Five Thoughts Ahead of UNC vs. Ohio State

Inside Carolina staffers each share what’s on their mind leading into North Carolina’s CBS Sports Classic battle against Ohio State on Saturday in Atlanta.

1. Trimble’s Return

Rob Harrington: “Navigating Trimble’s re-entry is a tough situation. I don’t think he can come back and play 30-plus minutes. It would be too disruptive to the roles that they’ve established. Since his last game — Nov. 7 — a whole lot has happened, and you’re talking about a team with one loss playing against what is technically a Q1 opponent — legitimate opponent on a neutral court. You hope he plays some, but I think Hubert Davis will probably be a little bit more conservative and judicious about how much he plays.”

2. Important Final Non-Conference Test

Greg Barnes: “I think Ohio State’s a really good matchup for North Carolina. They’re probably going to be a tournament team — I don’t see them contending in the Big 10, but it’s a top 50 opponent. They’ve got a really good player in Bruce Thornton. It’s a game that North Carolina should win if Carolina is hoping to to be a contender in the ACC and and really push for the second or third weekend of the NCAA tournament. 

“But it’s also one of those games where, if Carolina doesn’t play their their A game, then they certainly can lose. Because of that, this is one of those games that’s a good next step, because Carolina has had a few of these games against good teams, and this is just that level of Ohio State’s probably very similar to some of the upper echelon teams in the ACC once you get past maybe Louisville and Duke.  So I think this is a really good game for North Carolina to be really be tested, and to know they have to operate at a high level.”

3. The Jarin Stevenson Wildcard

Sherrell McMillan: “The Tar Heels are going to need Jarin Stevenson on Saturday. I know he hasn’t made many shots lately but it looks good when it’s coming out. At some point it’s going to go in. Shooting 21% means eventually teams are just going to sag. They haven’t done it yet, but eventually they’re going to sag in the paint because they don’t think that Luka Bogavac and Caleb Wilson and Stevenson and Kyan Evans can beat them from three.

“Until Stevenson and the auxiliary guys can start hitting those open shots consistently, I think you might see teams start to sag in a little bit and say ‘we’re not going to let Veesaar and Caleb Wilson beat us in the paint.’ It’s a big game for Stevenson. I don’t think he’s in danger of losing his spot in the rotation, but it’s important for his confidence and for reaching the goals that North Carolina wants to reach.”

4. Game Planning for Bruce Thornton

Sherrell McMillan: “Bruce Thornton is built like a running back / linebacker type, but he’s shooting almost 50% from three. He can get to the rim. He’s a good free throw shooter, he’s a solid distributor. He’s the kind of lead guard you want on your team. And Carolina doesn’t really have anyone whose profile would be traditionally to guard him other than Trimble. Evans is smaller in size. Bogavac doesn’t quite have the quickness, and I don’t think Dixon does either. 

“The biggest thing is to not let the other guys who aren’t as good get confidence and beat you. Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. are going to take a lot of threes. And I would rather stay on them, don’t let them get confidence, because if you’re going to double team Thornton, he just kicks it out and those guys are wide open and they love to shoot. So I would just play it straight up with Thornton, see what happens and then adjust from there.”

5. It’s All About the Guards

Sean Moran: “Ohio State does have size and those guys have been playing well, but from an athletic and skill perspective, UNC’s frontcourt has the advantage. Let Wilson attack and see what type of foul trouble they can get into. Utilize both Veesaar and Wilson in those pick and rolls. Stevenson on Thornton can be used in limited, spot possessions just to provide a different front, but if you do it repetitively, they’ll figure it out pretty quick.

“From a UNC perspective, it’s about the guards. If Kyan Evans is going to be playing 20-plus minutes, they have to find opportunities for him, they’ve got to be able to find some open space for him to get shots off. Ohio State’s the type of team that he could do that against.

Usually with a Big Ten team we’re talking about UNC’s offense versus a typical Big 10 defense. This time it’s flipped as Ohio State is top five in two-point percentage shooting, while UNC is top five in that same stat defensively. As long as Veesaar and Wilson can stay out of foul trouble, then I’m not too worried about Christoph Tilly and the Ohio State bigs.”