGHT percent.
Update after the Wake loss, I think we have some answers to these questions: 1. Yes. I don't think there's any question Lawson's draft stock has taken a hit with these performances in his losses. 3. Doesn't look like it. Wake puts up 92 with two of its frontcourt starters fouling out. Teague and Smith handle the press remarkably well, and Teague makes all his FTs down the stretch. A part of me wonders (ok, is pretty sure of) whether UNC will get so many fouls called on them at home (they won't), but thankfully the NCAA's are played on neutral courts, so even if UNC has a favorable destination the first few rounds, it will be a moot point by the sweet 16. 4. Is it just me or is Psycho T beginning to be officiated more appropriately this season? He doesn't seem to have carte blanche anymore, he's actually getting called for fouls on defense, and maybe that correlates with people realizing that there is a reason why he chose to stay for his fourth year, and it ain't because he's got room to improve. Granted, they haven't played a home conference game yet, so all that could be thrown out the window pretty soon. Additional: Wake Forest may have played a soft schedule early, but they will be a FORCE come tourney time. Aminu made some freshman mistakes today, but the talent is clearly there and he is only going to get better. Teague may be ACC POTY at this point. Whoever was doubting my statement that Wake had more NBA talent is eating their words, for now. Stay tuned for the next exciting saga: the Empire Strikes Back!
Wake Forest...from what I've seen so far...looks like the best team in the country. I've seen them play twice...and both times I was really impressed. Their defense is unreal good.
Ball hogging you mean. Dude did not wanna pass the ball. In the last ten minutes of that game I think he passed it twice.
What??? In the 2nd half there was a huge stretch where he didn't even shoot the ball. I missed the last 4 minutes but he wasn't ball hogging up to that point. He was hot and I thought he should of shot some more.
Wake vs. Clemson might be their best road test of the year. Man ACC play is nice. The Big East might have 3-5 good games a week, but the ACC has had the best single games of the week so far. And after watching the UT-OU game, I can now safely say that both teams are pretenders.
After the Duke win at Carolina, I think it's safe to say that the ACC is strong enough such that if Carolina can win games at the end of the year against Wake and Duke, regardless of where they are held, they should be sufficiently tested to go into the tournament as the favorite. There's plenty of time to get all their cylinders firing until then, but the recent play of Lawson and Hansbrough has to be disconcerting. Ginyard coming back won't solve everything.
