UNC Basketball: Keys for Tar Heels Round of 64 opener against Iona
By Trevor Marks
1. Acknowledge Size Advantage, Dominate Inside
Lecturing on and on about the historically-dominant rebounding culture that Roy Williams has maintained through years and years of coaching isn’t necessary here. The Tar Heels rank first in the country in rebounds per game (43.55), second in rebounding margin (+9.8), 21st in offensive rebounding percentage (34.6 percent) and 13th in defensive rebounding percentage (76.7 percent). They don’t give up boards, not against stiff competition and certainly not against a smaller mid-major like Iona.
Which, unfortunately for Iona, should be one of the largest differences between the two teams on Saturday, with the final rebound totals being one of the more staggering stats in the final boxscore. While the Heels dominate the glass due to technique and superior size (average player height of 78.5 inches, 19th nationally), the Gaels struggle to pull down boards with any regularity, sporting some of the worst rebounding percentages in the entire NCAA (254th offensively, 261st defensively) due in large part to players that come up short.
Iona’s starting core features four guards and one big, with the following listed heights: 5-11 Asante Gist, 6-2 McGill, 6-4 Ben Perez, 6-6 Crawford, 6-9 Agee.
The Heels, on the other hands, boast a much larger lineup: 6-5 White, 6-4 Kenny Williams, 6-9 Johnson, 6-8 Maye, 6-9 Garrison Brooks.
With Maye, Brooks, Johnson and Nassir Little manning the frontcourt and banging against the smaller Iona bodies, rebounds should be hard to come by for Cluess’ team. Additionally, attacking the basket and playing through the post wouldn’t be a bad idea. Without much height, resistance should be limited. And considering the foul troubles of the Gaels’ tallest starter (Agee posts 5.1 fouls per 40 minutes), early fouls to the few bigs Iona has could make things get ugly fast.