North Carolina Scouting Report

[AUApostle 7,651]

Can we get Steven Pearl to drop by for a few and give his thoughts?

[Gene Loblaw 636]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that our bench is way better than theirs. Yeah, they have a lottery pick in nassar little coming off the bench, but that's it. They basically only played 7 dudes against Washington and 8 dudes got more than 10 minutes in their first rd game against a 16 seed. They're gonna need a good foul trouble free 33+ minutes from their starters, espcecially Colby White if they're gonna win the game. White is young and is not a great defender who gets lost going under screens. It'd be awesome if Jared got him uncomfortable defending high up and got him for a couple quick reaching fouls or something becasue their back up PG is not that good. But if we run our pace and wear them out, then I love our chances. Hopefully we make the shots, turn them over like we're capable of, and at least get our decent share of rebounds. But our depth is an absolute advantage that we have and players from our bench have all had some monster games in this 10 game win streak. 

[AUBwins 10,075]

On 3/25/2019 at 2:09 PM, gravejd said:

I love the idea of beating Kansas, UNC, Kentucky, Virginia, and Duke on our way to claiming the title. I know its not likely but man that is one hell of a gauntlet

Only Auburn would have a road to a championship like that ...

And only Auburn would be the team that could do it. 

[GwillMac6 20,666]

The NCAA Tourney is all about matchups. And unfortunately for us we drew a absolutely rotten draw matchup wise to just GET to the final 4. UNC and UK are the 2 worst matchups for us in the whole country. UNC more so than UK. They are not going to be shell shocked by our speed and pace. They play just as fast as us if not faster. They are going to absolutely annihilate us on the glass. I would not be suprised for them to win the rebound margin by 20-25 plus.

A Roy Williams staple is the best shot and offense for them is a missed shot as they just play volleyball at the rim till eventually they get one to drop. Our interior players will have to play the game of their lives. Like @Tiger said this is the kind of game where Wiley could be so huge for us. We need how he was vs Duke against UNC. He is the only guy who matches up size wise with them. And unlike recent Roy teams this team has snipers from 3 in Cam Johnson, Coby White and 17 year senior Luke Maye. They basically are a taller, longer and more athletic version of us. Their length is really going to bother our guards. If we get by this game I am confident we can go to the final 4 since Kentucky is without their franchise player in PJ Washington. 

[bigbird 60,499]

5 hours ago, cole256 said:

I'm going to write my thoughts when I get a little time. In the middle of a move at the moment. Flattered that you value my opinion though

I'll send you my talking points in the morning. 😁

[WFE12 9,191]

If this ain't dedication idk what is!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

1 hour ago, WFE12 said:

If this ain't dedication idk what is!!!!!!!!!!!

Only thing I really watched was them vs Duke, and thats in terms of condensed game footage, but if that's any indication, Bryce is gonna find the spots he wants on the floor early. I think it'd honestly be preferable that he saved it for the back half because I presume they're gonna come out in zone from the jump (if Roy is half as good as his currently overrated reputation would lead you to believe)

[Sani-Freeze 552]

23 hours ago, WeagleTheBeagle said:

All I've seen so far analyzing this game is how fast it will be and whether Auburn can really keep up with UNC.  But if I'm Roy Williams, I'm playing the half-court game and getting it to my bigs all night.  Work it inside, get us into foul trouble, slow down the game.  We have no answer for that and the first team that runs that bland basketball at us will beat us.  Good news for us is (just like Kansas) UNC and Roy Williams are too proud to change their game for little ol' Auburn.  Kansas did in the 2nd half but it was already too late.   

My biggest concern is that UNC gets the benefit of the whistles in big games. Don't want to see a repeat of the Sylva/SC game in Columbia (against a far superior opponent this time). 

[Tiger 8,819]

I would be extremely surprised if Roy thinks about slowing it down. He is like Bruce where he doesn't use all of his timeouts because he just wants to always go, go, go! While it would be effective against us it's not their game. It's not what makes them a national power each year.

[gravejd 3,270]

13 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I would be extremely surprised if Roy thinks about slowing it down. He is like Bruce where he doesn't use all of his timeouts because he just wants to always go, go, go! While it would be effective against us it's not their game. It's not what makes them a national power each year.

I bet he comes out running just to see how it plays out. But he'll also switch to the half court game much quicker than Kansas if we are keeping pace

 

[augolf1716 21,109]

18 hours ago, bigbird said:

I'll send you my talking points in the morning. 😁

Your talking points would be shoot three's make three's pretty simple

[bigbird 60,499]

32 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

Your talking points would be shoot three's make three's pretty simple

Well, I want you to understand too

[augolf1716 21,109]

9 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Well, I want you to understand too

Reason I said SIMPLE numnuts but your so sweet to do that

[bigbird 60,499]

Oh I know who I need to simplify things for. Surprisingly, you're not at the top of that list.

[Rednilla 5,389]

On 3/25/2019 at 1:22 PM, gravejd said:

We'll have to play like we did against Tennessee in the title game and Kansas in the first half. Be lights out from 3 and play unrelenting defense. Front the big mans down low and hope we can keep them from throwing over the top. Everyone off the ball get in passing lanes and have active hands. Constant pressure on the ball and be ok if they get around us a few times for some easy layups. If they are a little off shooting the ball that would be great. But i fully believe our best game can be stacked up against their best game so i don't want it to sounds like they have to have an off night. Just be cool if they did.....also i hope they look at our roster and see Auburn on the uniform and underestimate us. Not likely with our 10 game winning streak but maybe. We have a lot of blue pelts to collect if we wanna make the title game. 

The UNC head coach said prior to the Kansas-Auburn game that he'd rather play Kansas in basketball, something he never thought he'd say. They aren't going to underestimate us.

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

We definitely need to come out loose.  I hope we don’t let the nerves creep in.  Our guys play the best when they are playing fast and having fun.  Leave all the nerves for the fans, guys!!!

[G8orH8or 61]

11 hours ago, 3rdgeneration said:

We definitely need to come out loose.  I hope we don’t let the nerves creep in.  Our guys play the best when they are playing fast and having fun.  Leave all the nerves for the fans, guys!!!

Yeah, cause I needed to see my cardiologist after NMSU game.... Amongst others

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

33 minutes ago, G8orH8or said:

Yeah, cause I needed to see my cardiologist after NMSU game.... Amongst others

No lie! I had to go to the doctor because of a big jump in my blood pressure. I had tightness in my chest from anxiety.   When we played Kansas, it went away. I haven’t watched any other games because of it, but I will watch Friday.  I’ll just have to take extra BP meds!!! 😂

[abw0004 10,110]

58 minutes ago, G8orH8or said:

Yeah, cause I needed to see my cardiologist after NMSU game.... Amongst others

 

20 minutes ago, 3rdgeneration said:

No lie! I had to go to the doctor because of a big jump in my blood pressure. I had tightness in my chest from anxiety.   When we played Kansas, it went away. I haven’t watched any other games because of it, but I will watch Friday.  I’ll just have to take extra BP meds!!! 😂

If you needed proof of what Auburn does to the heart, here is what I posted after the New Mexico State game:

On 3/21/2019 at 8:16 PM, abw0004 said:

Want to guess what time I watched the Auburn game today?

 

[DAG 33,977]

33 minutes ago, 3rdgeneration said:

No lie! I had to go to the doctor because of a big jump in my blood pressure. I had tightness in my chest from anxiety.   When we played Kansas, it went away. I haven’t watched any other games because of it, but I will watch Friday.  I’ll just have to take extra BP meds!!! 😂

Please do not take extra BP meds lol. I know that is a tongue and cheek comment , but I can’t help but to advise against that lol. Carry on.

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

On 3/26/2019 at 6:42 PM, GwillMac6 said:

The NCAA Tourney is all about matchups. And unfortunately for us we drew a absolutely rotten draw matchup wise to just GET to the final 4. UNC and UK are the 2 worst matchups for us in the whole country. UNC more so than UK. They are not going to be shell shocked by our speed and pace. They play just as fast as us if not faster. They are going to absolutely annihilate us on the glass. I would not be suprised for them to win the rebound margin by 20-25 plus.

A Roy Williams staple is the best shot and offense for them is a missed shot as they just play volleyball at the rim till eventually they get one to drop. Our interior players will have to play the game of their lives. Like @Tiger said this is the kind of game where Wiley could be so huge for us. We need how he was vs Duke against UNC. He is the only guy who matches up size wise with them. And unlike recent Roy teams this team has snipers from 3 in Cam Johnson, Coby White and 17 year senior Luke Maye. They basically are a taller, longer and more athletic version of us. Their length is really going to bother our guards. If we get by this game I am confident we can go to the final 4 since Kentucky is without their franchise player in PJ Washington. 

We hit shots, we'll compete. That goes for us against any team in the country. Might have to get into a shootout with them.

[Beaker 2,457]

I know this means nothing, but a coworker of mine said he has watched UNC several times this year; he said he would pick Auburn  vs UNC tomorrow.   He doesn't know squat about FB, but seems to know BB.

 

I will take that as a nice indicator.  He also said if we get past UNC, he really liked our chances to get to the Final Four.    Felt strange, just typing "Final Four".   Nah....probably not going to happen.  But,  I am not sure I have seen an Auburn team this capable.

[djg0017 726]

Nassir Little has been unable to practice the last two days due to flu-like symptoms. Hope he gets better...on Saturday!

[djg0017 726]

 

[AU64 10,122]

2 hours ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

We hit shots, we'll compete. That goes for us against any team in the country. Might have to get into a shootout with them.

UNC is typically in the 80s, often in the 90s and sometimes over 100.   JMO but don't see them changing their approach to the game when they play us.   Probably gonna be a lot of shots taken...  They average 7 steals and 13 turnovers per game....

JMO but that's where AU can do some damage with them.....but any AU player who hits a big 3 and turns to look at the fans for appreciation will quickly see that his man is already down the court taking an open shot.   AU needs to shoot and get back....