ESPN pundits pick big flop for Big East

[stever20]

I think of all the 6's, UNC is the toughest- Ohio St, UNC, UMass, Baylor. (committee agrees, UNC was seeded 21 the top 6 seed)

[stever20]

I don't think it matters PC has no tournament experience. They've already proven over the past week they're very capable of handling pressure in must win games, unlike a team such as St. John's.

That said it'll be a tough game. Hope PC can pull it off.

I just think the tourney is a whole another level.

Also, you wonder how PC will handle the days in between. Seen a lot of times a team like that- that had to win it all to make the tourney- just fall apart when they get to the tourney. It's human nature to exhale after something like PC had on Saturday. Now, the question becomes, can they get rolling again?

[Bill Marsh]

Providence still has to get by UNC- no small thing..

Against UNC-
UNC is the 18th best offensive rebounding team in the country- getting nearly 38% of their missed shots.

I think one big thing will be when PC is on offense. UNC turns folks over pretty good- 19.4% of the time. Will PC be able to handle this will be a huge part of the answer.

Another thing- UNC gets to the line quite a bit- 69th best in the country. While they suck at shooting free throws- 62.5% 344th, Just getting to the line a lot would hurt PC in that they aren't deep obviously.

PC has to get off to a good start I think. If they don't I think they're in a lot of trouble.

I think one major thing is NCAA experience. Yes, PC has a lot of upperclassmen, but how many NCAA tourney appearances? UNC has 6 of their top 8 players with NCAA tourney experience- with some with at least 6 games. That makes a difference.

UNC didn't get all those offensive rebounds against Providence, an outstanding rebounding team in their own right. Providence has a very strong inside game, reflected not only by their rebound margin but by their shot blocking. Strength against strength.

The answer to your question about whether PC can handle NC 's defense and not turn the ball over is, yes, they can. They are not a particularly turnover prone team. In fact, North Carolina turns the ball over more often than Providence does. But more important is that in its efforts to turn people over, North Carolina is among the most fours prone teams in the country. They ate playing right into The Friars' wheel house with that kind of stuff. As the 2nd best FT shooting team in the country, PC will make them pay for those fouls.

I think whoever gets off to the better start puts the other team in trouble. But because of their free throw shooting, Providence is the team that is equipped to play better with the lead.

Tournament experience? Meh. These guys are all tested with lots of ball games under their belts. Providence just played 3 tournament games and won all 3. North Carolina went out in the first round of the ACC tournament and they were knocked back on their heels right at the opening gun. So much for tournament experience.

North Carolina uses a 7 man rotation. 5 of those are underclassmen and only one is a senior. It's not just the experience. It's the age gap between these two teams. 22 and 23 year old playing against teenagers in some cases. It's more developed bodies. It's emotional maturity. It's players with something to play for in their last shot at college competition. It's appreciating the moment. Every year there are mid majors pulling off unexpected upsets over more talented but younger teams for this very reason.

I like this Providence team. You like Carolina. We'll see what happens when the game is played.

[Bill Marsh]

I think of all the 6's, UNC is the toughest- Ohio St, UNC, UMass, Baylor. (committee agrees, UNC was seeded 21 the top 6 seed)

Splitting hairs. Whose the best 6-seed? Who's the tallest midget? As we know by the success of 12 seeds over 5 seeds, when we get to this level of the pairings, they're all very close.

The committee isn't seeding them by who is the best team. If they were, they would have seeded Louisville much higher. They are factoring who you played and giving teams credit for playing tough schedules. Overall they were very generous to the ACC.

If the committee knew who was going to win the games, we'd never have an upset. Matchups are normally far more important than who is "better." As I've said all along, I think that this is a favorable matchup for PC. They have the strengths to counter what NC does well and they also have some skills to exploit their weaknesses.

[Bill Marsh]

I don't think it matters PC has no tournament experience. They've already proven over the past week they're very capable of handling pressure in must win games, unlike a team such as St. John's.

That said it'll be a tough game. Hope PC can pull it off.

I just think the tourney is a whole another level.

Also, you wonder how PC will handle the days in between. Seen a lot of times a team like that- that had to win it all to make the tourney- just fall apart when they get to the tourney. It's human nature to exhale after something like PC had on Saturday. Now, the question becomes, can they get rolling again?

That sure was the case with UConn a few years ago, wasn't it?

[SJHooper]

I think PC can absolutely knock off UNC. They have been down (by their standards) over the past few years. They aren't world beaters. They lose games. PC is the best FT shooting team in the country, they have one of the best most underrated scorers in Cotton, and they have a player who was decent but suddenly playing out of his mind in Fortune. PC is a gritty team…they do the little things well. They won't finesse you. They also have good offensive rebounding.

I actually think PC vs. UNC is one of the more popular upset picks of the first round. Colin Herd on ESPN picked PC to beat them and so did I.