5 Things

5. Kentucky
The last match up between these two historical powerhouses resulted in the Wildcats getting a berth to the Final Four and the Tar Heels watching their chance slip through their fingers. Here we are, five months later and the game scheduled for December 3rd is looming large.

John Calipari's squad will be bringing in four, highly talented and touted freshmen, but that doesn't change the fact they lost 3 key members, Brandon Knight, Josh Harrellson and DeAndre Liggins, to the NBA draft. History is siding with North Carolina with the Tar Heels walking away victorious 22 times in 34 meetings. Aside from returning their entire starting lineup, Carolina's bench will feature the fresh and talented faces of James Michael McAdoo and PJ Hairston .

This is not the same team that Kentucky faced and sent home in New Jersey on March 27, 2011. I have a feeling that this game is going to be one of the best of the season. Mark your calendar.

4. 9 Consecutive Home Games 
This is worth noting simply because it's a first. Nine home games in a row is unprecedented with the previous record of eight happening over seven decades ago in 1938. And the undefeated 1957 National Champions played eight games total in the intimate confines of Woollen Gymnasium.

The Tar Heels will host a total of 18 home games this upcoming season with the nine kicking off against Evansville on December 6 and wrapping up with Miami on January 10 before hitting the road for back-to-back conference games.

3. Big 3

"...I thought all three of those big guys (Tyler Zeller, Harrison Barnes and John Henson) would go pro last year and they all stayed. I've got problems. It's a long way to jump off that ship." Michigan State Head Coach, Tom Izzo when discussing the Carrier Classic.

Barnes, Henson and Zeller combined for 1,594 points last season and confirmation of their return, skyrocketed the Tar Heels to the top of the pre-season favorites. Now, after a summer of pickup games and the bitter taste of defeat, these three return in hopes of leading their team to New Orleans for a chance to tend to some unfinished business...

...a shot at a National title.   

2. Duke
Tobacco Road seems a lot shorter and more treacherous at least twice a year. No matter the season, record or predictions, this game is not only one to watch if you deck yourself out in light blue or royal blue; it's one to watch if you can't get enough of historic and storied rivalries. 

And if that alone isn't enough consider this...

• Two of the last three National Championships were won by these powerhouses
• Combined rosters feature a total of 12 McDonald's All-American's  
• The past two number one recruits in the Nation in Harrison Barnes (UNC) and Austin Rivers (Duke) call these programs home.       

The regular season was split, but the Blue Devils had the final word and waltzed into a conference championship with a 17-point margin of victory.

This is never just another game and this is not just another rivalry.

This is Carolina-Duke.

1. Michigan State
This game is never one to overlook and this season’s match up taking place on November 11th in San Diego, is no different. The Spartans have something no other team can say they have; Tom Izzo. I have a great deal of respect for this coach and in my opinion, he’s one of the all time best. But that fact pales in comparison of why this game has been the talk of college basketball since the beginning of last season. For the first time in history a college basketball game will take place on the deck of a docked, active aircraft carrier.

Want to take a moment and read that again?
The game is taking place appropriately on Veterans Day and no outside ticket sales will take place. A basketball court seating approximately 7,000 fans will be constructed on the flight deck and in the case of rain, the game will take place below the deck.

______________________________________________________________

These five things are purely my opinion and I have no doubt that there are a multitude of others out there. The point is, despite the many things that can be drawn from the recent release of the University of North Carolina Men's basketball schedule, these are the five that resonate in my mind as key reasons to keep an eye on the Tar Heels this upcoming season.

What is More Than March?

I realize that the web address "More Than March" is a head-scratcher if you don't know what it means. I wish I could tell you that once I explain where I got it from, it will all make sense. But I'm hesitant to do that because I know that once I lay the meaning out there, my sanity will no longer be a question. Because you will know that when it comes to college basketball, I have none.

Eh. Such is life.

On March 15th of this year I wrote these words;

Some folks may think that March Madness doesn't begin until conference tournaments or even Selection Sunday.

These folks, would be wrong.

This is a process that begins never stops. It is continuous. College basketball may end for some in early April, but for many, the lack of analysts and brackets doesn't mean the end has arrived.

I am one of those people that start counting the weeks until "midnight madness". I read too many articles and know too many numbers that in the end will get me nowhere in the real world. But I do it. I cannot explain it, but like ESPN says, "it's not crazy, it's sports".

However, I do recognize that one has to possess a certain level of insanity to love sports. But with that said, I go back to the subject at hand; March Madness. As I said before, I love and hate this time of year. Part of the reason I hate I blame purely on the level of insanity I possess. I love college basketball all the time. Not just throughout the month of March and it irrationally bugs me that once brackets come out, "fans" and "experts" just start popping out...please realize that, yes, I do know it's irrational. 

This has always been the case. It's comically sad to me to hear people doing brackets based off of mascots, team colors or whatever irrelevant reason makes sense to them and them alone. There is more to college basketball then what takes place between mid-March and the beginning of April. College basketball is an ongoing process. Maybe not for fans, but for coaches and players, they keep going long after Dick Vitale and the cameras are gone. This is a sport that gets my blood pumping and my heart racing just talking about it to another living being.

Who am I kidding? That's happening right now typing these very words as I listen to the slow defeat of the Carolina Panthers. Summer months are painful unless you love baseball. But football is here which means we're one step closer to the start of college basketball.

So if you had questioned the meaning behind the name, now you know...

It's so much more than March.

An Introduction of Sorts

I'm not sure when it started. There was no clear cut date or event or moment that provides that answer. It's an obsession that has never wavered or faded. It is something has caused me to take ESPN's mantra of "it's not crazy, it's sports" as my own.

Basketball, more specifically college basketball and even more specifically, the basketball that take place at the University of North Carolina, is a way of life for me. Seasons come and go; the names on the back of the jerseys change, but the obsession remains the same. I have often been told that I borderline on the unhealthy side of my love for the Tar Heels, but I figure if you're going to love, there is no need to do it halfway. I'll be honest and tell you that I have shed tears over losses, victories and I do not see those irrational displays of emotion fading anytime soon.

The reason I started this blog was to provide a medium or outlet for, at times, my insane passion for this college team. My personal blog, A Carolina Love, has served that purpose more than once, but it seems that the time has come for it to have its own place in the blogging world. We’re approximately 86 days from tipping off for the 2011-2012 basketball season and as fast as life goes by, I have a feeling the next 2,064 hours are going to crawl.

When the five starters announced their return, the North Carolina Tar Heels became an instant favorite for the 2012 National Championship. Now, I for one do not like to count my chickens before they’re hatched, so I’m not weighing in on that unearned prediction. The talent is there and there is no doubt about that, but things happen. Back up guard, Leslie McDonald, can confirm that after tearing his ACL during a summer Pro-Am game. Life happens; injuries sideline you; family matters bring you home. And it’s for those handful of reasons alone I’m not banking on these pre-season predictions alone to determine the outcome of this upcoming season. Now, while trying to be realistic, I am fully aware of the immense amount of potential that resides within this current roster. And it is up to the guys that put on those jerseys night in and night out to make those predictions a reality.

Winning and losing both result from team effort and whether or not it's there. I believe that the loss to Kentucky in the Elite 8 was not the way this team wanted to end it's season. It was a season of ups and downs, twists and turns that not even the most experienced sports analysts could have predicted. Yet, somehow, through all of that, this youthful, inexperienced squad was one of the last eight in the 2011 NCAA tournament.  When conference play first began, this team had lost half as many games as they played. But by March 5th, 14 games were in the victory column for the 2010-2011 Tar Heels.

I realize that football season has officially started and I'm happy for that. But in my heart of hearts, I'm still ticking off the days until I can say that college basketball has officially started.

And though the next 2,000 hours may go by slowly, they are going by surely and tip-off will be here before you know it.

Come back, visit and stay tuned, because it's only going to get better from this point forward.