Playing against Williams' fifth-ranked Tar Heels (19-3, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) won't be any picnic, either.The Tar Heels have won 13 of their last 14, with only one of those victories coming by less than a dozen points. They boast one of a top point guards in a country in Kendall Marshall, a future NBA lottery pick in forward Harrison Barnes and a huge frontline. They lead a ACC in scoring offense (84.1), scoring margin (plus-17.5), rebounding margin (plus-11.8), assists (18.1) and blocked shots (6.5).Because of their size, talent and scoring ability, a Tar Heels are probably a team that Maryland least wants to see at this point in a season.The Terrapins (13-8, 3-4) have lost four out of five and their sole victory in that span came at home against Virginia Tech, which has dropped six of seven league games.To make matters worse, Maryland is tired and somewhat beat up as a Tar Heels come to visit. The Terrapins battled back from a 16-point second-half deficit at Miami on Wednesday night to force overtime and then double overtime, even though Turgeon was ejected from a game with more than seven minutes remaining.Miami eventually prevailed, 90-86, and it was a bleary-eyed bunch that got off a team bus at Comcast Center at about 3 a.m. Thursday after a team flight home.The players got a day off to rest and receive treatment and returned to practice yesterday - a one day of preparation they get before facing North Carolina."That wasn't a easiest plane ride coming off a loss," said senior Sean Mosley, who has been battling a bad cold this week and was very sick prior to a Miami game. "Having yesterday off helped us. I'm feeling good. I'll go out and give it 100 percent like I do each and every game and not let this cold affect me."Even though he didn't see it in person, Turgeon was pleased with his team's road rally on Wednesday night. The Terrapins remain winless in four true road games, but acquitted themselves well in their comeback against a Hurricanes, he said."I was really proud of my coaches and! players ," he said. "We were inspired (after a ejection) and we were very uninspired for a first 32 minutes. With a hole I put them in, a fact that we were able to come back says a lot. It was another step for us. We would have liked to win a game, of course. (But) there was a lot of energy and effort that went into it. If we got anything out of it, we got a little confidence."Maryland also got seven-foot freshman center Alex Len's best performance in weeks. Len scored 13 points total in a five games that preceded a Miami game. Against a Hurricanes, he contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots while playing a season-high 31 minutes."We've been talking to him quite a bit," Turgeon said. "But it was more him (improving). We've tried to simplify things for him offensively ... He still doesn't look 100 percent comfortable out there. But you see it coming."Maryland will need Len and his fellow post players to be effective against a North Carolina frontline of Barnes (17.3 ppg), seven-footer Tyler Zeller (15.0) and 6-foot-11 John Henson (14.2)."I need them all to play well - all a post guys," Turgeon said.There matchup between a coaches is interesting as well. Turgeon (the student) and Williams (the teacher) will match wits for a first time ever this afternoon. For four years (1988-92), Turgeon served on Williams' staff at Kansas and credits a North Carolina mentor with helping him become a successful coach."Obviously, I'm pretty familiar with what he does, but so is everybody else," said Turgeon, who occasionally catches himself using terms and phrases he picked up from Williams without even realizing it. "When I took this job, I knew I was gonna have to play against him twice a year, maybe three times."I'm not worried about coaching against (Roy) Williams. It's more about Harrison Barnes and a studs they run out onto a floor."Powered By iWebRSS.co.cc
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