Tar Heels face tough test vs. Ohio St. Buckeyes
Thursday night's doubleheader from Madison Square Garden almost has that March feel with four ranked schools meeting in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. Fresh off career wins No. 800 and 801, Jim Boeheim leads the Syracuse Orange against the California Golden Bears in the opener on ESPN2. Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels take to the hardwood next against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
I love it when a plan comes together.
You might recall last week I had my eye on fading three specific teams in the early stages of the 2009-10 men’s college basketball season: The North Carolina Tar Heels, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the UCLA Bruins.
The Irish have yet to see a betting line after two non-con victories, but the Tar Heels are 1-2 ATS and the Bruins lost their season opener to Cal State Fullerton (+15). Good times.
But how will North Carolina do against a viable opponent? Grab a tasty snack and pull up a chair this Thursday night for the “2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer,” live from New York on ESPN2. We’ll see the Heels take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the nightcap of our basketball betting twinbill.
No. 24 Syracuse vs. No. 12 California
Thursday, Nov 19, 7:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
The action starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern with the Orange (2-0 SU and ATS) facing the Golden Bears (2-0 SU, 1-1 ATS) in an intriguing matchup. The Bears have already given their fans a scare by narrowly beating Murray State 75-70 as 13½-point home favorites. Syracuse, meanwhile, looked as good as ever in easy wins over cupcake opponents.
We’re not supposed to expect much from the Orange this year after they lost guard Jonny Flynn, who’s tearing it up as an NBA rookie with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Also missing are forwards Paul Harris and Kristof Ongenaet, along with guard Eric Devendorf. This level of turnover cannot be ignored, but at the same time, coach Jim Boeheim is one of the best recruiters.
The transfer of forward Wesley Johnson from Iowa State gives Boeheim exactly the kind of wing player he needs to replace Harris in his 2-3 zone defense. Superfrosh Brandon Triche is in like Flynn at point guard; his profile coming out of high school was dimmed somewhat by a torn ACL, but he’s healthy now and has more than adequate power and smarts for the job.
The classic strategy to beat the betting odds would be to fade the established team, and that would be Cal in this case. The Bears are looking to fill the Pac-10 vacuum left by the decline of UCLA and USC; they’re pegged to battle the Washington Huskies for the conference title. The only loss of note from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad is center Jordan Wilkes, who has been replaced by JUCO-transfer Markhuri Sanders-Frison.
The focus will be on the gifted senior point guard Jerome Randle (18.3 points, 5.0 assists per game last year) in the Cal backcourt. However, at 5-foot-10, Randle is six inches shorter than Triche. This should be a very competitive ball game.
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 15 Ohio State
Thursday, Nov 19, 9:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
Unlike Syracuse, the 3-0 Tar Heels are getting lots of preseason hype despite losing the core of their championship team from last year: guards Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, plus forwards Danny Green and 2008 Wooden Award-winner Tyler Hansbrough.
Roy Williams is a legendary coach and recruiter; he’s brining in one of the very best group of freshmen in the nation this year, led by 6-foot-10 forward John Henson. But the backcourt is relatively thin, and this team will make mistakes, as it did in Sunday’s 88-77 victory over Valparaiso (+23).
Compare and contrast with Ohio State (2-0 SU and ATS). The Buckeyes have all of their starters from last year. The one player they don’t have is center B.J. Mullens, who followed the trend of one-and-done big men started by Greg Oden in 2007 and Kosta Koufos in 2008. The 5-spot will be manned by senior Kyle Madsen and UAB transfer Zisis Sarikopoulos, who looked very promising playing for Olympiakos in Greece.
The rest of the team is armed and dangerous. Swingman Evan Turner (17.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists per game last year) should be the best player on the floor Sunday and a serious threat to North Carolina’s depleted backcourt. Again, should be a barnburner.
Thursday night's doubleheader from Madison Square Garden almost has that March feel with four ranked schools meeting in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. Fresh off career wins No. 800 and 801, Jim Boeheim leads the Syracuse Orange against the California Golden Bears in the opener on ESPN2. Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels take to the hardwood next against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
I love it when a plan comes together.
You might recall last week I had my eye on fading three specific teams in the early stages of the 2009-10 men’s college basketball season: The North Carolina Tar Heels, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the UCLA Bruins.
The Irish have yet to see a betting line after two non-con victories, but the Tar Heels are 1-2 ATS and the Bruins lost their season opener to Cal State Fullerton (+15). Good times.
But how will North Carolina do against a viable opponent? Grab a tasty snack and pull up a chair this Thursday night for the “2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer,” live from New York on ESPN2. We’ll see the Heels take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the nightcap of our basketball betting twinbill.
No. 24 Syracuse vs. No. 12 California
Thursday, Nov 19, 7:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
The action starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern with the Orange (2-0 SU and ATS) facing the Golden Bears (2-0 SU, 1-1 ATS) in an intriguing matchup. The Bears have already given their fans a scare by narrowly beating Murray State 75-70 as 13½-point home favorites. Syracuse, meanwhile, looked as good as ever in easy wins over cupcake opponents.
We’re not supposed to expect much from the Orange this year after they lost guard Jonny Flynn, who’s tearing it up as an NBA rookie with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Also missing are forwards Paul Harris and Kristof Ongenaet, along with guard Eric Devendorf. This level of turnover cannot be ignored, but at the same time, coach Jim Boeheim is one of the best recruiters.
The transfer of forward Wesley Johnson from Iowa State gives Boeheim exactly the kind of wing player he needs to replace Harris in his 2-3 zone defense. Superfrosh Brandon Triche is in like Flynn at point guard; his profile coming out of high school was dimmed somewhat by a torn ACL, but he’s healthy now and has more than adequate power and smarts for the job.
The classic strategy to beat the betting odds would be to fade the established team, and that would be Cal in this case. The Bears are looking to fill the Pac-10 vacuum left by the decline of UCLA and USC; they’re pegged to battle the Washington Huskies for the conference title. The only loss of note from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad is center Jordan Wilkes, who has been replaced by JUCO-transfer Markhuri Sanders-Frison.
The focus will be on the gifted senior point guard Jerome Randle (18.3 points, 5.0 assists per game last year) in the Cal backcourt. However, at 5-foot-10, Randle is six inches shorter than Triche. This should be a very competitive ball game.
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 15 Ohio State
Thursday, Nov 19, 9:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
Unlike Syracuse, the 3-0 Tar Heels are getting lots of preseason hype despite losing the core of their championship team from last year: guards Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, plus forwards Danny Green and 2008 Wooden Award-winner Tyler Hansbrough.
Roy Williams is a legendary coach and recruiter; he’s brining in one of the very best group of freshmen in the nation this year, led by 6-foot-10 forward John Henson. But the backcourt is relatively thin, and this team will make mistakes, as it did in Sunday’s 88-77 victory over Valparaiso (+23).
Compare and contrast with Ohio State (2-0 SU and ATS). The Buckeyes have all of their starters from last year. The one player they don’t have is center B.J. Mullens, who followed the trend of one-and-done big men started by Greg Oden in 2007 and Kosta Koufos in 2008. The 5-spot will be manned by senior Kyle Madsen and UAB transfer Zisis Sarikopoulos, who looked very promising playing for Olympiakos in Greece.
The rest of the team is armed and dangerous. Swingman Evan Turner (17.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists per game last year) should be the best player on the floor Sunday and a serious threat to North Carolina’s depleted backcourt. Again, should be a barnburner.
