This game went kind of how I expected, except for the volume of points, I thought with the way UNC had been playing defense as of late (the opponent hasn't scored 70+ the past four games) and Sacramento State's offensive struggles this year (ranked 315th in the nation with 61.6 points per game) that this would be a game in the 50's or 60's rather than the 70's. Not quite a piece of art, but a win is a win, especially on the road in the conference....
Obviously, you got to give credit to Beitzel, he got his and made big shots all night. But I thought Elliott Lloyd was the reason we won the game, while he had 5 turnovers and seemed to struggle a bit against the press, he hit big threes and hit those clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. The dude's a player right now, but he's got a chance to be real special by the time his career here is done....
Defensively, we looked a step slow. The Hornets two big time players, Dickson and Toles-Bey got to the line a combined 23 times. That, coupled with Toles-Bey's threes in the second half, was the main reason they hung around....
Also, Kaba is a dynamic player, but he has an affinity of getting into foul trouble at times. He was never a major factor tonight as he was dealing with that problem for most of the game. The biggest weakness on this team is lack of depth, so our rotation guys must stay away from committing dumb fouls and start to move their feet on the defensive end, or that lack of depth will be exposed....
Big game against Weber on Saturday. They had a tough road loss tonight at Portland State. While they aren't nearly as good on paper without Lillard they are still a very well-coached, solid basketball team. Sure, they're not the favorite in the conference anymore, but they are still a contender. And Randy Rahe's teams don't lose two in a row all that often, so UNC will need a more focused effort, especially on the defensive end to come away with a win Saturday night in front of (hopefully) a rocking crowd at Butler-Hancock.
Go Bears!
Obviously, you got to give credit to Beitzel, he got his and made big shots all night. But I thought Elliott Lloyd was the reason we won the game, while he had 5 turnovers and seemed to struggle a bit against the press, he hit big threes and hit those clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. The dude's a player right now, but he's got a chance to be real special by the time his career here is done....
Defensively, we looked a step slow. The Hornets two big time players, Dickson and Toles-Bey got to the line a combined 23 times. That, coupled with Toles-Bey's threes in the second half, was the main reason they hung around....
Also, Kaba is a dynamic player, but he has an affinity of getting into foul trouble at times. He was never a major factor tonight as he was dealing with that problem for most of the game. The biggest weakness on this team is lack of depth, so our rotation guys must stay away from committing dumb fouls and start to move their feet on the defensive end, or that lack of depth will be exposed....
Big game against Weber on Saturday. They had a tough road loss tonight at Portland State. While they aren't nearly as good on paper without Lillard they are still a very well-coached, solid basketball team. Sure, they're not the favorite in the conference anymore, but they are still a contender. And Randy Rahe's teams don't lose two in a row all that often, so UNC will need a more focused effort, especially on the defensive end to come away with a win Saturday night in front of (hopefully) a rocking crowd at Butler-Hancock.
Go Bears!
