<div align="center"><font color=""LightBlue"">UNC Tar Heels</font> <font size=""4"">vs</font> <font color=""Blue"">Gonzaga Bulldogs</font> When? Wed Nov. 22nd Where? ESPN 2 Time? 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM Pac <font color=""LightBlue"">UNC Tar Heel Starters:</font> (Tyler Hansbrough,Brandan Wright, Reyshawn Terry, Wayne Ellington, Bobby Frasor)</div> So far so good for UNC after 3 games, but they haven't been really tested yet unless you want to count that 7 point win over Winthrop. Gonzaga is the first real team that has talent, that UNC will play this year. The keys for UNC is to feed Tyler Hansbrough the ball, he is pretty much the heart and soul of this team. When Hansbrough is rolling, UNC is rolling, but this year they have many other players that are just as capable of carrying this team any given night. UNC needs to draw fouls on Gonzaga too, the Zags depth isn't exactly good quality, so if you can get to the bench, your pretty good off. <div align="center"><font color=""Blue"">Gonzaga Bulldogs Starters:</font> (Josh Heytvelt, Sean Mallon, Jeremy Pargo, Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, Derek Raivio)</div> Gonzaga has done better than expected so far this year, beating a very talented Baylor team to get here. The Zags has a nice make up of veterans and younger players making this team a sleeper for the Final Four. The Zags have a few match-ups that are very crucial in this game to win. The first one is Josh Heytvelt against Tyler Hansbrough, if Heytvelt keeps up his amazing play, watch out! Heytvelt has been showing that he's the real deal, but sometimes he starts to get jumpshot happy and stops going into the post. If he can play consistently, and get Hansbrough in foul trouble, Zags will have good chance of winning. The other key match-up is if Mallon can keep his own against Reyshawn Terry. Terry is by far the more talented athletically blessed players, while Mallon survives on his experience, but can he keep the player he's covering in check or will the Zags be forced to use the great Frosh, Bouldin, early? <div align="center"><font size=""5"">J_Ray's Predictions:</font></div> I've been known to pick the underdog most of the time, I've paid a couple of times but I've also been right a few times. This game should be a dandy, maybe a possible Instant Classic, as Zags are known to be in long OT instant classic, Zona game and MSU game, but I think this one will be settle in regulation. My pick is going to be....... . .... ...... ........ ........... .............. ................ .............. ........... ........ ...... .... . <div align="center"> <font size=""5"">73</font> <font size=""5"">77</font></div>
Nice preview man I'd love to see Gonzaga win this one, but I think this will go much the same way UNC's game against Winthrop went; the underdog plays great early and takes a lead, but UNC's depth wins out in the end. I'll say 84-75 UNC, but I'm rooting for the Zags.
Nice preview, J_Ray. I will try and help out with the previews as much as I can. If we are talking about low-post battles, Heytvelt would get absolutely murdered, destroyed, used to wipe up the court by Hansbrough. The guy is a great finisher, and that makes people think he's actually an interior presence. He's not. Heytvelt has average post footwork at best, very poor feel with his back to the basket, and blows box out/defensive assignments on a consistent basis. If he's near the basket and the ball isn't in his hands in a dunk/layup situation, Heytvelt is average. Heytvelt is much more comfortable facing the basket anywhere from 8-22 feet, and that is his only shot against Hansbrough, IMO. He's going to get eaten alive in the paint, and my guess is that Few knows this and will avoid a head-to-head match up at all costs. UNC takes them by double-digits: 86-74
Well, its time for me to eat some crow. Heytvelt looks like a legit NBA prospect. He looked magnificent down low and showed a nice array of post moves. He is also able to take some guys off the dribble, hit the mid-range jumper and even knock it down from the perimeter. You can't overlook his performance on the defensive end, either. He held Hansbrough to only 9 points in 32 minutes. Heck, the UNC guards couldn't even feed the ball down low to the big fella. The freshman Matt Bouldin is going to be a STUD! His game is awful similar to the Morrison kid that went in the top five of the NBA draft last season. Major props to Heyvelt and the Zags on a HUGE win!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting UKFan33:</div><div class="quote_post">The freshman Matt Bouldin is going to be a STUD! His game is awful similar to the Morrison kid that went in the top five of the NBA draft last season.</div> I agree, Bouldin is the real deal and eerily similar game to Morrison. A lot of people slept on Gonzaga because Morrison and Bapitiste left, but their system allows for interchangeable pieces to step right in and thrive in specific rolls. Gonzaga will also get Micah Downs once he clears eligibility, improving their depth and giving them another multi-demensional scorer.
I know I have been gloating a lot so far this year, but please allow me to gloat just one more time - Posts I made from this summer when Josh Heytvelt was coming off a career best 15 game season with 3.4 ppg and 2.0 rpg - "However, there are a few legit candidates on the 'Zags roster who could replace Morrison. The player everyone seems to be forgetting about, Josh Heytvelt, is who I'd consider the most likely of those candidates. The only question is whether or not he can play a full season without getting injured, because it was a foot injury that kept Heytvelt out for most of last season and kept him from becoming a household name. He's a long, athletic 6'11" power forward who bares a physical resemblance to Pau Gasol but is quicker at getting down the floor. With his health back, more minutes, and more touches, he's got a real chance at being an All-American when it's all said and done." "Forget the matchup that could have been. This will still be an intruiging game, especially if Josh Heytvelt turns out to be half the player I think he can be. Call me crazy, but I was blown away by his brief stint of play in Maui before he got injured. He's a borderline seven footer with great length, and he's incredibly quick and athletic. As strange as it sounds, I don't have that much trouble seeing him going from a 3.4 ppg player to a 15-20 ppg player next season, especially with a point guard like Derek Raivio still running the show."
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Great call VC, but now you have to do something I know makes your stomach churn ... vote Florida #1. </div> Don't they have to play Kansas this Saturday?
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Don't they have to play Kansas this Saturday? </div> Touche. Kansas played a terrible game, they usually follow those up with an outstanding effort. Kaun will be the key to the game, he can't get in early foul trouble, and his teammates can't phase him out on offense.
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Touche. Kansas played a terrible game, they usually follow those up with an outstanding effort. Kaun will be the key to the game, he can't get in early foul trouble, and his teammates can't phase him out on offense.</div> Is Kaun healthy? He didn't against Oral Roberts, and that's the main reason why they lost. Florida has caught some lucky breaks already in their scheduling and will continue to. They scheduled both Ohio State and Kansas, but neither one will have their bigs (Oden & Kaun/Giles respectively). Not a knock on Florida, because it's obviously out of their control, but that'll skew their RPI a bit. Without Kaun or Giles, I'm going with the Gators. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, without their bigs, Kansas just isn't that special.
I taped the game and I just watched the first few minutes, 10-0 UNC to start the game. Then I paused it to see a bit of the Cal game and I turned it on to see Who Butler was playing, just spoiled my night. I knew Gonzaga was good after watching them play a couple times, I was 1 point off on UNC's score, but I still got the right winning team. And you guys had no faith in Dem' Zags.
