Monday's Shootaround: UNC struggles again, Texas cruises, Devin Ebanks sits out, and a Harvard buzzer beater

UNC 88, Valpo 77: Sunday offered further proof that UNC is a long way from being a team that can compete for the ACC crown and a trip to the Final Four. Yes, the Heels won by 11, but they allowed to Crusaders to slowly chip away at a 24 point second half lead. If it wasn't lazy passes, it was lazy defense or lackadaisical effort on the glass. At a certain point, you have got to believe that this was a result of being unprepared to play. Reading some quotes from the post game press conference, the theme seemed to be that the Heels weren't focused; that maybe they didn't get up for a Sunday game against Valpo.

Right now, I think the biggest issue for UNC is a lack of leadership. Guys like Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson, veterans who have been through the battles, need to get their teammates ready to play. Do you think Tyler Hansbrough would have let UNC come out flat in a game? Ever? Moreover, the Heels need somebody to step-up as a go-to scorer. They need someone they can give the ball when an opponent makes a run, knowing they will get a basket to take the momentum back.


Texas 89, UC Irvine 42: Damion James and Dexter Pittman combined to go for 42 points and 22 rebounds on 17-20 shooting to lead Texas in a game that was never really close. But we knew the 'Horns were big inside this year. The question marks were on the perimeter. Rick Barnes started three guards, with Varez Ward, Justin Mason, and J'Covan Brown joining Pittman and James. Brown was, according to Barnes, incredibly amped for this game, and it showed early on as Barnes twice had to pull Brown due to back-to-back turnovers. But Brown looked like an excellent scoring option last night. He finished with 13 points, and knocked down 3-6 threes. We'll give Brown the benefit of the doubt in this one, as he sat on the bench all last season waiting to get eligible.

Ward and Dogus Balbay also looked solid at the point for Texas, combining for 10 assists without a turnover. But neither looked good scoring the ball, as they were a combined 2-10 from the floor. Perhaps the most promising sign was the debuts of the stud freshman class. Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton both looked like promising scorers, as they slashed their way to 10 and 12 points, respectively. Shawn Williams, the third frosh in that group, did not score but grabbed six boards in 13 minutes. All in all, its tough to learn anything about a team in a 47 point win, but the Horns definitely had promising signs.


West Virginia 83, Loyola MD 60: Playing without Devin Ebanks and Joe Mazzulla, the Mountaineers started the game slowly. They weren't playing with energy, they struggled shooting the ball (they had seven airballs in the first half) and they weren't getting it done defensively. But WVU got a huge boost from freshman big man Danny Jennings off the bench, as he came in and sparked a run in each half. Jennings finished with 9 points and 12 boards (4 offensive).

After a sluggish start, you really got what you expected out of this WVU team. They forced 18 turnovers, won the rebounding battle 40-29, and grabbed 20 offensive boards. Da'Sean Butler had 26 points, Truck Bryant added 15 and 5 assists (and 3-6 from three), Kevin Jones had 14 points and 7 boards starting for Ebanks, and JuCo transfer Casey Mitchell added 13. If WVU can cut down on the number of three pointers they take (they were just 9-29 last night), this team is going to be as tough as expected.

Onto Ebanks - Bob Huggins said after the game that Devin Ebanks was held out as he "had some personal issues to work through." Not sure what that means, and Huggins did not set a time table for his return. While WVU has more than enough depth up front, playing without Ebanks will hurt as he is the best of the bunch on the front line. Mazzulla was held out due to the same shoulder that was injured last year. Only a precautionar measure. John Flowers did roll his ankle, but x-rays were negative.


Other notable scores:

• Harvard 87, William & Mary 85 3OT: We already have a game of the year and a shot of the year nominee courtesy of the Crimson.
• Wake Forest 89, East Carolina 58: Al-Farouq Aminu had 23 and 9 while Tony Woods and Ish Smith added 12 and 14 points, respectively, but the story of the game was the Demon Deacon's defense - they forced 22 turnovers and held the Pirates to 24.8% shooting.
  
• Washington 111, Portland State 55: Quincy Pondexter has looked like an all-american here in the early part of the season. After going for 25 on Saturday, Pondexter had 29 points and 13 boards last night against the Vikings.
• Tulsa 81, FIU 49: The story of this game was an interesting interaction between Isiah Thomas and Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik. Midway through the second half, Thomas, with his team down 63-25 and on the wrong end of a 27-5 run to start the half, motioned and then verbally asked Wojcik to pull his starters from the floor. Wojcik didn't, in large part due to limited numbers - he only had eight scholarship players available.
• Illinois State 82, SIU-Edwardsville 60: Osiris Eldridge led the Redbirds with 19 points as they cruised in their season opener.
• Florida 74, Stetson 46: Freshman Kenny Boynton never really found his stroke (0-4 from three), but he did finish with 12 points as Florida went up big early. Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin had 13 points and 8 boards.
• Virginia Tech 69, Brown 55: Malcolm Delaney had 21 points, and the Hokies used a 16-5 run at the end of the first half to open up the game.
• Kansas State 82, Western Illinois 50: We knew that K-State had a good back court with Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, but with an athletic front line of Curtis Kelly, Wally Judge, and Jamar Samuels playing like they did yesterday (39 points, 20 boards, 5 blocks, 14-25 from the floor, 59 minutes), this Wildcat team is going to sneak up on a lot of people.
• Arizona 87, Northern Arizona 70: The Sean Miller era starts out well for Arizona. Playing without freshman Kevin Parrom and with a beat-up Nic Wise (tweaked an ankle in practice last week), the Wildcats were in control for most of the game. Freshman Solomon Hill went for 17 points and 8 boards while Jamelle Horne added 14 points and 11 boards. Overall, Zona's crop of freshmen looked solid enough that the Wildcats may actually be able to compete for a NCAA tourney bid this year.
• Wisconsin 75, IPFW 46: Jon Leuer led the Badgers with 19 points and 4 blocks as Wisconsin held the Mastadons to just 34% shooting.
• Iowa State 72, Chicago State 50: Craig Brackins (7 points, 8 boards) and Marcus Gilstrap (11 points, 15 boards) were both off, but the Cyclones defense was good enough to hold on for the win.
• Oregon 68, Colorado State 55: Tajuan Porter had 23 points as the Ducks improved to 3-0.