The Sports Network
DATE & TIME: Wednesday, March 26th, 7:00 p.m. (et).
FACTS & STATS: Site: Dean E. Smith Center (21,750) -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Television: ESPN2. NIT Record: Georgetown 11-8, North Carolina 9-3. Series Record: North Carolina leads, 4-3.
GAME NOTES: The Georgetown Hoyas continue their highly successful road trip through the NIT field this evening, as they stop in Chapel Hill to battle the North Carolina Tar Heels in quarterfinal action of the tournament. The winner will move on to Madison Square Garden for next week's final two games. Georgetown has been on the road this entire tournament, posting wins at Tennessee in the first round (70-60), followed by Monday's second-round victory at Providence (67-58). The Tar Heels have had a successful run to date as well, but have enjoyed the comforts of home, knocking off DePaul last week in the first round (83-72) and then cruising past Wyoming on Monday (90-74). The Tar Heels are trying to complete the NIT sweep this season, after capturing the Preseason event to open up the 2002-03 campaign. North Carolina has one NIT title to its credit, capturing the 1971 tournament with an 84-66 rout of Georgia Tech. This is UNC's first appearance in this event since 1974. The Hoyas are trying to get back to the NIT Semifinals for the first time since 1993, when the team took second place, losing to Minnesota (62-61) in the championship game. North Carolina holds a 4-3 series advantage against Georgetown, winning four of the last five meetings, but haven't met since the 1999-2000 campaign.
All-American Mike Sweetney recorded his 38th career double-double, as he put up 26 points and 11 rebounds in leading the Hoyas to the quarterfinals of the NIT, beating the Providence Friars at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Monday night. Sweetney went 8-of-15 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, but was outdone on the glass by fellow forward Brandon Bowman, who grabbed a team-high 12 caroms, while adding eight points to the cause. While Sweetney and Bowman controlled the action inside, guards Tony Bethel and Gerald Riley were able to get it done from the outside, tallying 18 and 11 points, respectively. The Hoyas committed a disturbing 26 turnovers in the game, but shored things up defensively, forcing 18 Providence miscues, while holding the Friars to 34.5 percent shooting, including a mere 15 percent from behind the arc (3-of-20). Sweetney is the center of attention when it comes to the Hoyas' gameplan. The big man in the paint has proved to be one of the nation's best power players for the last few years, but he has put it all together this season, averaging a double-double with 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. In addition, Sweetney is shooting .544 from the floor and has blocked 97 shots on the season. With Sweetney owning the low post, Riley (14.0 ppg) and Bethel (11.0 ppg) get open looks from the perimeter. The pair have combined for 105 of the team's 142 three-pointers this season.
Guard Melvin Scott went 8-of-12 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc in scoring a career-high 20 points to lead the Tar Heels to a blowout victory over the Wyoming Cowboys on Monday in Chapel Hill. Freshman forward Rashad McCants duplicated Scott's scoring output with 20 points of his own, while fellow freshman Raymond Felton was unstoppable running the show, recording a double-double with 15 points and 14 assists. Sophomore forward Jawad Williams and freshman forward David Noel finished things off with 13 points apiece, as North Carolina shot a blistering 51.5 percent from the floor, including 46.2 percent from long range (12-of-26), all while committing just eight turnovers. Matt Doherty's team has burst on the scene this year, despite being so young, just one win away from posting a 20-win campaign, after winning just eight games a year ago. The Tar Heels are netting just 72.1 ppg this year, the prime reason for struggling through the ACC schedule. However, the team has solid scoring depth, led by McCants' 16.7 ppg. The freshman has shot .482 from the floor this season, including over 40 percent from three-point range (69-of-170). Williams is next in the scoring column with almost 15 points per game (14.8). Felton is a duel threat, with natural scoring ability (12.9 ppg), while emerging as one of the nation's premier young point guards (6.6 apg).
The Hoyas have not traveled well this season (5-7), but have bucked that trend in this tournament. However, winning at Thompson-Boling Arena and the Dunkin' Donuts Center is not the same as taking a victory at the Dean Dome. The Tar Heels have enough playmakers to counter what Sweetney will probably accomplish down low, and a raucous home crowd should help in sending the Tar Heels back to NYC.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: North Carolina 78, Georgetown 72
