Are Elon and Furman enough to get ready for UCLA?
Let’s excuse the lousy exhibition Saturday night in the 17-point win over Elon because the Tar Heels had a week of exams and not the usual practice time.
So, they again followed up a hot second half against Georgia Tech with a cold first half against the Phoenix, hitting 29 percent in a lackluster 20 minutes. They did respond by shooting 52 percent in the second half and holding off 2-7 Elon to go 7-2 on their record.
The question is can Carolina get enough of its mojo back Tuesday night against 7-3 Furman, which has a win over Louisville, to help against No. 4 UCLA at the CBS Sports Classic Saturday in Las Vegas on national television that could thrust UNC back into the rankings with what would be the best quality win to date.
Early season basketball is a slippery slope for the Power 5 schools that have a couple of tough games but mostly cupcakes to build their win totals. How much do those sure wins help them get ready for the tougher opponents?
Purdue, for example, climbed to No. 1 in the polls by winning the Hall of Fame Tip-off tournament with victories over Carolina and Villanova, combined with Duke’s upset of Gonzaga. Then the Boilers lost at Big Ten spoiler Rutgers on a half-court buzzer beater.
The Tar Heels will beat the Paladins but will they do it in a manner that truly gets them ready for the Bruins in Vegas. They need to do that by intensifying their defense and sharing the ball like they did in Atlanta where they recorded 21 assists on 31 baskets.
That should have continued Saturday night at the Dome against an overmatched opponent, but did not. The numbers wound up good with a huge rebounding advantage, 23 points off turnovers and 19 fast-break points. But, bottom line, this game needed to be a blowout.
While UCLA reached the Final Four last year, it might have proved overrated when the Zags blew out the Bruins at the same T-Mobile Arena. I’ll talk more about them later this week, after we see if Carolina got anything from beating Furman.
These games are important in the win column, but need to be better used than vs. Elon. This one has to be a victory that truly benefits the Heels three days later.
Photo via Todd Melet.
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Interesting to note that the NCAA rules committee instituted the Kenny Pickett rule – fake a slide the ball is dead. Perhaps they will also make it unsportsmanlike conduct for the D line to clap at the line of scrimmage in an attempt to disrupt the O team’s ability to call a play.