It doesn't get much better than this: the No. 3 Tarheels against the No. 4 Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem. Undefeated Wake Forest is out to prove that they're the ACC's elite, while North Carolina will be out for blood after dropping their conference opener at home against Boston College. But first, let me address one issue -- the overratedness of Wake Forest. Here's a very, very young ball club that gained a nice road win against a team they were supposed to be beat and all of a sudden they're for real?
I guess being undefeated helps you climb high in the polls, but the fourth best team in the nation? I don't think so. And before you start playing the "yeah, well UNC lost to Boston College" card, Oklahoma lost to Arkansas. Syracuse lost to Cleveland State. Notre Dame lost to St. John's. Conference play is not easy and to those that said Carolina was going to run the table all the way to the national championship obviously underestimated the wear and tear of an entire season. Speaking of Boston College, that game was the worst offensive performance I've seen from North Carolina in years. I give all the credit in the world to Eagles senior guard Tyrese Rice, who held Ty Lawson in check all night on the defensive end and prevented him from getting into the lane. Lawson spent way too much time dribbling at the top of the key, and Carolina opted to yack threes instead of banging it down low. The combination of Tyler Hansbrough and Deon Thompson scored a combined 27 points. For the season, they average 40. Story of the game right there.
Tonight, Wake's sophomore point guard Jeff Teague will have his hands full with Lawson, who is much quicker and much more experienced. Truth be told, the Tarheels go as far as Lawson will take them. He was outplayed against BC and in turn the Tarheels were handed their first loss. Against Michigan State, Lawson ran the younger Kalin Lucas out of the building and the Heels won by 35 points. Transitioning into my next point, North Carolina wins big games. Hansbrough, Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all returned with the same intentions -- winning the ACC and the national championship. Do you really think they drop their first two conference games? No way. You saw the way Carolina turned things up a notch in Detroit against Sparty, look for much of the same today. The Heels are the second highest scoring team in the nation thanks to their impressive versatility. I mentioned Hansbrough and Thompson down low, then you've got Ellington and Green on the perimeter and Lawson slashing to the basket creating open jumpers for his wings. These shots have fallen 14 out of 15 times this season and I'm loving those odds tonight. The one matchup I really love is Hansbrough against the Deacons' front court. Much clumsier and less experienced, Wake is going to play as physical as possible down in the paint. This doesn't bode well seeing that Hansbrough is the best in the country at getting to the foul line and he converts at an 85 percent rate. Bottom line, I'm rolling with North Carolina because they're still the best team in the nation. They're the most complete team in every aspect of the game, they're looking to make a statement and with their upperclassmen leading the way, I like the Heels to win by 10.
PICK: North Carolina (-6.5) - 4 units
I guess being undefeated helps you climb high in the polls, but the fourth best team in the nation? I don't think so. And before you start playing the "yeah, well UNC lost to Boston College" card, Oklahoma lost to Arkansas. Syracuse lost to Cleveland State. Notre Dame lost to St. John's. Conference play is not easy and to those that said Carolina was going to run the table all the way to the national championship obviously underestimated the wear and tear of an entire season. Speaking of Boston College, that game was the worst offensive performance I've seen from North Carolina in years. I give all the credit in the world to Eagles senior guard Tyrese Rice, who held Ty Lawson in check all night on the defensive end and prevented him from getting into the lane. Lawson spent way too much time dribbling at the top of the key, and Carolina opted to yack threes instead of banging it down low. The combination of Tyler Hansbrough and Deon Thompson scored a combined 27 points. For the season, they average 40. Story of the game right there.
Tonight, Wake's sophomore point guard Jeff Teague will have his hands full with Lawson, who is much quicker and much more experienced. Truth be told, the Tarheels go as far as Lawson will take them. He was outplayed against BC and in turn the Tarheels were handed their first loss. Against Michigan State, Lawson ran the younger Kalin Lucas out of the building and the Heels won by 35 points. Transitioning into my next point, North Carolina wins big games. Hansbrough, Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all returned with the same intentions -- winning the ACC and the national championship. Do you really think they drop their first two conference games? No way. You saw the way Carolina turned things up a notch in Detroit against Sparty, look for much of the same today. The Heels are the second highest scoring team in the nation thanks to their impressive versatility. I mentioned Hansbrough and Thompson down low, then you've got Ellington and Green on the perimeter and Lawson slashing to the basket creating open jumpers for his wings. These shots have fallen 14 out of 15 times this season and I'm loving those odds tonight. The one matchup I really love is Hansbrough against the Deacons' front court. Much clumsier and less experienced, Wake is going to play as physical as possible down in the paint. This doesn't bode well seeing that Hansbrough is the best in the country at getting to the foul line and he converts at an 85 percent rate. Bottom line, I'm rolling with North Carolina because they're still the best team in the nation. They're the most complete team in every aspect of the game, they're looking to make a statement and with their upperclassmen leading the way, I like the Heels to win by 10.
PICK: North Carolina (-6.5) - 4 units
