And now it’s time to get very serious about Tar Heel basketball.  

North Carolina plays Oklahoma today, a school that’s been on my personal radar all year.  I don’t think of it as the Hansbrough-Griffin game–more like the Carolina-Griffin game, as Oklahoma has relied on Blake Griffin for most of its offense this year.  Their freshman point guard, Willie Warren, is good but no Ty Lawson. Tony Crocker can have big games (like he did against Syracuse), but Wayne Ellington should be able to keep him under control.  Taylor Griffin brings senior maturity to an otherwise pretty young team.  

Carolina should win this game.  Carolina has more offensive power than Oklahoma, and they’ve been playing excellent team basketball so far in the tournament.  Oklahoma has two players who average in the double-figures; Carolina has five.  Oklahoma tends to turn the ball over, and Carolina is terrific in transition.  However, it will take strong defensive play for 40 minutes and solid games from Hansbrough, Ellington, Lawson, and Green to get past this Oklahoma team.  When those four click at the same time, Carolina can’t be beat.  Thompson and Davis both also will need to play hard underneath, and Frasor will need to bring his high-energy defense.

One interesting stat comparison worth watching in this game:  Hansbrough shoots 86% from the free throw line; Blake Griffin shoots 60%.  Griffin actually gets to the foul line more often than Hansbrough, but Hansbrough makes more free throws.

We’re at that point in the season where every possession matters, and watching a game like this is like watching the final 30 seconds for 2 hours.  It’s exhausting.

And I love it.