Paul Vernon - AP

4 months ago: Ohio State's Evan Turner dunks the ball against James Madison during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

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Cal Golden Blogs suggested that the blogs whose teams are involved in the Coaches Vs. Cancer tournament do a roundtable, and you see the results below. Troy Nunes, Carolina March, yours truly, and CGB all participated.

This post will also serve as your game thread for the UNC game. I will again be at class for at least the early proceedings, but not for the entire game.

Let's get to know Cal a bit better first. Ragnarok from CGB was kind enough to answer my questions.

These are two separate questions, and they deserve separate answers.  The guy that should draw most of the opponent's attention is point guard Jerome Randle.  He's a little guy (generously listed at 5' 10"), but is super-quick, with NBA+ shooting range.  While many defenses will also try and shut down shooting guard Patrick Christopher and small forward Theo Robertson (Cal's other two main scorers, and the other two reasons why Cal led the nation in 3-point percentage last year), teams have clamped down on one or both of these guys before and still not come away with a W.  Teams that have had more success usually have had a guy who can stay with Randle, frustrating him into disrupting our offensive flow and giving up some cheap turnovers.

The so-called "game-changer", however?  I'd have to go with sixth-man Jorge Gutierrez.  He might not play 20 minutes per game, but his defense and hustle are infectious, and that in turn feeds the Bears' offense.  If he makes an impact in the scoresheet it might be in unusual ways, but the Bears always seem to have a better point differential when Jorge is out on the floor.

Actually, Ken Pomeroy rated the Pac-10 as the #1 conference last year (despite no elite teams, 90% of the league went to the postseason), and #2 the year before that.  Heck, the league did produce 13 NBA first-round picks over the past two seasons, 9 of them in the lottery.  Just because we play past your bedtime doesn't mean we're not any good out here.

That said, this year looks to be a down year for the Pac-10.  All those NBA draft picks have come at a price, leaving the league relatively bereft of talent.  While I'm sure at least one team in the league will surprise, right now it looks like the league title will come down to Cal and Washington.  Out West, there's always the worry over UCLA as a lurking juggernaut, but the Bruins lost a lot of talent since last year, and just this week lost to Cal State Fullerton at home; not an auspicious beginning. While I might favor the Huskies some, finishing between second and fourth in the Pac-10 has historically been plenty to get into the tournament.

As for the non-conference schedule, it definitely has some teeth to it.  I think Cal would do well with even a split in New York, and our game at Kansas is basically a no-lose proposition.  This is a senior-heavy squad that shouldn't slip up against lesser competition, and if they can beat Craig Brackins and Iowa State, I should think they'll have no problems with the NCAA Tournament committee this season.

Now, onto the Syracuse Orange.

1. Losing to Le Moyne must have been horrifying, and probably caused a few Orange partisans to re-evaluate their lives, let alone their expectations for the season. After watching this team some more, is it time to stock up on food and water for the Syrapocalypse, or are things proceedingly more swimmingly than you'd anticipated in the wake of that loss?

Throw in the fact that the LeMoyne loss happened a day after superstar WR quit the football team and it made for one of the worst weeks in SU sports history.  We since learned that there was an ulterior motive by Boeheim to force the team into playing man defense the entire game, which makes it slightly easier to swallow.  Then we saw in the first two games of the year that things were not quite the Syrapocalypse we feared.  The team is actually playing good defense, so far even better than their predecessors.  And it's a new kind of Syracuse team, one that runs.  The season might not live up to the expectations that existed before Jonny Flynn left, but it should be a fun one.

2. Ohio State is very strong at almost every position, but we lack a true center, and we'll probably be vulernable to talented, physical big men. If Syracuse has one, who is he, and what can we expect from him? If not, how might Syracuse attack this vulnerability?

We have two, but the one you'll probably want to focus on is senior Arinze Onuaku.  Arinze lead the nation in field goal percentage last year and that was with Eric Devendorf and Jonny Flynn shooting the ball a ton.  Now he's going to see even more opportunities and you'll certainly see him come into play in this game. The good news for you? He's arguably the worst free-throw shooter in the country.  So by all means, if you get the sense he's heating up, start fouling him.  You'll be doing yourself a favor.  His frontcourt buddy, junior Rick Jackson, is a little bit of the same mold...strong defender and offensive presence, awful free-throw shooter.

 

Carolina March, of utmost interest to us today, also obliged:

1. UNC is coming off of a championship season, but, being UNC, they're as stocked with talent as ever. That said, much of the experienced, veteran leadership from that team is gone, and the Tar Heels are hoping to find a starting five that can at least approximate the '08 team's consistency. Simply, who are these guys? What experience do they have, and how do you expect the newer recruits to contribute?

Marcus Ginyard's a fifth-year senior who had redshirt last year due to injury. He was the defensive glue through the last four years, and is the senior leadership on the team. Ed Davis and Deon Thompson are the returning post presences, and the reason you couldn't just triple team Hansbrough in the paint last season; they'll impress. Larry Drew is the point guard who understudied for Ty Lawson last year, and gets grief for not being Lawson right out of the gates, but he's got the necessary feel for where the ball needs to be on the court and will do just fine at the point. For all they've lost, UNC still has a starting five of returning players, and there's more experience then you think.

There are also five freshmen all getting playing time, as well as back-from-injury Tyler Zeller. I don't know who will make the biggest impact of them in New York, although I'd lean toward John Henson and David Wear, who are coming along the fastest. For a team that's lost as many players as they have, you'll be surprised how many players they put on the floor, and how many of them are 6'10" or taller.

2. What are expectations among the Carolina fanbase for this season? As an Ohio State football fan, I know how exceedingly difficult it is to keep expectations in check when assessing the talent level of the team, especially in relation to the talent level of the rest of the conference. What would constitute a success this season, and what would constitute failure? 

Surprisingly low, at least for me. No one's expecting a repeat title, although we'd all be thrilled with it. Twenty wins, competing in the ACC, and a trip to the second week of the tournament would be ideal. The biggest comparison will be to the last team to follow a title squad, the 2006 team with Hansbrough, Green and Ginyard as freshmen. They went 23-8, finished second in the ACC, and lost in the second round to George Mason. Failure would be missing the NCAA's (highly unlikely) and being blown out by Duke (highly rage-inducing).

We always expect to beat Duke.