Unc - Uk

dlb · 12-02-2006, 06:29 PM

Today, KY affirmed what Gonzaga demonstrated just a little over a week ago: if you have a good big man and at least one other person to help out, you can neutralize Tyler Hansbrough. However, they did not prove that this is the path to victory against the Tar Heels. If anything, it looked like the Carolina kids may have learned a little from the Gonzaga experience and were able to respond to the shut down of their purported superstar.

Looking at the box score, it appears that Hansbrough was ineffective: 2-10 shooting; only 6 FTs; and a meager 3 rebounds. Looking at the game, though, it appeared that the attention required to keep Tyler tied up freed other players to step up. In the box score, this shows up as 12 shots each for Terry and Wright; with Terry going 4-6 from 3pt range and Wright shooting a very respectable 58 percent.

The 'Heels were most impressive on the defensive end, holding KY to a paltry 63 points on 93 opportunities (.68 points per opportunity). A large part of that defensive success was due to an exceptionally high turnover ratio for the 'Cats - 23.6%. This stat, along with poor shooting by everyone on the KY squad except Morris and Perry, more than made up for the Wildcats' small advantage in rebounding.

The quick take on this game is the obvious point - Carolina has a lot of weapons. You can't win by just stopping one player. Even if you shut down the offense, their defense might still win the game for them. This team is a mighty tough out. Gonzaga's win might look more and more impressive as the season progresses.

12-02-2006, 06:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
dlb Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 4,607	Unc - Uk Today, KY affirmed what Gonzaga demonstrated just a little over a week ago: if you have a good big man and at least one other person to help out, you can neutralize Tyler Hansbrough. However, they did not prove that this is the path to victory against the Tar Heels. If anything, it looked like the Carolina kids may have learned a little from the Gonzaga experience and were able to respond to the shut down of their purported superstar. Looking at the box score, it appears that Hansbrough was ineffective: 2-10 shooting; only 6 FTs; and a meager 3 rebounds. Looking at the game, though, it appeared that the attention required to keep Tyler tied up freed other players to step up. In the box score, this shows up as 12 shots each for Terry and Wright; with Terry going 4-6 from 3pt range and Wright shooting a very respectable 58 percent. The 'Heels were most impressive on the defensive end, holding KY to a paltry 63 points on 93 opportunities (.68 points per opportunity). A large part of that defensive success was due to an exceptionally high turnover ratio for the 'Cats - 23.6%. This stat, along with poor shooting by everyone on the KY squad except Morris and Perry, more than made up for the Wildcats' small advantage in rebounding. The quick take on this game is the obvious point - Carolina has a lot of weapons. You can't win by just stopping one player. Even if you shut down the offense, their defense might still win the game for them. This team is a mighty tough out. Gonzaga's win might look more and more impressive as the season progresses. Last edited by dlb; 12-02-2006 at 06:31 PM.