Heel Tough Blog: Wyoming Preview
After two wins over SoCon teams to start the season last week, the Tar Heels will face a step up in competition tonight, when they host Wyoming out of the Mountain West Conference. Carolina routed Wofford 109-70 on Friday night, in a game that might’ve been a turning point early in the season for the Tar Heels, who are looking to find their groove under new head coach Michael Malone. In the win over the Terriers, Carolina shot over 50% from the field, 40% from behind the arc, and received 58 bench points, as Carolina’s depth is as noticeable as it’s ever been this early in the season. This game serves as the final tuneup for UNC before hosting Georgia on Friday night, in the first big home game under Malone, a year after the Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament.
Just like the Tar Heels, Wyoming has started the season 2-0, with comfortable wins over Regis University and Idaho State. The Cowboys currently have two players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Nasir Meyer (14.5) and Khaden Bennett (14.0). A strength early on this season has been their ability to limit the impact of the opponent on the glass, with their opponents averaging just 15.0 defensive rebounds per game (second fewest in college basketball) and 25.0 total rebounds (sixth fewest in college basketball). Now you have to take into account the level of competition Wyoming has played so far, but given Carolina’s struggles on the glass at times, it is worth noting. The Cowboys were picked to finish 5th in the new-look Mountain West Conference, after many schools bolted to rebuild the PAC-12.
After beating Western Carolina, Michael Malone talked about his team’s inability to sustain any sort of success in a close win over the Catamounts. That wasn’t the case against Wofford, as Carolina took a quick 7-0 lead, and the game was all but over by the first media timeout, as the Tar Heels cruised to the comfortable win. Now what we have to figure out is whether that performance is a sign of things to come, or just a flash in the pan, and not a sign of the team coming together, like a roster with 11 new players needs to do. Tonight is another opportunity for this team to continue to build positive habits you hope show up in conference play, and of course in March. Here’s what to watch for tonight against the Cowboys:
Keep Stevenson Aggressive & Get Keita Going: Jarin Stevenson set the tone against Wofford, fueling the quick 7-0 run to start the game, on his way to a 10-point, 3-rebound performance in 14 minutes of action. This team’s ceiling increases when Jarin Stevenson is looking to be aggressive as a scorer, as opposed to being passive and not impacting the game on that end of the floor. On the flip side, Carolina also needs to get Sayon Keita involved in the half-court offense, or pretty soon, UNC could be playing 4-on-5 offensively. Keita has been tremendous defensively, especially in the pick-and-roll, and the rebounding will come along, but he needs to provide some sort of a presence as a scorer, primarily as a rim runner in transition, and as a short-roller in the halfcourt. Wyoming’s roster features four players 6-9 or taller, but this is a matchup that UNC should be able to exploit.
Gang Rebound: In the win over Wofford, UNC out-rebounded the Terriers 49-42. While Maximo Adams led Carolina with 11 rebounds off the bench, what was most impressive was Carolina’s gang rebounding, with six different Tar Heels recording at least 6 rebounds. That’s the path for this team to be the best rebounding team it possibly can be, and hopefully, after the results it gave way to, generate more buy-in across the roster.
Defend Without Fouling: If there’s an area that UNC needs to clean up outside of their defensive rebounding, it’s their inability at times to defend without fouling. UNC opponents are averaging 19.5 free throws per game (311th in college basketball) and attempting 25.5 free throws per game (283rd in college basketball), something that’s not sustainable when you start to play tougher competition in non-conference play, let alone ACC play.
Series History:
Carolina is 1-0 all-time against Wyoming, with the lone win over the Cowboys coming back in 2003, in the Second Round of the NIT.
Smith Center Milestone:
Tonight’s game will mark the 600th game in the history of the Smith Center, with Carolina owning a 509-90 record all-time in the Dean Dome. In non-conference play, UNC is 243-19 in the building.
KenPom:
North Carolina - 45th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 116.0 (39th); Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 97.9 (46th)
Wyoming - 115th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 109.9 (105th); Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 104.2 (128th)
TV Info:
Tonight’s game will air on the ACC Network, with a 7 PM tip time.
The Four Corners Podcast:
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