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Off the cuff: The Scarlett Letter indeed. Did you see that huge "R" in the middle of the court? That was nasty.

Good to hear that Danny Green Sr. is going to get out of jail soon - either next week or in March - after being in jail for supposedly being part of a cocaine distribution ring. If he's guility, I have little sympathy for him but I do feel for Danny Green Jr. who was playing his "home game" but couldn't play in front of his dad.

I was amused that the Rutgers fans booed Hansbrough for making them wait while he got his contact lens back in. Of course fans aren't as tough on ESPN when the network makes them wait to start a game because they are showing the end of another game. They really shouldn't schedule two, two-hour games back-to-back. Give the first game 2:15 to be completed.

Another pet peeve of mine. The Rutgers team puts chairs on the court during timeouts. First, it's a bit showy but second, these places have fits when someone walks on the court in high heels but it's ok to put metal chairs with four pressure points on the court with a 225-pound player sitting on it. Jeez. You'll never see me in heels again.

Hey, anyone who listened to Woody, let me know if he called "air ball" when a Rutgers player missed the rim. You can reach me at cb3media@gmail.com for that or to give me your opinion on anything related to Carolina basketball.


Heels 93, Scarlet Knights 71
UNC looks sharp after exams; take Rutgers to school

After going nearly two weeks without playing a game, Carolina looked energized as the bunny, Ty Lawson, set a career-high in points with 26 to lead the Heels to a 93-71 victory at Rutgers. (12/16)

The No. 1 Tar Heels move to 9-0, the best start in a decade, while Rutgers falls to 7-4.

UNC got its first double-digit lead of the game when Lawson stole an inbounds pass and layed it in for a 24-14 advantage. Within three minutes, Lawson picked up another steal and went coast to coast, drilled a three and picked up a loose ball after a Wayne Ellington steal to go in for a layup.

Another Lawson take away under the basket gave the Tar Heels their halftime lead of 47-26, the largest lead of the half.

Tyler Hansbrough had a strong game, especially in the second half when a nifty move past the defender for a lay in gave the Heels their largest lead of the game at 73-44. Hansbrough had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

A sloppy last few minutes and a nice little run by Rutgers cut the lead to 15 before sub Will Graves hit a layup, drilled a three and drew a charge. The Scarlet Knights actually would have won the second half if not for a baseline jumper by deep sub Surry Wood at the buzzer.

At the outset Rutgers attempted to control the tempo by spreading its offense but seemed to get rattled by the Carolina defense and made turnover after turnover and then starting shooting too quickly. The Tar Heels got 30 points off turnovers, including 21 in the first half alone. Carolina finished with 14 steals including four by Lawson.

It was a rough game inside as Danny Green had to have stitches while Hansbrough suffered a mild concussion late in the game. Coach Roy Williams wasn't happy with the lack of a call on the Hansbrough play where he appeared to draw a charge before hitting his head on the base of the goal support. "First time in the history of college basketball a guy got a concussion with no foul called and that better be all I say," Williams said.

Hansbrough was lucid and talking with the media after the game.

Corey Chandler led Rutgers with 23 points while self-professed star JR Inman, who claimed that Hansbrough couldn't cover him, went a dismal 3-for-14 from the floor and 10 points.


Check out the game photo gallery and the game box score.
Check out the other game articles.
Read my Tar Heels' season preview on WRAL.com by clicking here.

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