All of the NCAA basketball betting talk this past preseason was centered around the North Carolina Tar Heels and the amounts of money that they would make those willing to risk it on them this season. It didn’t take long for the No. 1 ranked preseason team to falter, and following a loss to the UNLV Rebels, the hammer came down hard from the social networks and those that felt the Tar Heels didn’t play with enough urgency during their trip to Las Vegas. At the end of the day however, that loss to the Rebels may have been exactly what head coach Roy Williams needed to get the attention of his players in the early going, and the team responded well with a 60-57 win over the No. 7 and previously undefeated Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday night.
The Tar Heels did a lot of things right in that win over Wisconsin, although it did take even more steam from Williams, who at one point even ripped off his jacket and threw it to the floor as he screamed at his players. UNC responded, with Harrison Barners coming alive to score 10 of his 20 points during a second-half surge that helped the Tar Heels regain some of the momentum and swagger that they had been missing since early on against UNLV. Tyler Zeller helped out Barnes and his teammates by adding 12 points, while John Henson finished with 17 rebounds and five blocks. The win for those that took the game with the per head bookies was a relief after watching them battle resiliency through the first two quarters, but after finally prevailing they have to be feeling good about their game as they get set to clash with the new No. 1 team in the country, when they travel to Rupp Arena to take on the Kentucky Wildcats.
While the Tar Heels undoubtedly felt the burden of being the No. 1 team heading in to this season, Wildcats’ head coach John Calipari won’t have his team become overwhelmed by that number, as they prepare for every game as though it is the SEC championship. Kentucky has done an excellent job of working as a team and staying humble, and with Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones getting the job done at both ends of the floor it isn’t difficult to understand why Calipari once again has the Wildcats at the top of the table for those who have bet on them with the pay per head bookies.
If UNC is going to have any chance at countering Kentucky’s will to play as a single unit and get the job done, they are going to have to play a similar style, and rely on all aspects of their game with Barnes, Zeller, and Henson all working together. The talent is there for the Tar Heels to make the early-season trip a successful one, but once again it will come down to execution as the difference maker in the final outcome for those that wager with betonline.
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