Can the Tar Heels overcome the loss of Strickland?

One of the ACC’s juggernauts lost an important player this week as North Carolina’s starting shooting guard Dexter Strickland tore his ACL Thursday night. His head coach Roy Williams called Strickland the team’s best perimeter defender. Strickland likely would have been tasked with containing Austin Rivers when Duke travels to the Dean Dome on February 8. Instead sophomore Reggie Bullock will likely slide into the starting lineup. Although Bullock can hold his own on the offensive side of the floor, he is a major downgrade defensively at the shooting guard position.

Another area where North Carolina will miss Strickland is at the backup point guard spot. Strickland handled point guard duties when starter Kendall Marshall needed a rest, but now this responsibility will fall on true freshman Stilman White.  White was just a three-star recruit coming out of high school and has averaged less than five minutes per game this season. Marshall has already seen his playing time increase by about seven minutes per game over last season, and that number may rise even more in Strickland’s absence. Marshall’s ability to stay healthy and effective while playing close to 35 minutes per game in tight contests will be crucial to the Tar Heels’ ability to close out games and make a deep run in March.

Leonard Hamilton’s Florida State squad also has aspirations of winning games in March, but after it entered the season just outside the Top 25 polls, the Seminoles got off to a disappointing 9-6 start which included losses to Harvard and Princeton. Thanks to two stunning upsets over the ACC’s heavyweights, Florida State has battled back to relevance. The two upsets leave four teams with one conference loss atop the ACC. Florida State is now one of the hottest teams in the country and has added two significant quality wins to its resume.

While one ACC defensive powerhouse is heating up at this time of year, another has lost two of its last three contests. After a 14-1 start to this season, Virginia put forth a quality performance in Cameron Indoor Stadium during which Mike Scott had the chance to tie the game with under ten seconds left, but its last defeat was an ugly one at the hands of rival Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers shot below 33 percent from the field and managed to score just 45 points. Virginia still is in the Top 25, but one of the most interesting games of this week will take place Saturday when the Cavaliers travel to Raleigh to face NC State. Both teams have appeared to be in the top half of the conference this season, and this contest may help to differentiate the two squads.