UNC 76, Santa Clara 58
In revenge of last year's opening game loss, Carolina pulled away from Santa Clara in the second half to win by 18. The big highlight of the game was five tarheels scoring in double figures led by Tyler Hansbrough with 14 on 5-5 shooting. This was the most balanced game of the year for Carolina. No one had a break-out game but several had very solid games. Bobby Frasor was impressive running the floor and shooting 5-6 from the floor including 2-3 from 3. Danny Green had been inconsistent the last two games, but filled up the box score this game. He had 12 points on 4-6 shooting, 2 blocks, 3 assists, and 1 steal in only 21 minutes.
Carolina's nemesis from last year loss at Santa Clara, Travis Niesen, had another good game. However, on at least two occasions he threw a ball (hard) off a Carolina player as he was going out of bounds. After this happened in the first half, the crowd booed Niesen every time he got the ball. I loved it.
Key stats from the game:
- Free throws: 21-28 (71%)
- Rebounds: 37 (UNC), 40 (SCU)
- Offensive rebounds: 11 (UNC), 22 (SCU)
- UNC had 5 blocks and 9 steals for the game
