College Park, MD (Sports Network) - The fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels
play their fourth road game in the last six outings, as they head to College
Park for an ACC showdown with the Maryland Terrapins.
Roy Williams' Tar Heels are sitting atop the ACC standings, tied with Duke and
Florida State at 6-1. The team has won four straight since suffering a
humbling loss at Florida State a couple of weeks ago. Most recently, UNC
dispatched Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, 68-53.
Mark Turgeon's first season in College Park has certainly come with its ups
and downs. The Terrapins are five games over .500 on the year, but one game
under that mark (3-4) in-conference. Maryland has dropped four of its last
five games, including a heart-breaking 90-86 double-overtime affair at Miami
earlier this week.
Maryland has won four of the last six meetings in this series, but North
Carolina still holds a sizable 115-57 lead overall. UNC has lost five of the
last seven meetings in College Park.
The Tar Heels have recently lost starting guard Dexter Strickland to a season-
ending knee injury, but with superior talent and depth, they will be able to
assuage the loss. North Carolina enters this contest as the top offensive team
in the nation, averaging 84.1 ppg on a healthy .471 shooting. UNC has also
carried over its strong play to the defensive end, holding foes under 40
percent from the floor (.384) and leading the nation with a +11.8 rebounding
margin. The team is fueled by the best frontcourt in the country, with
Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller all playing at an All-American
level. Barnes has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor, averaging
17.3 ppg. Zeller is next in line at 15.0 ppg and is almost averaging a double-
double with 9.7 rpg. Henson is averaging a double-double, with 14.2 points and
10.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall is tasked with
getting the ball to the right people and is as good as it gets nationally in
that regard, averaging 9.5 assists per game (second nationally).
Zeller was unstoppable in the win over Wake Forest this week, posting 18
points and 18 rebounds. Henson also had a double-double with 14 points and 12
boards. Marshall got into the act as well as a scorer with 14 points, while
dishing out six assists, while Barnes completed the top scorers with 13
points. UNC won handily, despite shooting a poor .310 from the floor overall,
including .211 from behind the arc. The Tar Heels made up for it by
outrebounding the Demon Deacons 55-40, including grabbing 22 offensive boards.
Despite having the conference's top scorer, the Terrapins lack the kind of
offensive depth needed to win games against the upper echelon in the ACC.
Maryland comes into this game averaging a modest 69.4 ppg on .432 shooting.
The problem is, that the team is yielding 69.9 ppg. Terrell Stoglin has done
all he can to keep the Terps competitive. The 6-1 sophomore is averaging an
ACC-best 21.8 ppg and is responsible for more than half (58) of the team's
three-pointers to date (105). Backcourt mate Sean Mosley is a distant second
in the scoring column at 10.1 ppg. Junior forward James Padgett (9.0 ppg,
team-high 5.9 rpg) is the top option up front.
Maryland came all the way back from a 16-point point second-half deficit to
force two overtimes at Miami, but was unable to get the win, falling by four
points to the Hurricanes. The setback spoiled a career-night for Stoglin, who
was 9-of-26 from the floor, with six three-pointers and a perfect 9-of-9 from
the free-throw line, to finish with a career-high 33 points. Alex Len added 11
points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots in the loss.
The Sports Network