North Carolina meets Kentucky without Tyler Hansbrough
Two fabled basketball programs meet in Chapel Hill on Tuesday when Roy Williams and the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0) host Billy Gillispie’s Kentucky Wildcats (0-1).
No Tyler Hansbrough? No problem.
The North Carolina Tar Heels opened their 2008-09 season with an easy 86-71 win over the Penn Quakers on Saturday night, doing so without Hansbrough on the floor. Last year’s Player of the Year, the 6-9 senior has missed the past few weeks of practice with what the school’s website calls a “stress reaction in his right shin,” and no official date has been given for his return.
But when you’re North Carolina, all you have to do is plug in another Tyler to take his place in the paint. Freshman Tyler Zeller got the start in Hansbrough’s place and led six Tar Heels in double digits. Zeller, a seven-footer out of Washington, Indiana, was 5-for-8 from the field and went 8-10 from the charity stripe. Another frosh, Ed Davis (6-8) added 10 points and 14 rebounds off the bench while Deon Thompson (Jr., 6-8) chipped in 17 points for Roy Williams’ club.
Penn kept it close for the first 10 minutes of the game before North Carolina went on a 19-4 run midway through the first half to pull away and never look back. The Tar Heels increased the lead to 20 at one point before the Quakers, led by Tyler Bernardini’s game-high 26, cut it to 10 with about four minutes to play.
UNC hit 46.7% from the field for the game, including 7-for-22 from behind the arc. But the real difference in the stats was Penn sending the Tar Heels to the line 16 extra times, with UNC scoring 11 additional points than the Quakers on the evening. North Carolina failed to cover the 32-point spread.
Kentucky didn’t find the going as easy in their opener at home in Lexington last Friday, as the Wildcats were embarrassed by Virginia Military, 111-103. Bill Gillispie, now starting his second year at Kentucky, summed the loss up in three words.
“They whipped us,” Gillispie said.
The upset loss brought back memories of last year’s 84-68 loss to Gardner-Webb in what was Gillispie’s second game at the helm of the Wildcats. The Keydets’ 111 points were the most Kentucky had allowed in 19 years. VMI guard Travis Holmes led his team with 30, including a perfect 9-for-9 from the foul line. The Keydets also hit on 14 of their 31 long range bombs.
Jodie Meeks (Jr., 6-4) led all scorers with 39 for Kentucky, and helped fuel a valiant comeback in the final 14 minutes that saw the Wildcats use a 19-0 run to cut what had been a 20-point VMI lead down to just one. Kentucky would eventually take their first lead of the game with under five minutes left, but VMI fought back and ended the game scoring the final seven points of the contest.
The Wildcats turned the ball over 25 times and came in with just six steals while the Keydets suffered just 14 turnovers opposite 13 steals.
The two schools last met on the hardwood at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena on Dec 1, 2007, with the Tar Heels taking an 86-77 triumph. Like tonight, North Carolina was ranked No. 1 entering that game. The line this evening finds UNC as 16-point favorites without both Hansbrough and fellow senior Marcus Ginyard who will be out until next month following foot surgery.
Two fabled basketball programs meet in Chapel Hill on Tuesday when Roy Williams and the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0) host Billy Gillispie’s Kentucky Wildcats (0-1).
No Tyler Hansbrough? No problem.
The North Carolina Tar Heels opened their 2008-09 season with an easy 86-71 win over the Penn Quakers on Saturday night, doing so without Hansbrough on the floor. Last year’s Player of the Year, the 6-9 senior has missed the past few weeks of practice with what the school’s website calls a “stress reaction in his right shin,” and no official date has been given for his return.
But when you’re North Carolina, all you have to do is plug in another Tyler to take his place in the paint. Freshman Tyler Zeller got the start in Hansbrough’s place and led six Tar Heels in double digits. Zeller, a seven-footer out of Washington, Indiana, was 5-for-8 from the field and went 8-10 from the charity stripe. Another frosh, Ed Davis (6-8) added 10 points and 14 rebounds off the bench while Deon Thompson (Jr., 6-8) chipped in 17 points for Roy Williams’ club.
Penn kept it close for the first 10 minutes of the game before North Carolina went on a 19-4 run midway through the first half to pull away and never look back. The Tar Heels increased the lead to 20 at one point before the Quakers, led by Tyler Bernardini’s game-high 26, cut it to 10 with about four minutes to play.
UNC hit 46.7% from the field for the game, including 7-for-22 from behind the arc. But the real difference in the stats was Penn sending the Tar Heels to the line 16 extra times, with UNC scoring 11 additional points than the Quakers on the evening. North Carolina failed to cover the 32-point spread.
Kentucky didn’t find the going as easy in their opener at home in Lexington last Friday, as the Wildcats were embarrassed by Virginia Military, 111-103. Bill Gillispie, now starting his second year at Kentucky, summed the loss up in three words.
“They whipped us,” Gillispie said.
The upset loss brought back memories of last year’s 84-68 loss to Gardner-Webb in what was Gillispie’s second game at the helm of the Wildcats. The Keydets’ 111 points were the most Kentucky had allowed in 19 years. VMI guard Travis Holmes led his team with 30, including a perfect 9-for-9 from the foul line. The Keydets also hit on 14 of their 31 long range bombs.
Jodie Meeks (Jr., 6-4) led all scorers with 39 for Kentucky, and helped fuel a valiant comeback in the final 14 minutes that saw the Wildcats use a 19-0 run to cut what had been a 20-point VMI lead down to just one. Kentucky would eventually take their first lead of the game with under five minutes left, but VMI fought back and ended the game scoring the final seven points of the contest.
The Wildcats turned the ball over 25 times and came in with just six steals while the Keydets suffered just 14 turnovers opposite 13 steals.
The two schools last met on the hardwood at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena on Dec 1, 2007, with the Tar Heels taking an 86-77 triumph. Like tonight, North Carolina was ranked No. 1 entering that game. The line this evening finds UNC as 16-point favorites without both Hansbrough and fellow senior Marcus Ginyard who will be out until next month following foot surgery.