University of North Carolina Athletics
Rutgers Game Guide
December 27, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 27, 2009
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
No. 10/10 North Carolina (9-3) will take on Rutgers (9-2) in its first game of a two-game, three-day stretch that will close out 2009. Carolina will face Albany on December 30th to close out its home non-conference schedule after the Rutgers contest on Monday night. Carolina beat Marshall 98-61 last Tuesday. Rutgers is coming off of a 66-42 win at home over St. Peter's last Tuesday. Rutgers has won six games in a row, the longest winning streak for the Scarlet Knights since 2001. This game will mark Rutgers' first true road game of the year. Carolina is 10-1 against Rutgers and has won the last ten meetings between the two schools after Rutgers took the first game in 1921.
Game Time: Rutgers at North Carolina, 8:30 PM.
Last Time: Carolina beat Rutgers in Chapel Hill, 97-75, on December 28, 2008. It was Carolina's school-record 12th straight win by double digits. Carolina's largest lead was 52-34 in the second half. Carolina shot 51.5% for the game and out-rebounded Rutgers 40-26, also forcing 19 turnovers. Rutgers did shoot 47.5% for the game. Tyler Hansbrough led Carolina with 26 points and ten rebounds. Ty Lawson had 19 points, six assists, two steals and no turnovers. Danny Green had 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and added five assists. Deon Thompson was the only other Tar Heel in double figures with 10 points. Mike Rosario led Rutgers with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Corey Chandler added 14 points, Anthony Farmer had 12 and J.R. Inman had 11.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage will begin at 7:30 PM.
Storylines
Competing: Not only is this young Carolina team trying to learn to compete against other teams, they are also starting to learn that they must compete for playing time as well. Right now, nine Tar Heels are averaging ten or more minutes and Travis Wear is close behind with 9.7. But 13 players are averaging at least six minutes and have seen significant playing time in big moments, meaning Roy Williams is still not quiet decided on who will be mainstays in the rotation. Against Marshall, ten Tar Heels saw nine or more minutes of action and Leslie McDonald and Justin Watts, both on the fringe of the rotation at this point, saw three and four minutes, respectively. Watts played 23 minutes against Presbyterian and McDonald a season-high 17, but they combined for six minutes against Texas. "There's no question that after tonight, it was very apparent the consequences that your play has out there on the court. I think that some of that might have had a little something to do with Will Graves and the way that he played today. There's no question that Coach expects that out of us and he's just trying to do whatever he can to get us to understand that and to get us to that out there on the court," Marcus Ginyard said.
Graves did seem to set the tone; after being benched, he played very well in the first half and ended with a very good game. Carolina got a season-high 45 points off of its bench against a very solid opponent. And that's all that Williams has wanted to see this season - guys that will get into the game and contribute something extra rather than just allowing a drop-off to happen. Carolina's bench has averaged 41.3 points in the last three games after averaging 25.3 in the first nine games. And the 36 bench points Carolina had against Texas were nearly the same it had in its last two games against top-25 teams combined (40). But the players haven't yet solidified who will consistently be able to play that role of a spark off the bench. "Guys haven't stepped up. That's the bottom line. It's not about coaching decisions. Guys have got to play," Williams said. "If you played the best, you were going to play the most. So guys have got to step up. ... If you get down to nine, I can play nine guys and be really comfortable and sometimes I can even play ten. It's hard to play 12. But it is, it's up to them. I've said that and believe it from the bottom of my heart that players determine who plays."
As far as competing goes, there is certainly a benefit to Carolina playing teams like Marshall and Rutgers, teams that it can't just automatically beat. But they are teams that if Carolina executes well against, it can build confidence. For awhile, it had seemed as if Carolina was only playing teams it had to play very well against to beat or teams it could simply defeat by showing up. "It just starts that ball rolling again. A team that you're not going to be able to come out and play a terrible game and still win - you're going to have to execute," Ginyard said. "You've got to play hard and play tough. It just gets us going in the right direction so that we get back, get some good work in and get a couple more out-of-conference games in and then we're right into it."
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in the Smith Center will be FM 92.7. That station will have a non-delayed feed of WCHL 1360, the local affiliate.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
ESPN2 coverage: The game will be available on ESPN2.
Names To Know
Will Graves: For the first time all season, Carolina's junior sharp-shooting ace did not get the starting nod against Marshall. He had made just 3-of-15 shots in the previous two games and had no assists, three fouls, no turnovers and averaged around 12 minutes a game. Graves responded by coming off the bench with a double-double of 13 points and ten rebounds, adding a steal, an assist and no turnovers in 18 minutes, the most he has seen since Kentucky. "I was disappointed in some things. ... so I didn't start Will and yet Will was active - I think he had six rebounds at half(time) - and was more involved, so I said, `Heck, let's play you in the second half and start you as well.' He made those two threes but I told him that I wasn't as happy about that as I was about how alert he was on the defensive end of the floor," Williams said.
And after pulling down a grand total of seven rebounds in Carolina's three games prior to Marshall, he responded to his early benching by pulling down ten boards, four offensive. "I can't remember the last time I saw Will go to the boards like he did tonight. He did a great job for us defensively as well, starting a couple of breaks with some great defensive plays," Ginyard said. What Williams and Carolina really need from Graves is for him to be as active and aggressive on defense as he is on offense. He is never going to be known as a defensive starter but somewhat like Danny Green, the plays he makes can jumpstart the team on defense. "I took him out in the first half because he really ticked me off. A guy goes and lays the ball up underhanded on the weak side and he's standing there looking at it," Williams said. "Three plays later, somebody tried to do the same thing and Deon (Thompson) blocked the shot. So I told him, it's about his activity. I gave him another chance and I thought he was more active."
There have been games this season where it has seemed that the junior was the only Tar Heel willing to take a shot and be aggressive on offense. Unfortunately, those are games that Carolina has lost - Graves has attempted 10.3 shots per game in Carolina's three losses compared to 5.9 in nine wins. Graves has also attempted 15 two-pointers in Carolina's three losses and has made one of them, despite making 9-of-16 three's (56.3%). In Carolina's nine wins, Graves has made 1.6 of 2.7 two-pointers and 0.9 of 3.2 three's. But as he has tried so hard to score in Carolina's losses, he has just two assists to two turnovers in those games and averaged just 2.3 rebounds. In nine wins, Graves averages 4.4 rebounds and has seven assists to six turnovers. He also shoots less but shoots better in Carolina wins at 41.5% compared to 29% in three losses. He showed how important he is in two wins against top-25 teams, shooting 57.1% in those games and averaging 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and an assist, making 42.9% of his three's and playing 20.5 minutes per game against Ohio State and Michigan State.
David Wear: Against Marshall, the freshman got his first career start in place of Will Graves, who had been struggling. But he had also earned that right with his play. Both he and his twin Travis are the types of players that just seem to make both fans and their coaches feel safe, knowing that more often than not, they will be where they are supposed to be. Williams felt that David had shown him he could not only be that kind of trustworthy player, but also that he is starting to really reach his potential. Against Texas and Presbyterian, he made 6-of-10 shots and averaged 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and one assist in 13.5 minutes. "David had done some nice things. David is one of those kids that I think really makes you feel good about what's going to happen with his play," Williams said.
Most freshmen might have panicked a bit with the new opportunity, jacking up shots and trying to do too much to prove they belong. But Wear attempted just one shot against Marshall that missed. He did tie his career high with five rebounds (a career-high three offensive boards) and added a steal and no turnovers in a very efficient 13 minutes. In Carolina's first seven games, he averaged 9.7 minutes but shot just 31.3% from the floor on his way to 1.7 points, one rebound, six assists and five turnovers. In the last five games, he has averaged 11.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and committed just two turnovers, shooting 61.5% from the floor and making 3-of-5 three's. "To me, he doesn't seem like he's playing that much like a freshman. He just seems a little more calm out there, feels a little more in the flow of the game than I would expect a freshman to be. I think that has a little bit to do with the way he's played," Ginyard said.
Mike Rosario: The 6-3 sophomore guard earned the praise of Roy Williams with his effort against Carolina last season and he has continued to score effectively. With the injury to Gregory Echenique, Rosario is the only player on the team who is averaging double digits with 17.7 points per game. He also averages 4.9 rebounds, good for third on the active roster. Against St. Peter's, he had a career-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting (7-of-8 on two-pointers), adding four rebounds, five assists and two steals. He had a mini-slump for three games starting with Florida (Rutgers' last loss), averaging 12.3 points and shooting 25.7% from the floor (28.6%) from beyond the arc. But he has bounced back and in Rutgers' last four games (all wins), he has shot 44.3% from the floor on his way to averaging 21.0 points. He has also made 12-of-31 three's in the last four games (38.7%) and his increased his average free-throw attempts from 4.3 to 6.5 per contest.
Hamady Ndiaye: With the absence of Echenique, a 6-9 center, the 7-0 senior Ndiaye has been called upon to start at center and he has delivered. Ndiaye leads the nation in blocked shots with a staggering 5.7 per game. He is also averaging 9.7 points per game, second behind Rosario, and 5.6 rebounds, first on the team. Ndiaye is also shooting 60 percent from the floor and has double-doubles in his four contests, including 15 points and ten blocks against St. Peter's. Since becoming a starter, his minutes have nearly doubled from 15.6 to 30.3 and his points have more than doubled from 7.1 to 14.3. His rebounds have gone up from 3.1 to 10.0 and his blocks from 4.3 to 8.3. He made 18-of-31 field goals and 14-of-28 foul shots in Rutgers' first seven games and his made 21-of-34 (61.8%) field goals and 15-of-20 (75%) free throws in the last four games since being named starter.
Quotables
"I know when (Will Graves) went in there and stole it, he didn't send somebody a frickin' e-mail. He got his (butt) in there and knocked the ball away." -Roy Williams
"With this thing on my arm right now, I can go box somebody out. He may throw my butt into the third row of the bleachers, but I can make an attempt. Now I feel like Comedy Central. It's on my bucket list - I want to be on Saturday Night Live and host the dadgum thing." -Roy Williams
Lauren Brownlow is the executive editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
