Bonfire forum discusses alternatives
Students proposed two alternatives to the student-generated bonfires that erupt following important basketball wins. Jones presented an idea to supply the crowds with beach balls and DJs on rooftops. The other was a proposal for a bonfire to be organized by the town. Jones said things like beach balls and a DJ would occupy students and prevent them from starting fires out of boredom. “We can have a rave mob like Oprah,” she said.
(Daily Tar Heel)
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Summa Cavalier Laude for former Heels
Something occurred to me when I was watching the game last night. And no, it didn’t occur to me because Austin Carr kept preaching on and on and on about it (although he did). After a Danny Green drawn charge, a Jawad Williams cut to the basket, and the tremendous spacing the two University of North Carolina products displayed all night, I realized that the two young men from Chapel Hill are some smart basketball players.
(NumbersDont.com)
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Tar Heels in danger of earning inglorious distinction
Only twice in the past 21 years has a defending national champion failed to play in the NCAA tournament the following season. Kansas, the 1988 national champion, was ineligible to play in the '89 tournament because of NCAA probation. Florida, which won back-to-back national titles in 2006 and '07, failed to make the tournament in '08. Barring a complete turnaround, UNC is about to become the third defending national champ to accomplish the dubious feat.
(ESPN.com)
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Williams: If you don't enjoy the good times, bad times can kill you
Roy Williams has said a number of times he's dealing with things he has not yet dealt with in his 21 years of coaching. The year has been a mess when compared to last year's national championship winning team. This year has shown one of the best college basketball programs in history that winning isn't easy. It's difficult to stay on top every single year. Williams views that as more of a reason to cherish those moments of success.
(WRAL Sports Fan)
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ACC Hoops Power Rankings, Feb. 8
10. North Carolina (13-10, 2-6) At this point, you can’t even say the NIT is a certainty for the Tar Heels. After a 21-point loss at Maryland, you have to wonder if Roy Williams can repair his squad’s shaky psyche. Previous Rank: 10. Schedule this week: Wednesday vs. Duke, Saturday vs. N.C. State.
(ACC Sports Journal)
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Monday Roy Williams Quotes
Is facing Duke a good thing for this team? “Yeah, if you tell me we’re going to win, then it comes at a great time. But if your team is struggling and you’re facing a big rival, you are going to be enthused about playing them anyway. Now if you’re struggling, you know how difficult it’s going to be, but you also have that concern about your confidence levels."
(Inside Carolina)
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Halfway home and still no separation
5 Negatives: 1. Terrible Tar Heels: Maryland’s fans taunted North Carolina with taunts of “NIT, NIT” in the final minutes of Sunday’s rout. But the way the Tar Heels’ season has been going, with six losses in the last seven games, they’ll be lucky to end up in college basketball’s consolation tournament.
(Wilmington Star News)
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The crash of Carolina basketball
Less than a year after he stood on a stage at Ford Field in Detroit and hoisted the national championship trophy, Roy Williams is enduring the most difficult season of his Hall of Fame career. Sunday’s loss at Maryland dropped the Tar Heels to 13-10 overall and 2-6 in ACC play. All of a sudden the coach with two national title rings and seven Final Four appearances is in danger of not making the NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years.
(Yahoo!)
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Sam Pittman, Part I: Stoic Leadership
One of the burning topics of the off-season will continue to be the state of the offensive line. We decided that the issue was so important that we’d go to the source: offensive line coach Sam Pittman. Pittman actually didn’t recount all the games missed by starters because of injuries, or dwell on who was able to play and who wasn’t. Offensive line coaches are generally a stoic bunch that accept their fate, and Pittman is no different.
(Inside Carolina)
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Observations from the UNC-Maryland game
Credit junior guard Will Graves for the most direct answer possible on what it will take to get North Carolina out of its current hole: "Get some wins, point-blank and simple." Forward Ed Davis matched a season high with 16 rebounds, though he did so in an inconspicuous manner. The bigger Tar Heels had only a 40-39 edge on the glass. The sophomore also scored 10 points.
(Raleigh News & Observer)
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Guards lead women's rivalry
Duke's Jasmine Thomas and North Carolina's Italee Lucas are two of the most exciting guards in women's basketball. Their games - filled with acceleration and variety - can be thrilling to watch, especially when they enter one of their offensive streaks. Tonight, the No. 6 Blue Devils host the No. 9 Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first of two regular-season conference games.
(Raleigh News & Observer)
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Vasquez guides Terps' rout of Tar Heels
The snow-covered campus was closed, and navigating area roads was dicey. But for Maryland students and their hot-shooting basketball team, Comcast Center turned out to be the perfect place - and UNC the perfect victim - to spend a frigid Sunday afternoon. Playing in front of an even more boisterous crowd than usual, the Terps continued their home-court success against conference foes by routing the Tar Heels, 92-71.
(Baltimore Sun)
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Roy calls UNC's struggles 'the understatement of my entire life'
To say that North Carolina is struggling, coach Roy Williams said after his team lost 92-71 at Maryland on Sunday, "is the understatement of my entire life." Here's another one: "[In] 21 years as a head coach, I've never been in this spot, but I've got to find a way to help the kids get out of it,'' he said. "Two-and-6 is not comfortable. It's not good."
(Charlotte Observer)
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Heels Snowed Under
North Carolina traversed arguably the worst snow storm to hit the Washington, D.C. area in nearly 90 years in order to play Maryland on Sunday, but the Terrapins decided against being gracious hosts, blistering the Tar Heels with a 52.2 percent shooting display from long range in a 92-71 victory. Marcus Ginyard led UNC with 17 points, Deon Thompson added 16 and Ed Davis posted a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds.
(Inside Carolina)
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UNC-Maryland Postgame Quotes
"I’d like to congratulate Maryland; I thought Gary’s team in the first half, 9-16 from the 3-point line, killed us. We cut it from 16 down to four, but turned it over twice in a row and gave them two open shots. We got back in it in the second half and cut it down to five a couple of times. We just kept getting into a stretch where we kept turning the ball over, and they shot almost 60 percent in the second half."
(Inside Carolina)
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Lucas: The Long And The Short
Over the last 120 minutes of basketball, which stretches over three games, Carolina has led for exactly four minutes and 30 seconds. Yes, you read that right. Over the last three games, the Tar Heels have had the lead for exactly 3.75% of the time. You don't compile that kind of statistic if there's just one thing wrong, or if just minor tweaks are needed. That's a complete breakdown.
(Tar Heel Blue)
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NIT for Carolina? Maybe not
Those rival fans chanting “N-I-T! N-I-T!” at North Carolina could be optimists. After Sunday’s loss at Maryland, the Tar Heels are 13-10 overall and in danger of having a losing season. Forget the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels could be playing their way out of postseason at all. Here are Carolina’s last eight games...There are two wins there, maybe four.
(WRAL Sports Fan)
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Local players have different nights at Super Bowl
A pair of NFL players with Triangle ties had significantly different nights Sunday in Super Bowl XLIV. Jeff Saturday, who played at North Carolina, started at center for the Indianapolis Colts and had a typically stellar game. Saturday, who has played with Peyton Manning for years, was part of a Colts offensive line that didn't allow a single sack Sunday night in Miami.
(WRAL Sports Fan)
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Terps crush slumping Tar Heels
There are countless explanations for the UNC basketball team’s struggles over the last five weeks. Sunday, though, the Tar Heels offered no defense for their latest loss. Maryland shredded UNC 92-71 at Comcast Center, thriving in transition while shooting 51.5 percent and sending the Tar Heels to their seventh loss in nine games. “It’s about as disappointing as it gets,” senior guard Marcus Ginyard said in a morose locker room.
(Raleigh News & Observer)
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Maryland Getting It Done, North Carolina Just Done
Don't bet against the home team when a record-breaking blizzard hits town. As thoroughly as Georgetown handled Villanova the day before in Washington, Maryland handled North Carolina even easier Sunday afternoon. North Carolina resembles last year's national titlists less than it does the rock-bottom teams at the end of the Matt Doherty era. For North Carolina, it was another eye-opening experience.
(AOL FanHouse)
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Terps thump Tar Heels 92-71
North Carolina (13-10, 2-6) now resides in the same group as the Eagles, the Wolfpack and the Hurricanes. The Tar Heels entered Sunday's contest having dropped six of their past eight games, which meant that they, too, were a team Maryland was supposed to beat. "I think this win means a lot to us, more than years past," said Maryland senior guard Greivis Vasquez.
(Winston-Salem Journal)
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North Carolina still can't put it all together vs. ACC
Due to the blizzard that buried parts of the mid-Atlantic states in up to 20 inches of snow, I did not make it to College Park, Md., for North Carolina's matchup with Maryland on Sunday. But even on my TV I could hear the chants of "N-I-T" coming from the Terps' crowd as Dexter Strickland shot free throws with a minute to play in UNC's 92-71 loss. And that crowd got it right, the NIT is where the Tar Heels look to be headed.
(Durham Herald-Sun)
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Hot Comcast crowd warms Gary Williams' heart
Help me out here: Was there some kind of big snowstorm around these parts recently? Yeah, thought I heard something about that. But no one was really focused on that Sunday afternoon at Comcast Center, where the Maryland Terrapins routed North Carolina, 92-71, for their 16th win and sixth ACC victory in the kind of wild, party atmosphere you don't normally see around here.
(Baltimore Sun)
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Coming off losses, Duke and UNC women look to get back on track
For the first time since 1997, Duke and North Carolina come into their annual slugfest on a down note. But that doesn't mean the Blue Devils and Tar Heels won't be ready for their showdown tonight at Cameron Indoor Stadium as both teams enter ranked in the top 25. Both teams lost in their last outings as they made their longest conference road trips of the season.
(Durham Herald-Sun)
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For Terps, a seniors moment
Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes are senior guards for Maryland. That's about all they have in common. While Vasquez -- from Caracas, Venezuela -- is emotional and flamboyant and plays to the crowd, his counterpart from Woodbridge is placid and measured and barely acknowledges the fans. Together in the backcourt Sunday, however, they were in perfect harmony in Maryland's 92-71 win over UNC at Comcast Center.
(Washington Examiner)
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