From the Sick Bed

I am trying to get this written before the afternoon fever hits. Man, I don't know what's hit me but it's a doozer. So much sneezing my chest muscles hurt, a runny nose that reminds me of Stephen Kings' book, "The Stand." A sore throat, the chills, the nights sweats. Yuck. I've been told I'll survive, but I am at that age where you sometimes wonder. I do know though that everyone has had this at one time or another, so I know that I shall persevere. I hope.

The one good thing about being sick, in my house at least, is getting lots of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a little extra pampering. Thanks, Julie!

Anyway, even in my fevered state, I did watch the Carolina-Virginia Tech game, and I'll admit I'm one of those who thought that Carolina would be waiting for those guys with revenge on their mind. The Tar Heels have admitted they slept through the loss at Blacksburg, and I thought UNC would be ready to pound them.

Thing is, Virginia Tech is good and they're smart, and maybe Carolina wasn't that ready. Marcus Ginyard said that they hadn't practiced well prior to the game, and Roy Williams said in the postgame it was his worst coaching performance ever. He said it more than once.

All that being said, Carolina had their chances, leading by as many as eight in the second half, but the Hokies kept battling. And Carolina is not used to being in close games. Their M.O. is to blow the other team out, and in most cases they do. But when the game is tight, Carolina seems tight. Williams was completely frustrated the way the Tar Heels played at the end of regulation and the end of overtime when a basket would have won it.

But Virginia Tech came in and scratched and clawed, and they were out to prove the January win wasn't a fluke. This is a well-coached veteran team, and they seemed to love to play against UNC.

Carolina has yet to stop Zabian Dowdell. He's got their number. He blistered the Heels for 33 points, and unlike Carolina, Virginia Tech is used to playing in close games. Dowdell said their plan was to attack and not let Carolina get the transition baskets they love to get. For the most part, it worked. Dowdell was a one-man attacking crew. He went to the foul line 19 times. He made 17. I was very surprised that Tyler Hansbrough missed one of two free throws that could have tied the game at 81. Those things happen, but Hansbrough's the type of player you expect to make them.

Also what amazed me was how Virginia Tech held their own with the bigger, deeper Heels on the boards. Deron Washington is so quick. He gathered in a game-high 14 as the Hokies lost the rebounding battle by just two.

Sometimes we forget though that Carolina, for all its talent, is a young team. Dowdell admitted their experience was a key. A player commented afterwards that they sometimes aren't sure who their leader is. Nobody's invincible, and the Tar Heels are still 22-4 and starting three freshman. This loss, while painful and frustrating, is not the end of the world for those guys. Williams will use it as a tool to get ready for March.

So now Carolina falls into a three-way tie for second in the ACC with Virginia and Virginia Tech at 8-3. Boston College leads the league at 9-2.

Tonight, Duke is at Boston College, which puts Carolina into the interesting position of pulling for Duke.

Sunday night, I sat down to blog about the Duke-Maryland game. That's when I first came down with the chills. Maybe it was the Blue Devils' play that had made me sick.

I was in Cameron for the first Duke-Boston College game back on January 28th. Duke won it 75-61 and was impressive. At that time, it was Duke's fifth straight win, and I thought that after some early problems they were putting it together. They were clearly better than B.C. on that night.

But close losses to Virginia and Florida State, games they should have won, followed by a close loss at home to Carolina led to the poor performance at Maryland.

I do believe Duke will play hard at Boston College tonight. I really don't know if they can win. This is big for the Eagles. Duke tonight at home, then hosting Carolina on Saturday. Right now, they are in the drivers' seat, but sometimes the lead car runs out of gas.

N.C. State is at home to Maryland tonight. I look at what Maryland has, and I do think they should be better than they are. Maybe they're just tired of Gary Williams yelling all the time.

They will put pressure on the thin Pack, who will be trying to recover from a horrible loss at Miami. You never know with Maryland, and if State plays hard, they have a chance. Another effort like the one at Miami would be a disaster. I'm sure Sidney Lowe had a few meetings of the minds the last few days.