UNC Basketball: Tennessee Preview
?The 9-1 North Carolina Tar Heels return to action this afternoon against Tennessee in the Smith Center. Both teams enter the matchup coming off wins, Tennessee made 16 treys against Presbyterian, while Carolina won an ugly 83-74 game over Davidson on Wednesday. The Heels will most likely be without sensational point guard Joel Berry, as he's nursing a sprained ankle. Tennessee also enters this matchup with their own injuries as the Vols will be without Jordan Bone who has a stress fracture in his foot.
Rick Barnes is in his second with Tennessee and has the program in full rebuild mode. 8 newcomers are in the roster this season, as Barnes is trying to build Tennessee into an SEC contender. Barnes, though has a lot of success against Roy Williams Tar Heel teams dating back to his days at Texas. Those Texas teams had the size necessary to play with Carolina, this Tennessee team is smaller and likes to play up and down. The Vols also start 3 freshman so this will be their first time in an environment like the Dean Dome. I fully expect Barnes to have his team team ready to play for 40 minutes and try to secure a marquee road non conference win.
As I stayed earlier, Carolina will most likely be without Joel Berry again today, which means the other guards have to step up. Justin Jackson single handily carried the Tar Heel offense on Wednesday win 27 points, whil hitting 7 triples. Nate Britt really struggled against Davidson, missing every shot he attempted and making careless passes. I expect that the offense will flow a lot better today than it did Wednesday. One of the many advantages Carolina has is size in the post, as Tennessee plays smaller guys. The ball should find Meeks and Hicks plenty today. With all this in mind let's take a look at one thing to watch on offense, defense and a player to watch in today's matchup:
??1 Thing To Watch On Offense: Point Guard Play:
?Assuming that Joel Berry isn't available for today's game, the point guard play has to be better than it was against Davidson. Both Nate Britt and Seventh Woods really struggled making quick decisions and taking questionable shots on offense. You can make the claim that Stilman White was Carolina's best point guard against Davidson. White had a career high 6 points and really energized the team with his play off the bench. Don't think Roy Williams won't go him to today because he will. After one game without Joel Berry I expect the offense to run more smoothly today.
??1 Thing To Watch On Defense: On Ball Defense:
?Tennessee is a very young team, which means they are probably more proned to make mistakes. While the Heels will be without Joel Berry, Kenny Williams and Nate Britt are both good defenders on the perimeter. If Carolina can force turnovers in the open court, that can lead to easy points in transition.
??1 Player To Watch: Nate Britt
Comkng off an less than stellar performance Wednesday, look for Britt to have a bounce back game today.
Britt is a senior so he has experienced the up and downs that is a college basketball season. Without Joel Berry that Heels will look to Britt ignite the offensive attack, and set the tone on the defensive end.
??Prediction:
This is the highlight of the Tar Heels home non conference slate, so expect them to be ready to play. Tennessee will come in fired upnread to play in a venue like the Smith Center, but will be looking to win not just compete. At the end of the day though, Carolina even without Joel Berry has to much for the young Vols. Throw in a comment that Rick Barnes claims he can beat Roy Williams 1 on 1, expect Carolina be fired to play for their hall of Fame head coach. 82-65 Tar Heels. ?
