Tuesday Talking Points and Mailbag Questions

[23Steps]

Here are links to the tarheelblue.com Tuesday Talking Points and their Mailbag. I try to read them every week, it really gives some good insight into the team that the everyday fan might not get. Also, a lot of times it'll give a lot of more historical information that I'm not old enough to really know or remember. I especially like this week's take on the loss from Adam Lucas, the dude who probably know as much about UNC as anyone alive.

Does the upset change anything? Sure, it makes a lot of Tar Heel fans more nervous. But right now, on January 6, Carolina is exactly where you want them to be: one of the three or four teams with the best chance to win a national title. In the one-and-done college game, that's all you can hope for in January. The next two months are about improving the areas that looked weak on Sunday. If that happens, you'll remember the BC game in much the same way you remember the Georgia Tech game from 2005 or the Wake Forest game from 1993.


http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/010609aab.html

http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/010609aaa.html

I think most of the experts and fans of UNC who have followed the teams for a long time have a much more rational view of the BC game. Does it suck? Of course. Does it really impact the season? Of course not, upsets happen and any team, no matter who you are, has bad nights. If you're in the ACC and have a bad night, you'll get beat. The good thing is that our guys are older, experienced, and are going to come back with a fury and intensity that will make the first half of this season seem like a cakewalk.

[23Steps]

Here's Seth Davis's take:

NORTH CAROLINA (13-1, No. 3) BUY

I know you're too smart to panic and sell the Heels just because they played one bad game. Newsflash: Teams lose. If North Carolina's players had forgotten that, then the loss to Boston College should be a helpful (if unwelcome) reminder. The bigger concern moving forward is North Carolina's defense (again). BC coach Al Skinner did a masterful job exploiting this weakness by forcing the Heels to guard his intricate flex offense for 30 seconds or more each possession. North Carolina should improve in this area as senior forward Marcus Ginyard, who has only played three games since returning from a broken foot, gets into shape. Make no mistake, North Carolina remains the team to beat, and the Heels will be even harder to beat now that they've [been] embarrassed at home.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/seth_davis/01/06/stock.report/1.html

[23Steps]

This weeks mailbag and talking points:

http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/011309aab.html

http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/011309aaa.html