YYYEEEEAHHHH!!! UNC 77, Clemson 55

Why the title, you ask? Clemson’s home court is Littlejohn Coliseum; I just couldn’t resist. Anyway, UNC is, like, totally playing their biggest game in more than three days. The Virginia Tech game was simultaneously disappointing and gratifying. We can come back from a huge deficit, but we can play bad enough to get a huge deficit on the first place. Both of these teams are coming off tough losses, but UNC is really looking to redeem themselves and prove they should still be at the top of the ACC. To win, UNC will need a strong outing from their backcourt, and Clemson will need one from their bench.

Clemson has a good chance for an upset at Littlejohn, as UNC has struggled here in the past. WHAT?!?!? This looks to be a very exciting game. OHKAAAY!!! Thank you for putting up with my bad punizzle.

7:03 pm: UNC starts on defense with a great block on James Mays, but Trevor Booker gets the first basket to take a 2-0 lead.

7:06 pm: Clemson gets a steal and gets a basket on the other end. 4-0, Clemson.

7:07 pm: UNC guards continue to struggle at the beginning of the game, but Wright gets a putback for our first points. 4-2, Clemson.

7:08 pm: Terry gets a steal and gets a three point play at the other end of the court. Nice play. 5-4, UNC.

7:09 pm: Green, Thompson and Stepheson are on the court. Lawson gets a layup to make it 7-5, UNC.

7:10 pm: ESPN just showed that Clemson is 28-1 with James Mays in the lineup and 8-13 without him. he may be as indispensable as Hansbrough. Speaking of which, psycho T gets two quick fouls in the first four minutes.

7:12 pm: For now, UNC’s defense seems to be more aggressive, and thus more effective. But can they keep it up for the rest of the game?

7:15 pm: Clemson’s forwards are REALLY aggressive, but I think the Heels should fo a better job of boxing out.

Brendan Wright is at the line…and he hits 1 of 2.

7:16 pm: UNC gets another steal, and Tyler gets to the line. he hits them both. 10-5, UNC.

7:17 pm: The Tar Heel defense is NOTHING like Saturday. Against the Hokies they seemed to be sitting back and waiting for the offense to attack. Now it’s UNC doing the attacking.

Just as I say that, UNC commits two turnovers, and Clemson ties it at 10 with two quick baskets, including a three. Ugh.

7:19 pm: Q’s in the game at PG. Hansbrough hits 1 of 2. 11-10, UNC.

7:21 pm: Both defenses are playing very well. Frasor’s injury means he’s out, which also means Q will get to strut his stuff for a little while.

7:22 pm: This may be a nail-biter, but I fell a lot better about this game. At least we’re making the Tigers fight fo every basket. With our deep bench, it means we’ll have fresher legs in the second half. Which makes me think, maybe that’s why we got back in the Hokie game.

Bizarre ad alert: What is Bruce Campbell talking about?

7:25 pm: UNC has 6 turnovers already! This cannot continue. Q gets his first turnover, which makes 7. 14-13, Clemson.

7:26 pm: Deon Thompson gets a three point play. He’s a tremendous athlete.

7:28 pm: Terry hits a three. We’re really starting to click. 19-14, UNC.

7:29 pm: About Thompson: He made the transition from left tackle on football to come here, and lost 60 pounds in the process. That’s right, he’s a miniature Glen Davis, who is a miniature Shaq. They could be a Russian Doll of centers. 21-16, UNC as both teams have defensive breakdowns.

7:31 pm: Danny Green gets the inbound dunk. 23-18, UNC. The Heels are playing well, but the turnovers have got to stop.

7:34 pm: You have no idea how hard it is to accurately blog a basketball game. You’ve always got one eye on the TV and one on the keyboard, and you end up not seeing anything. That’s why I like blogging football better; at least there are log pauses to write and short downs to pay attention to.

Big news from BC: Center Sean Williams was dismissed from the team. People may dismiss the Eagles, but don’t underestimate this Eagles squad, as they still have a good nucleus and a good coach in Al Skinner; Jared Dudley will pick up the slack.

7:37 pm: Clemson has 7 field goals and 7 turnovers-ooh, make that 8 FGs. The Tigers hit a three to make it 24-22, UNC.

7:38 pm: I am so glad Tyler is being sent to the line instead of Brendan. 26-22, UNC.

7:39 pm: UNC is playing well, but what is Wes doing at the point? Brendan Wight hits another shot to make it 28-22, UNC.

7:40 pm: Wow. I didn’t expect that. Wes is running the offense pretty well, making all the right passes. 30-24, UNC.

7:42 pm: Booker misses both free throws, but UNC turns it over, but Clemson misses its opportunity and UNC gets the rebound, but their shot is blocked. I have never seen such a spectacular display of athletic ability and offensive incompetence at the same time.

7:44 pm: OK, I have to admit, at this point all ads are bizarre, but some of them are entertaining in their bizarre way. Those are the ones I highlight. The ones I’m looking at now are just bad.

7:46 pm: Green hits a three to make it 33-24, UNC. We’re finally draining it from long range. Just as I say say that, Mays hits a three to bring the lead back to 6, and Deon Thompson gets a pass at the other end of the court and drops it in and extend it to 8.

7:49 pm: Cliff Hammonds dunks over Danny Green, but the entire Clemson team shoots free throws like Brendan Wright.

7:50 pm: WAYNE’S WORLD! WAYNE’S WORLD! PARTY TIME! EXCELLENT!!! WHOOOOO!!! (guitar riff) Ellington hits a three and then Hansbrough gets a basket to make it 40-29, UNC.

7:51 pm: The ACC is so good, ESPN gives the conference its own day of the week.

7:52 pm: UNC is shooting 50% on FGs while holding Clemson to 35%. Terry hits a jumper, and then Wright gets a tip-in to make it 44-29, UNC.

7:54 pm: Hammonds gets a layup at the buzzer, but UNC still leads 44-31. As a fan, I have to feel good about a double-digit second half lead, but I’m still uneasy about this game.

8:10 pm: UNC 13 point advantage in bench points is the difference in the game.

8:11 pm: The two teams exchange quick field goals, and then Wright dunks on the Tigers. He hasn’t missed a FG shot yet. 48-33, UNC.

8:13 pm: Wayne Ellington attacks the inside and gets a basket in the paint. 50-33 UNC. Purnell has seen anough and needs to stop the bleeding.

8:17 pm: UNC gets two quick baskets between which K.C. Rivers gets his first points. 54-35, UNC. Ginyard and Green are back in the game.

8:18 pm: Out with Ty (3 fouls), in with Q. Let’s see how he plays.

8:20 pm: Q is playing well (2 good passes and a steal), but UNC is not capitalizing. The score remains 54-35, UNC.

8:23 pm: Clemson finally penetrates and Mays gets a basket. Booker gets a block on defense and gives hos Tigers the ball back.

8:25 pm: I;m pretty sure Q got 3 steals in 2 minutes. He’s doing a great job of running the team on the court. He’s a far cry from the Q who singlehandedly lost his first game in uniform vs. Santa Clara. Brendan dunks and the foul but misses from the stripe…what else is new? 56-37, UNC.

8:28 pm: Just as I say it, Q is making me look bad. UNC is still playing well, as our inside guys are doing their job. 60-41, UNC. Even as a textbook Red Sox fan, I doubt that Clemson can come back from this one.

8:33 pm: If you’re confused, a textbook Red Sox fan is paranoid and always expects the worst case scenario..like wehn my TV went black in the middle of the game just now. 62-44, UNC.

8:36 pm: What a bummer…the ESPN commentators have been shooting down my Quentin Thomas bandwagon all night. Not that he doesn’t deserve it tonight. He played well for a short stretch, but has since struggled in the second half.

8:39 pm: UNC goes up 20 off of A Hansbrough touch shot and horrendous 3-point shooting by the Tigers (3-16). 64-44, UNC.

ESPN says that the loss of Sean Willams means BC can’t win the ACC…but that’s what they said about Oklahoma football after QB Rhett Bomar was dismissed and Adrian Peterson got hurt. But they went on to win the Big 12 in 2006. Shows you how much doomsday pundits know.

8:44 pm: Brendan Wright couldn’t fix his free throw shooting, so what did he do? He put a voodoo hex on Clemson shooting from the stripe.

8:45 pm: Clemson is finally driving it inside. It was what worked in the first half, why didn’t they use it in the second half? 66-48, UNC.

8:46 pm: UNC has been missing its last few shots, and I’m beginning to get worried if UNC is letting up.

Oliver Purnell looks like Eddie Murphy lost a bet and a heavyweight fight in the same week. That’s his facial expression right now.

8:47 pm: Bizarre ad alert: SportsCenter Anchor Cam.

8:49 pm: Hansbrough gets another basket, gets a steal, and draws a foul. UNC has played so much better in this game than on Saturday, but I truly expected Clemson to play better at home tonight. 68-48, UNC.

8:53 pm: Dude! Don’t say that bad stuff about Quentin Thomas. Did you know that Q has a 3.5/1 assist-to-turnover ratio, 2nd in the ACC among PG’s? (#1 is NC State’s Engin Atsur)

By the way, UNC is up 73-48 with 2 minutes left.

8:57 pm: UNC is doing in the lead exactly what Va. Tech didn’t, they are running out the clock late in the game.

Clemson is shooting 5-19 from the line. They are shooting worse free throws than Brendan Wright in Cameron Indoor stadium being seduced by Helen Thomas.

9:00 pm: The game goes FINAL: UNC 77, Clemson 55. UNC dominated this game because they showed the intensity they didn’t show against the Hokies. This is an excellent rebound game and a stepping stone to reclaiming dominance in the ACC this season.

By the way, Q finished with 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 turnovers in 10 minutes…while Ty Lawson had 7 TOs, 4 fouls and 3 assists in 22 minutes! HA HA! So Q WAS the best point guard in this game! Hah? Hah?

UNC 82, UConn 76: UNC Wins as Huskies Get Too Greedy

UNC won a nail biter on Monday at Carmichael Auditorium against the UConn Huskies, 82-76. I attended the game out of my “journalistic obligations”, and in addition to losing my voice, I made some observations:

• UConn’s defense is opportunistic–perhaps a little too opportunistic.Uconn’s agressive play is the reason they were able to be competitive in this game, as they recorded 14 steals. At the same time, it was Ketia Swanier trying to get one steal too many that left Ivory Latta wide open for the game winning three-pointer. But I don’t blame Swanier for going after that ball. You live by the sword, and you die by the sword. Forcing turnovers is what’s going to carry the Huskies deep into March.
• Don’t let the game winning shot fool you, UNC won this game in spite of Ivory Latta. Prior to that big shot, Latta had 9 points on 3-12 shooting, 8 of UNC’s 26 turnovers and only one assist in 37 minutes. She didn’t seem to take control of the game in the second half, as the Heels allowed the Huskies to come back from 14 points down. Actually now that I think, she may not have made much of a difference even if she was playing her A game. And do you know why?

• This game was won and lost in the paint. Fans of the trifecta probably had to close their eyes for this game. This game was not fought in the perimeter by Latta vs. Swanier, but by Erlana Larkins vs. Tina Charles, Latoya Pringle vs. Brittany Hunter, and Camille Little vs. Kalana Greene. Hunter was UConn’s enforcer, getting her nose in every play on the inside, and ultimately getting 10 points and leading her team with 9 rebounds. Greene led all scorers with 23 points, all inside the 3-point line. Larkins and Charles both got into foul trouble, but Larkins ended up winning this battle, recording 15 points and 16 rebounds. That last stat is important because after Latta hit the three, Larkins made sure that UConn was given no second second chances. And Latoya Pringle was the driving force of the offense, scoring 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting. I would make a joke about her performance pertaining to a certain snack that sounds like her surname, but their catch phrase “Once You Pop, the Fun Don’t Stop” is long winded and wouldn’t be funny in this context. So I’m going to pretend that her middle name is “Lucky Charms” and say that her performance on Monday was magically delicious.

• UNC won because of Carmichael Auditorium. The place was insane Monday night. The crowd was very loud (louder than the Dean Dome), especially at the late stage of the game. The roar after Latta hit the game winning three was almost seismic. What may have been an even bigger factor was that the stadium was very, very hot. The kind of heat and humidity that you find in a North Carolina summer, one that really drags you down. Perhaps it played some in keeping the Huskies out of their element, their air-conditioned confines in Storrs. Apparently 1,200 seats were vacant on Monday, but you wouldn’t know that from watching the game. Still, this is one of the three most important home games of the year, we’re facing a perennial powerhouse, we’re undefeated, and it’s Ivory Latta’s last big nonconference game at home. How are there vacant seats? It simply boggles the mind.
• Random Thought: Rashanda McCants looks freakishly like her brother, Rashad. Seriously, look at the two photos! (Keep in mind that they have a 3 year age difference.) She looks as though Rashad was dressed as a girl! Alas, if she played well enough she might be accused of being Rashad in costume, a la Juwanna Mann.

UNC plays ACC opponents Georgia Tech and NC State at home before a huge game against the Terps in College Park on Sunday, January 28th. You can guarantee I’ll be covering that game. Tonight I will live blog UNC Men vs. Clemson, so stay tuned.