The Maryland Terrapins aren't a great basketball team this season, but College Park is always a tough place to go. The No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels found a feisty competitor waiting for them Saturday afternoon, and have to be pleased with an 83-74 victory.
The big news heading into the game was the status of F Harrison Barnes, who was nursing an ankle injury. He was able to play, and he connected on five of his 15 field goal attempts to wind up with 18 points, eight rebounds and a steal in 35 minutes. Fellow F John Henson dropped in eight buckets on 18 attempts, finishing with 17 points and 12 boards. F/C Tyler Zeller was also very efficient, hitting seven of his 12 shots for 22 points, seven rebounds and two swats.
Lost in the shuffle is G Kendall Marshall, who is sometimes overlooked because he isn't lighting up the scoreboard with huge point totals. He finished with nine points Saturday, canning his only 3-pointer attempt, but he was also able to dole out 16 assists while recording two steals in 38 minutes. It was announced Feb. 2 that Marshall is among the final 11 candidates for the 2012 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award. The list of candidates will be narrowed to five March 1, with a winner presented Championship Monday at the NCAA Final Four Weekend in New Orleans. Former UNC PGs Raymond Felton (2005) and Ty Lawson (2009) are among the seven previous winners of the Cousy Award.
G Reggie Bullock also continues to play well, hitting half of his 10 attempts from the floor. He had 11 points.
The Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1) reached the 20-win mark for the 54th time in the program's 102-year history, and it is the 39th time UNC has reached the mark in the past 42 seasons. It is also the eighth straight season under the tutelage of head coach Roy Williams that the Tar Heels have surpassed 20 victories in a single season.
We mentioned at the top that Maryland is a tough place to play. In Atlantic Coast Conference play under Roy Williams, the Heels are just 3-4 in Maryland. The Tar Heels are at or over .500 on the road under Williams in every other venue in the league except for at Georgia Tech (1-4).
The Tar Heels have a big upcoming week, as they will host back-to-back games against top-notch ACC competition. Duke pays a visit to the Dean E. Smith Center Wednesday, Feb. 8, with Virginia coming in Saturday, Feb. 11.
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