Carolina 54, UVa 51

Whew. The Heels are fortunate to have gotten out of JPJ with a 'W.' The 'Hoos' D is tough (4th in the nation, I do believe), and it showed. A very ugly game (a friend of mine from UVa used to say: Virginia plays gator ball: they drag you down to their level and try to beat you there). Carolina got some breaks--on the calls, that is...not fast breaks, of which there were few. Scott had an off game, and was in foul trouble most of the time--largely as a result of repeatedly pushing off of Henson's face, and Virginia went cold from 3 late. Carolina's offense was all about Z and Henson. PJ hit a 3. Marshall limped back to the locker room with a sore thigh. But an ugly W is still a W.

Things continue not to jell for the Heels...but UVa's defense makes everybody look that way. We still haven't recovered from losing Dex...and, for that matter, haven't recovered from losing L-Mac. With those two, this is a deep, fast team with a wicked threat from 3 and a super-fast penetration threat/back-up PG. Without them...well...it's a struggle. Still, great guys, fun to watch. And a good win.