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UNC-Mount St. Mary’s live blog
9:09: Wow. Surry Wood.
8:55: Do the fans get biscuits if the game is on a neutral court?
It’s long been a UNC tradition that if the Tar Heels score 100 in the Smith Center, biscuits are discounted the next day at Bojangle’s. It usually happens in the final moments (2006-07 walk-on Dewey Burke was nicknamed Biscuits for how many times he hit the lucky shot).
Well, UNC is up 101-58 with 4:39 remaining. This is ugly.
And the walk-ons are on the court. This may be a new Roy Williams record for quickest exit of all scholarship players.
8:40 p.m.: UNC continues to push the temp and is now up 86-52.
What has to be encouraging for Tar Heels coach Roy Williams is that his team is not letting up. This is a classic scenario where an unmotivated team could sleepwalk through the second half, and shrug its shoulder at every turnover and wasted offensive possession.
But Danny Green made a bad pass, then came up with a loose ball the next time down court. In a 30-point game, the extra two points mean little. But it means alot when you consider how far this North Carolina team can go.
8:29 p.m.: Let’s just pretend Marcus Ginyard did not miss that dunk.
He’s a good kid, and lord knows I could not dunk the ball, running, flat-footed or perhaps even on a trampoline. My main basketball move consists of posting up someone a good four-six inches shorter than me and making a four-footer.
Yeah, that didn’t happen.
8:21 p.m.: Fifty-five seconds into the second half, and a 6-0 run forces Mount St. Mary’s to burn a timeout.
I suppose this would be as good a time as any to talk about the possiblity of the presidential candidates playing a round of golf in Rocky Mount. If Michael Jordan and Woody Durham do indeed show up, would they support a candidate? And, if so, should the other candidate even bother continuing to campaign in the state of North Carolina?
People around the country will look at it and laugh, but sowing up the UNC endorsement could really go a long ways towards becoming our next president.
I cannot believe I just typed those words.
8:07 p.m.: This is when CBS carefully and slowly changes the broadcast to other games.
UNC is up 60-41, is shooting 57.9 percent and has 27 rebounds. Mount St. Mary’s has nine.
Tyler Hansbrough has 17, Wayne Ellington 12 and Ty Lawson is running third with 11. The three-headed power forward of Deon Thompson, Alex Stepheson and Danny Green has combined for 15 points and 16 rebounds.
8 p.m.: Mount St. Mary’s said they wanted to run. Well, it is.
The Tar Heels have come out firing, with the gas pedal to the floor. The Mountaineers are heaving, and are not getting the same lift on their jump shots that they were early.
It’s 60-41 UNC, but it’s a deceiving 41. The pace of the game is so fast that it just leads to more possessions and, thus, a higher score.
7:40 p.m.: UNC is up 39-27 with 7:13 left in the first half.
Behind me, section 105 is going wild. The lower level section is full of folks from Mount St. Mary’s, and they’ve made more noise than the UNC fans so far. That’s probably because UNC fully expects to have another five games in this NCAA Tournament.
7:29 p.m.: What we’re seeing right now (UNC is up 24-15 with 10:36 left in the half) is an obvious difference in athleticism.
UNC coach Roy Williams recruits the best athletes he can find, because they are suited to run his up-tempo, breakneck game.
Mount St. Mary’s is trying to keep up, it really is, but that’s easier said than done. As this game wears on, UNC is going to pick up steam and open up a sizable margin. Once again, that’s your completely obvious analysis.
7:20 p.m.: UNC has scored on eight of its first 10 possessions, and own a 17-12 lead at the first television timeout.
Good news, Mom — I was able to avoid eating meat. The good people in catering provided a fried fish option to go with the fried chicken and BBQ. The fish was pretty good, too.
7:06 p.m.: The RBC Center is back at capacity for the second session, and it is full of Carolina Blue. It is a little jarring to see all these UNC fans sitting in N.C. State’s home arena, but I am sure that feeling will pass.
Stuart Scott, the ESPN anchor and UNC alum, was on the court right before gametime. He was standing with the assistant coaches for so long that the officials came over to shake his hand too. He and point guard Ty Lawson pointed at each other, and Stuart finally went to his seat.
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