Schonhose

Right from the opening tip UNC played with a lot of intensity despite point guard Ty Lawson still being out with a toe injury. Before the game it was announced Tyler Hansbrough needed 3 more points to become the ACC all-time leading scorer. It took about 3-4 minutes into the game before Tyler converted a layup to tie the score. After getting fouled he earned a trip to the line where he made both shots to become the All-time leading scorer. He would finish with 22 points with 12-for-12 from the foulline.

Roy Williams said after the game: “The pace of the game, and the number of big guys that we could run in there perhaps tired them out a little bit. That’s what we try to do all the time, try to make the pace and stamina a question mark.” It sure was fun to watch (that is, right up to the point where my internet connection wasn’t working anymore )

One guy that has impressed me (all season) was Ed Davis, the freshman from Richmond, VA. He has developed into a real nice presence underneath the basket, finishing the game with 15 points and 4 blocked shots in 19 minutes of burn. Danny Green managed to notch a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Wayne Ellington came two rebounds short to achieve the double-double.

UNC cruised to an easy victory: 101 – 58 and will play the next game on saturday against LSU. Lets hope Ty will be able to play in that game, he’ll be a welcome addition.

It is that time of the year again: March Madness has finally arrived. And as always I look to support the University of North Carolina men’s basketball team. This year they have earned a No. 1 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and will open play on Thursday against No. 16 seed Radford (21-11) in Greensboro, N.C.

I’ll hope to catch some games online through the March Madness on demand: Watch live games from the 2009 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship online for free.

Here is the Printable NCAA Tournament Bracket (.pdf) (located on the UNC site).

Tonight UNC failed to win the Final Four game against Kansas. Basically the game was decided in the first half when Kansas had the largest lead of 28 points (40-12). UNC was unable to match the intensity of Kansas. Every loose ball was collected by Kansas and some nice defensive stops where made. However, North Carolina had a great comeback, starting in the first half to cut it to 4 in the second half.

Unfortunately UNC ran out of gas and Kansas had some luck making some shots. UNC tried to claw their way back by shooting threes but the shots didn’t fell. Again I was amazed by the toughness of this UNC team, coming back the way they did.

Because of the missed threes Kansas played smart and had a couple of easy baskets in the last 2 minutes. That makes the final score 84 – 66 which looks like an easy win. It wasn’t and UNC fought and nearly managed to make the greatest comeback in sports history. An awesome run had come to an end, a run that should have gone much farther. UNC definitely would have had a shot in winning not only this game but the title this year if only Kansas didn’t jump to that 28 point lead.

On monday night Kansas will take on Memphis in the finals of the 2008 NCAA tournament. Although I plan to watch that game I doubt that I will watch it live again. The next couple of days will be interesting. I wonder what some UNC players will do, will they enter the NBA draft or stay another year? We just have to wait and see.

I once again applaud Roy Williams, his staff and of course the 2008 North Carolina team for an awesome run. Thanks guys!

Today I got up at 2 am in the morning to watch the UNC – Louisville game on NCAA March Madness on Demand. It was really cool to watch a college game live (finally, we never see those games here).

The first half was really exiting with UNC easily breaking both Louisville press and 2-3 zone. UNC hit the offensive boards real well and cruised out to a comfortable 12 point lead at the half.

At the start of the second half Louisville put down a nice little run and actually cut down the lead. Most of the second half the teams were trading baskets until the last 5 minutes of the game. Clark from Louisville made three consecutive travel violations and Tyler Hansbrough from UNC was amazing taking the Tarheels on his back towards the Final 4. I really love Tyler’s style and heart. He never gives up.

The last minutes of the game Louisville sends UNC to the freethrow line on numerous occasions. UNC was shooting 16-19 at that point from the line so no problem there.

UNC wins 83 -73 and Hansbrough was the highpoint man with 28 points and 13 rebounds.