#1 North Carolina Tar Heels vs. #3 Louisville Cardinals
9:05 pm, CBS
What North Carolina must do
Take care of the ball and push it. North Carolina has no problem pushing the ball, but it must take care of it against Louisville’s press otherwise the Cardinals will shove the ball back down their throats. The Cardinals thrive off their press and forcing bad, quick jump shots. If the Tar Heels take care of the ball and push it up the court, it will get some great looks at the rim. Louisville is tough when they set its 2-3 zone even against teams that can shoot because of the Cardinals length and athleticism.
What Louisville must do
Take it hard to the rim. If Louisville hits their shots, then they are nearly impossible to beat. I know this applies with any team, but it especially applies with Louisville because this is a team that tends to get very jump shot happy. It showed against Tennessee as the team was very aggressive early, then took a lot of jump shots to let Tennessee get back in it and then went back to being aggressive to blow the game open. Louisville doesn’t have great shooters, but does have great athletes who will be able to get to the rim at will against UNC.
Gamebreaker
Terrence Williams. Louisville will not be able to win this game without a great performance from this guy. He is a very streaky shooter, so if he shoots well, say goodnight to Carolina. But even if he isn’t shooting the ball great, nobody on North Carolina, not even its best defender Marcus Ginyard, can match up with the length, athleticism and explosiveness of Williams. He must assert himself as a major force early in the game and then break the game open late.
Region Winner
I want to take Louisville so bad, but I just don’t see North Carolina losing in Charlotte. I know people say that the Tar Heels have lost twice at home, but those games seem so far away. North Carolina is playing too well at this time of the year to virtually lose a home game.