UNC Basketball: Meeting the Foes… Florida Atlantic

Two days after North Carolina opens its 2012-13 season at home head coach Roy Williams and his squad will once again be in action at the Dean Dome. On Veteran’s Day, November 11 (with tip off time being 2:30 p.m. EST ~ televised on ESPNU), UNC will be playing against Florida Atlantic, in the second game between programs. The Heels won the only other game between squads 105 to 52 six years back. Once again Carolina will face a team that did not have much luck the previous season, as FAU went 11 and 19 overall, with a conference record of 7-9. So, once again, in this game, the second for UNC and the first for FAU on the season, it will be a lot more about how this young team performs than how the opposition is.

As I wrote way back when, this game is part of the Maui Invitational schedule, that somehow no matter the outcome it will be the UNC Basketball program going to Hawaii, while FAU will join other teams in a regional match up in Elon. Florida Atlantic, who is part of the Sun Belt Conference, has Mike Jarvis as their head man, now in his fifth season with the program, and is going to be freshmen heavy this season (seven in all, one red shirt). From a blog on ESPN I read that the top player for the Owls will be Greg Gantt, a 6’2″ senior guard. Once again making me cringe knowing what some guards in games with nothing to lose have done to the Heels in the past.

Being the second game it will be interesting to see if anything changes, be it the rotation, minutes, or other things, from the first game. For me it will be watching the inside game that will come from James McAdoo and whomever is with him as these are the games the big men need to have in order to gel in the paint for when the tougher games arrive. And for anyone that has seen the schedule, the tough games will arrive!

Check back later on today for a quick look at the next opponent for the Tar Heels… Long Beach State, which will be the first game of the season on the road for the UNC Basketball program. From what I know of the Carolina program and its first two opponents, coach Williams and the staff will be headed to the west coast with a 2 and 0 record. And as usual for more information about North Carolina basketball and/or football, teams and players, present and past, make sure to check back often on isportsweb!

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