UNC vs Kansas: Vital Keys to Tar Heels Scoring Final Four Berth

North Carolina shouldn't beat Kansas, but that doesn't mean they can't or won't. They simply have to play excellent basketball. 

The Tar Heels enter this game as two point underdogs (according to VegasInsider.com) despite being the higher seed. That is what happens when the catalyst of your offense is unable to play. 

PG Kendall Marshall will be on the sidelines for this game with his broken wrist. Here is how the Tar Heels can overcome that and take down the talented Jayhawks. 

Be Aggressive 

North Carolina has to make a point of getting to the hoop...often. This is going to be harder than it usually is for the Tar Heels. In almost every game they play, UNC enjoys a sizable front court advantage. That is not the case here. 

With Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey, the Jayhawks have the power to match up with Tyler Zeller and John Henson. These two have to go right at Kansas' front court, and the players on the wings also have to slash to the hoop. 

This will have all kinds of positive results. It will collapse the Jayhawks defense and lead to open looks. It will create good looks at the hoop, and it will lead to fouls for the Jayhawks. North Carolina will be back in their familiar position of frontcourt dominance if the can get Kansas' bigs into foul trouble. 

Get Harrison Barnes Going

With Zeller and Henson facing a tough matchup, it is going to be more important for Barnes to pour in buckets. 

To help Barnes do this, Roy Williams needs to get some plays going to get him some easy looks early. Barnes is coming off of a game where he shot just 3-of-16 from the field. He has to get his confidence going by seeing some shots go touch net after traveling through the rim. 

Barnes has the most favorable matchup for the Tar Heels. He must use this to get his points early. That will end up breaking down Kansas' defense and make things easier for his teammates. 

Protect the Rock

Kansas is going to try and exploit the Tar Heels injured point guard situation by attacking Stilman White and anyone else that has the ball in their hands. 

Last game, UNC was harassed into 24 turnovers. They cannot afford a similarly sloppy performance in this game. 

Interestingly enough, it was not the freshman White that was the source of the turnover problems. He didn't have any. It was the rest of the team. Every other Tar Heel that played committed at least two turnovers—Barnes and Zeller combined for 11 themselves. 

Protecting the rock needs to be a team effort in this one.