Carolina’s basketball season starts tonight at 10:30.
The Tar Heels are undefeated at 5-0 after beating five so-called cupcakes on their way to a No. 4 ranking in the national polls. They have won their first two games on the Hawaii swing and played three straight sterling halves. But now things get serious with pesky Oklahoma State in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.
This is the type of game that usually gives Carolina trouble. The small and quick Cowboys spread the court and will try to negate Carolina’s size with their ball handling and defense on the perimeter. They have a great scoring guard in Jawun Evans, who had 35 points including three three-pointers and 12 free throws in their Maui opener against UConn. Now the team picked seventh in the Big 12 gets a chance to knock off one of the big boys, literally, in UNC.
The Heels followed a brilliant second half against Hawaii Friday night with a 40-point win over Maui host and annual tournament patsy Chaminade. They dominated the inside behind Kennedy Meeks’ double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Hicks’ 22 points and six caroms. Third wheel in the paint, freshman Tony Bradley, added 14 and 8. That is 56 points and 24 rebounds from UNC’s three bigs.
Last time Carolina was in Maui, it lost in the semifinals to an underdog Butler team similar to Oklahoma State, which shot 46 percent against UConn and 60 percent from the three-point stripe. Like Roy Williams’ team, the Cowboys play eight or nine men double-digit minutes with the last guy listed on their box score, Jeffrey Carroll, contributing 18 points and eight rebounds off the bench. So can the Heels get out and guard Oklahoma State in the fast-paced game they prefer and then use their speed and size to dominate?
If the game is close, that is a sign that they are not as good as their record or ranking. With a victory, Carolina will face either unranked Georgetown or No. 16 Wisconsin for the Maui title. Then it’s on to the ACC-Big Ten challenge at Indiana, where the No. 3 Hoosiers are waiting. Buckle up, the hoops season is about to begin.
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