North Carolina coach Roy Williams will need his small lineup to play big against Villanova. ROY WILLIAMS
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina will begin play on Friday in the NCAA tournament in Kansas City. The Tar Heels, seeded eighth in the South Region, will play against No. 9 Villanova. The winner would likely play against Kansas, the region’s top seed, on Sunday.
The possibility of a UNC-Kansas game in the round of 32 is intriguing. It probably has the TV people excited. After all, Tar Heels coach Roy Williams spent 15 seasons as the Jayhawks’ head coach. But first things first. And first up for UNC is Villanova.
Some things to know about the Wildcats:
Villanova Wildcats
Record: 20-13 (10-8 Big East)
Last 10: 6-4
RPI: 51
Good wins (against top-50 RPI teams): 73-64 vs. Louisville on Jan. 22; 75-71 vs. Syracuse on Jan. 26; 70-61 at Connecticut on Feb. 16; 60-56 vs. Marquette on Feb. 23; 67-57 vs. Georgetown on March 6.
Bad losses (against sub-100 RPI teams): 75-57 vs. Columbia on Nov. 20; 66-65 at Seton Hall on Feb. 25.
Starting five
F Mouphtaou Yarou, 6-10/250, 9.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg
F JayVaughn Pinkston, 6-6/240, 13.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg
G James Bell, 6-6/225, 8.7 ppg, 4.2 ppg
G Ryan Arcidiacono, 6-3/195, 12 ppg, 3.5 apg
G Darrun Hilliard, 6-6/205, 11.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Other players to know
F Daniel Ochefu, 6-11/245, 3.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg
F Maurice Sutton, 6-11/225, 3.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
G Tony Chennault, 6-2/195, 3.6 rpg, 4.1 rpg
G Achraf Yacoubou, 6-4/210, 2.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Things Villanova does well:
--Get to the free throw line. The Wildcats lead the nation in free throws made (626) and attempts (870).
--Defensive rebounding. The Wildcats’ defensive rebounding percentage of 70.9 leads the Big East.
Things Villanova doesn’t do well:
--Take care of the ball. The Wildcats’ 517 turnovers are 12th-most in the country.
--Keep opponents off the free throw line. The 713 free throw attempts Villanova allowed were most in Big East.
Number to know:
6. During the regular season, Villanova was 14-1 when it made six or more 3-pointers. When they made less than six 3-pointers, the Wildcats were 5-11.
Cause for concern for UNC:
The Wildcats have plenty of size. The starting lineup isn’t all that tall, but JayVaughn Pinkston is a load inside at power forward, and Mouphtaou Yarou will be a physical challenge for James Michael McAdoo. The Wildcats also bring two 6-foot-11 forwards off the bench.
Comments
I would add, if we play
Fri, 03/22/2013 - 16:53 — unc098I would add, if we play defensively as well as we did in the past month and create points off turnovers ( as you say ) we will be fine. Defensively, putting pressure on the perimeter and taking away the 3 will be huge. I like our chances in this game. If the Heels shoot well ( as you say ) we get to play Kansas.
If the Heels shoot well
Fri, 03/22/2013 - 20:13 — gvillegatrThe Heels will punch their ticket to Atlanta and the FF. Seriously.
KU
Sat, 03/23/2013 - 16:14 — SurferWe seriously need a bad game from KU. We also need to shoot at a high percentage, limit the turnovers and eliminate those occasional mental lapses of non-profeciency.
Ku
Sat, 03/23/2013 - 22:40 — gvillegatrThey show lapses and flat shooting from time to time as well. Not to mention their conference has clearly shown that they are overrated. I think we'll all be a happy bunch about 730pm Sunday night.
KU
Sat, 03/23/2013 - 16:14 — SurferWe seriously need a bad game from KU. We also need to shoot at a high percentage, limit the turnovers and eliminate those occasional mental lapses of non-profeciency.
Won't be easy
Mon, 03/18/2013 - 14:18 — SurferIf we can get out and run, get some easy baskets off of turnovers and shoot at a high percentage, I like our chances. But just as important will be defensive rebounding, so as to cut down on their number of opportunities.Their size could be an advantage, but so could our quickness.