Inside the College GameBy:

By Brian Cerone

	Tyler Hansbrough

They Are Who We Thought They Were!

This is the team that we have been expecting. This is the team that some thought
had a chance to run the table and go undefeated on the year. After a 101-87
win at bitter-rival Duke, once again, we all know who the team to beat is come
March: The North Carolina Tarheels.

It wasn’t so much that Duke played poorly. The 5th ranked Blue Devils actually
shot the ball very well, and held a 52-44 advantage at the break. In the first
half, they shot 62 percent from the field and 67 percent from deep. Had it not
been for the unlikely play of Tarheel reserve Bobby Frasor (Three 3s) and Deon
Thompson (hitting 5 of his first 6 shots for 10 points), the halftime lead may
have been even larger.

The 2nd half was a different story as the Tar Heels put up 57 points, led by
Ty Lawson (25 points on 8 of 11 shooting), who got to wherever he wanted on
the court, whenever he wanted. Lawson sparked a 14-0 run that put the game out
of reach, where he scored 9 of those points. Four UNC players ended up in double
figures, and inevitably the firepower was too much for the host Dukies.

The 101 points given up by Duke is the most Coach K has allowed in Cameron Indoor
Stadium since 1983. It shows just how many weapons this team still has despite
losing last year starter Marcus Ginyard, freshman stud Tyler Zeller, and sophomore
contributor Will Graves for the year.

Now the Tar Heels have won 8 games in a row since losing to Wake Forest and
Boston College before that. But, this is a different team from the one that
dropped those two ACC games. Roy Williams’ crew is now hitting on all cylinders,
and scoring at will like we all knew they could. As for the seniors Tyler Hansbrough
and Danny Green, they are two of four players to ever go into Cameron Indoor
Stadium four times without losing. They are the only two UNC players to do so with all four
games vs. Coach K teams.

As for the Dukies, questions are starting to heat up again about their recent
late season slides. People are asking if this is the start of another slide
after losing 3 of their last 5. Don’t expect it to happen this year, the Blue
Devils are still a threat to reach the final four. But, are they capable of
rebounding and overtaking their main rivals from Chapel Hill? That ship appears to have sailed.

We have been spoiled with some of the freshman classes of recent years. This
year, the freshmen have come back to earth, but there are still
some freshman making big impacts on very good teams. Lets take a look at the
top 5 freshmen in the country so far:

Top 5 freshmen:

#1 Al-Farouq Aminu – Wake Forest – 13 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg,
54.0% fg

Despite a recent nosedive by his team, Aminu has been the best freshman this
year because of his impact on both ends of the court. Offensively, he is complimenting
superstar Jeff Teague very well. In a huge win over Duke, Aminu had 15 points,
10 rebounds, and 2 key blocks. In a home win over Boston College, Aminu scored
a career high 26 points on 8 of 9 shooting. Most likely a one-and-done guy,
so Aminu should be geared up for a big March.

#2 Willie Warren – Oklahoma – 14.9 ppg, 1.2 steals

Overshadowed by the Player of the Year front-runner, Oklahoma’s Blake
Griffin, Jeff Capel’s floor general is one of the best freshman in the country.
Warren has put up point totals of 35, 31, and 29 this year for the 2nd ranked
Sooners, while shooting an impressive 48.8% from the field.

#3 Tyreke Evans – 16.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.3 steals per game

He has had criticism this year for not being a team player and taking terrible
shots. But, the truth is that Evans knows how to put the ball in the hoop. He
is the leading scorer for a team that has all of a sudden won 15 in a row and
ranked 10th in the nation. Because he has such a strong body and absorbs contact
with such ease, he also leads his team is free throw attempts, where he convert
71%.

#4 Luke Babbitt – Nevada – 16.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 43.1% 3pt

This freshman has already established himself as one of the best dead-eye shooters
in the nation. When UNC visited the Nevada earlier in the year, Babbitt seemed
to be the only player not intimidated by the might Tar Heels. He had 22 points
on 8 of 14 shooting. The rest of his team shot 29% for the game. Babbitt has
scored 20+ seven times this year, and has the Wolf Pack sitting 2nd in the WAC
standings.

#5 Isaiah Thomas– Washington – 16.5 ppg, 2.7 apg, 43% fg

The diminutive floor general has made the Huskies a handful for every team
they face and while his size limits his long term potential, he has had as big
an impact as any freshman in the country. He’ll need to cut down on his turnovers
and improve his shooting numbers, but he’s been a terror and clutch in late
game situations.

Honorable Mention: Greg Monroe, Mike Rosario, Jrue Holiday, Demar
DeRozan, Ed Davis, Paul George, Kemba Walker

Games Notes:

Wake Forest came down to earth pretty quick after their huge win versus the
#1 ranked Duke Blue Devils a couple of weeks ago. Since, they have dropped 3
of their last four games. First they lost to Georgia Tech, who was winless in
the ACC. Next, they got demolished at Miami, losing by 27 points. Finally, they
lost to NC State by 6 points in a game where they found themselves down by as
many as 20 points. All three losses were on the road…Patrick Mills looked
as if he was going to make a huge statement on national television when his
18th ranked Saint Mary’s team traveled to 25th ranked Gonzaga for a WCC showdown.
It was the second time in league history that both teams faced off while being
ranked in the top 25 national polls, the first time was the same two teams in
last years match-up. Anyhow, Mills started the game hitting 3-pointers from
everywhere. He was 6 for 8 from deep with 18 points total, and his team had
a 39-33 lead after halftime. But, with 3 minutes to go in the 1st half, Mills
fell to the ground, ultimately breaking two bones in shooting hand. Gonzaga
took full advantage of Mills’ absence, dominating the 2nd half, 36-23, and winning
the game 69-62. Mills is out for 4 weeks, and the team is already showing signs
of missing him, dropping their next match-up @ Portland, 84-66, and another
to Santa Clara, 70-52, St. Mary’s played Gonzaga well without him on Thursday night in Maraga but Gonzaga was able to hold on for a close win.