After Saturday’s convincing 77-65 win over the Temple Owls at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, the Texas Longhorns are riding high at 9-2 as they arrive in Chapel Hill to take on one of the nation’s most complete teams this season, the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The unranked Longhorns are up against one of the nation’s deepest teams, led by future NBA 1st-rounders John Henson and Harrison Barnes. The Tar Heels are currently averaging 85.3 ppg, and shoot a blistering 49.3 percent from the field.
Most importantly, North Carolina is averaging 42.5 rebounds per game, and has a dominating interior presence led by Henson and senior center Tyler Zeller.
First-tier point guard Kendall Marshall handles the ball for Carolina and has been one of the nation’s most prolific setup men throughout the course of the early 2011-2012 season, averaging 10.2 assists per game and less than 3 turnovers per game.
For Texas to have any chance at upsetting the Tar Heels on their home court, there are a couple of things that must happen:
1. Texas must control– or at least limit– production from Carolina’s bigs.
While Jaylen Bond, Clint Chapman, and Alexis Wangmene do not have the skill set of Henson and Zeller, they each have individual abilities which could be a frustration factor for the two Carolina big men.
Bond’s toughness, grit, and willingness to do dirty work could certainly annoy Henson, who would prefer to shoot jumpers on the perimeter rather than fight it out in the paint. Wangmene’s strength could provide equal frustration to Henson, but not Zeller, who is willing to go toe-to-toe with just about anyone.
Clint Chapman could be the X-Factor on the interior for Texas this evening. A new found grit and determination on the boards has made Chapman a valuable asset in recent games– his best performance coming this past Saturday in pulling 13 boards down against Temple.
If Texas can control the interior production from Henson and Zeller, it could go a long way toward helping an upset become reality this evening.
2. Myck Kabongo must win the battle of the guards against Kendall Marshall.
There is little doubt left that Myck Kabongo is the leader of the 2011 Texas Longhorns. Sure, J’Covan Brown is, and will be, the team’s leading scorer throught the season, but his opportunities– as well as the remainder of the team’s opportunities– are just not there without Kabongo’s help.
This Texas team does not have the shot creators it has had in the past, and therefore is dependant on Kabongo creating space through dribble penetration and speed to create scoring chances.
Kendall Marshall is a solid defender, but doesn’t necessarily have the speed to stay with Kabongo over the course of a fast-paced game. Conversely, Kabongo must find a way to pressure Marshall into turnovers and get him out of the groove that has made him one of the country’s most productive and efficient point guards to this point in the young season.
If Kabongo can control pace and keep Texas moving tonight, it will go a long way in equalizing North Carolina’s advantage in the paint and open up the game for the Longhorns.
The Texas Longhorns can beat North Carolina at home. The discrepancy in talent isn’t that large, and Rick Barnes’ squad has been impressive in recent weeks.
Whether they will win depends on their ability to manage the adrenaline rush of playing in a Carolina environment, the Texas bigs’ success inside, and Myck Kabongo’s performance.
Buy Texas Longhorns Football Tickets | Buy Texas Longhorns Football Apparel
I would like to say this is the best blog that I have ever come across. Very informative. Please write more so we can get more details.