The tale of a good and bad weekend.
If you are a Tar Heel fan, Saturday was your kind of day. Basketball gave you that rare chance for a doubleheader, a big win over Virginia and one of those rare, surprise losses by Duke.
It begs the age-old question of which gives you more glee?
After a disappointing night at Notre Dame Wednesday, Hubert Davis’ team had its best showing of the season by finally beating Virginia, which UNC hadn’t done since Roy Williams’ last national championship year and hadn’t scored 70 points in beating the Wahoos since 2016.
In this day of social media, the players had to be reading the bad digital posts they were getting. The most outlandish were already calling for Hubert’s job 15 games into his first season as head coach and with an 11-4 record. Let’s get a grip, people.
Carolina picked apart the Cavaliers like a two low-post offense could not do the last four years, since Brady Manek and Caleb Love can shoot the ball from outside and drive the open lanes that proper spacing can provide. Dawson Garcia may get his starting position back when he recovers from a concussion, but plus-minus analytics clearly show that the Manek-Bacot-Love-Davis-Black five is the most effective offensive lineup for the Heels
Later, I tuned into the Miami-Duke game just to see the ACC-undefeated Hurricanes. They are very good, with a ball-handling and shooting efficiency that makes up for a lack of size and rebounding. The U won in the last minute to stun the Cameron Crazies and looks to make Carolina’s trip to Miami next Tuesday more daunting than first thought.
So flush off that win-lose double dip that went my way, I awaited Sunday’s NFL games with great anticipation. Turns out my two favorite football teams had the same awful endings to their regular seasons.
The Tar Heels had already lost three of their last four to finish 6-7 and trigger a partial house cleaning of defensive coaches. The Patriots, once in position for the top seed in the AFC East, also lost the third of their last four and face a short return to the playoffs by having to go to Buffalo.
The playoff brackets hung in the balance until the Raiders overcame incredible odds to get in by beating the Chargers in overtime. If that kick had missed, the Pats would have been “on to Cincinnati” with a better chance of advancing than in freezing temps where Bills fans absolutely hate their guts.
Photo via Todd Melet.
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