Lawson Better? Hansbrough better than JJ?

In what could be the best birthday present of all time (today is my birthday and St. Paddy’s) I just came across a column on ESPN.com that said Ty Lawson is expected to play this weekend.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

It’s become no secret that the ACC player of the year is the key to the Heels winning the championship, but now that he’s probably back, what are other teams gonna do about it? Nothing!

I shouldn’t gloat this early in the tournament. I really shouldn’t

In other very important news, Hansbrough is just two points behind JJ Redick for the carrer ACC scoring record. So unless he manages to score less than three points against No. 16 seed Radford, he’s got it.

How sweet it is. When Gay J stayed for four seasons and set the record I had no idea how long it would be before another very talented player would decide to stay that long. It would be virtually impossible to break that record even in three years. Enter Psycho T. It’s great to be a Carolina fan. It really is.

GO HEELS!

Tar Heels Outlast Hokies

 79-76

WHEW!

UNC’s opening round ACC tournament game was not the type to try and sit quietly and watch on your computer at work. But thanks to Raycom, the local N.C. sports netowrk, I was able to do so for this close one.

Playing without Lawson, it was easy for many to predict this would be a tough game. Va. Tech ain’t bad. And anytime you play without the conference playerof the year it’s going to be a different ballgame

I was fighting urges to slam my monitor into the cubicle wall for the first half and decided it’d be better to go out for my lunch break for the second. I went to Timberlake’s, a bar on Conn. Ave. near work, and was thwarted in my attempts by the odd fact that they did not get ESPN2. On channel 8 instead was ESPN News. Strange, but nonetheless unacceptable. A coworker and I moved to Buca di Beppo ,which is a chain Italian restaurant in the same building as my office.

Finally the cheers could fly, and it turned out the only other people eating at the bar at 1 p.m. were Hokies fans. Excellent.

Psycho’s back, baby! Hansbrough played tough and got really into the game, pumping his fists on that last jumpball call and cheering hard on his way to the locker room. If the team starts to feed off his energy it will be really fun to watch.

I havent’ yet checked in on the Ty Law situation, but I can see him sitting out another game. Of course I’d be much happier if he were back to the floor tomorrow, but there is a bigger prize than the ACC tournament on the horizon after all.

Overall, today was a gutsy, great win against a tough team that was fighting for its postseason life. If Maryland wins again today, they would probably have a better change of making the Big Dance than Va. Tech, but strange things always seem to happen so the Hokies should probably at least watch the selection show — albeit with low expectations.

Considering Carolina never led by more than three, I thought it showed that the team is ready to be challenged on the road to the Final Four. At times this season I’ve questioned their motivation and hussle, but today was different. They never lost sight of the win, even in this game that was not a must win for the NCAA title. Having probably safely secured a No. 1 seed, UNC could have let this one go, rested up and gotten healthy for next weekend, but where would the fun in that be?

Let’s Go HEELS!

UNC Wins ACC

It’s time to feed the blog. Other than general laziness, I haven’t updated because I’ve been consumed with the Tar Heels win on Sunday, and subsequent ACC regular season crown. Friends and I once again patronized (as in were patrons of) Crystal City Sports Pub for the game, which has proven to be a great place because of all the UNC fans it attracts. (It’s the alumni association’s bar – go figure)

We wanted to make sure we got some good seats so we got there about four hours before game time. Needless to say we were some of the few people there that early, and our tab was exorbitant. You can do a lot of damage in about six hours of drinking.

Hansbrough’s senior speech was apprently long and misty, and I wish I could have heard the whole thing. Let me know if any of you readers can find it online. Ty Lawson I think solidified himself as ACC player of the year by almost logging a triple-double – eight boards and nine assists! After the countless blue cups and cheers and curses, order had been restored. The Heels won the ACC and took over the No. 1 ranking in both polls.

Now as for that elusive No. 1 overall seed, it’s tough to say whether the Heels will get it even if they win the ACC tourney. It could be argued that if Pitt or Louisville manages to win the Big East Tournament that they should be the No. 1 overall. Pitt because they would have beaten UConn three times (once in BE tourney) and then possibly Louisville, the regular season champs, and Louisville because they would have pulled off winning the toughest (arguably) conference’s season and tournament. UConn should get a No. 1 seed, but I’m not sure they can get the No. 1 overall anymore after getting swept by Pitt in the regular season. So much to think about, and only a week until March Madness.

God, I love my birth month.

I’ve got some homebrewing mishaps to talk about another day when I’m not as busy.

Good and Bad News About N.C. State Game

 

So it appears likely Zeller will be joining the team for the N.C. State game tonight, according to the Daily Tar Heel. If you read the story, feast your eyes on how the staff picked the Heels as having the edge in every facet of the game. When I was at UNC, they typically would give the edge in at least one facet to the opposition, even with last year’s team. Nice.

But, as I was scanning the game notes on tarheelblue.com, I found that Hansbrough might have suffered a concussion in the Miami game and could have to sit out.

That’s  no good! Any team would miss a reining national player of the year, but Hans dropped 31 on State last game (Jan. 31). Not saying it takes a 30+ point burst by Hans to beat them, but it doesn’t hurt. 

Both players are TBA, so that leaves four possible combinations of Tylers that could appear tonight: 1) Zeller and Hansbrough, 2) Zeller but no Hansbrough, 3) Hansbrough with no Zeller or 4) No Hansbrough, No Zeller.

We certainly don’t want combo No. 4, but the most exciting thing about this game for me is the chance to see Zeller play again. All I saw was the 20 minutes or so of the Kentucky game before he broke his wrist (I couldn’t pick up the Penn game). He’s supposed to be more offensively talented than Ed Davis, though not as good as Davis defensively. Let Psycho T rest if he needs it. I’m hoping for combination No. 1 or No. 2. tonight, and combo No. 1 for the rest of the season.

Another interesting stat from the game notes: Ty Lawson has shot 57.6 percent from three in the Heels current 9-game winning streak. That’s all in ACC play. What’s better? He has 52 steals on the season to 47 turnovers. No starting point guard has had more steals than turnovers for UNC since turnovers began being tracked in 1980, just more fuel for the Lawson-for-player-of-the-year fire.

I found the picture on State’s athletics Web site. I swear.