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Marshall-North Carolina Preview

Dec 22, 2009 - 4:17 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Marshall (9-1) at North Carolina (8-3), 7:00 p.m. EDT

North Carolina hopes a recent stretch against three top-10 opponents will prove beneficial the rest of the season.

The No. 10 Tar Heels try to bounce back from their latest defeat when they host Marshall on Tuesday night.

With only one starter - senior forward Deon Thompson - remaining from last season's national championship team, North Carolina (8-3) has managed to hold its own through a tough early-season schedule.

The Tar Heels lost 103-90 to second-ranked Texas on Saturday, concluding a four-game stretch that included an 89-82 win over then-No. 9 Michigan State and a 68-66 loss at then-No. 5 Kentucky.

North Carolina is 2-3 against teams currently ranked among the top 17 in the nation.

"We definitely hope that it will make us a better team," said sophomore Tyler Zeller, who had 16 points off the bench Saturday.

Thanks to a 23-7 first-half run and four players with 20 points or more, Texas became the first team to score 100 points in regulation against North Carolina since Roy Williams became head coach in 2003-04. It was the also the most points allowed by the Tar Heels in any game since a 119-114 triple-overtime loss to Wake Forest on Dec. 20, 2003.

Rather than make harsh comments about his own club, Williams credited Texas' strong play.

"It's not always something we're not doing," he said.

While Marshall (9-1) is not near the caliber of the Longhorns, Williams' squad still faces another high-powered offensive team that's averaging 85.2 points on the season and has scored 99 or more in four of its last five games.

Still, North Carolina has a good chance to bounce back and build some confidence with a favorable stretch of three home games over nine days. The Tar Heels host Rutgers next Monday and Albany on Dec. 30.

Sophomore Ed Davis, who had a team-leading 21 points with nine rebounds against Texas, has scored at least 20 in three of the Tar Heels' last four games.

Thompson is averaging a team-high 16.3 points, but will look for a better effort after being held to a season-low eight while shooting 3 of 12 on Saturday.

Marshall has won seven straight, including a 109-76 rout of High Point on Sunday. Tyler Wilkerson had 18 points and 10 rebounds and the Thundering Herd shot 56.5 percent.

"I thought we played really good team basketball," Marshall coach Donnie Jones told the school's official Web site. "Both our starters and our bench played really well."

Wilkerson, a 6-foot-8 senior, is averaging a team-leading 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.

Marshall will be facing its first ranked opponent of the season, and its first opponent from a major conference. The Herd have lost their last four games versus Top 25 teams since beating then-No. 9 West Virginia 58-52 on Jan. 25, 2006.

North Carolina is 2-0 against Marshall, including a 116-62 victory at Chapel Hill in the most recent meeting Jan. 2, 1994.