UNC Hurt by Loss of Kendall Marshall

By Jonathan Lee

North Carolina breezed through the first two rounds of the tournament winning by a combined 33 points.  The Tar Heels were hit by a devastating blow however when Kendall Marshall fell and fractured his right wrist against Creighton, and is unlikely to play in the Sweet 16.  The point guard would then be questionable for each subsequent round.

Marshall is probably North Carolina’s most indispensable player.  The team had already lost guards Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald earlier on in the year, and will need to rely on little used back-ups Stillman White and Justin Watts.  Marshall racks up an almost inconceivable number of assists for a college player (9.8 per game this season), and his playmaking will be sorely missed.  While not thought of as a scorer, he is a smart player that finds spots to attack shooting 46.7 percent from the field.

With a healthy Marshall North Carolina was 48.3 percent likely to win the Midwest regional and 16.8 percent likely to win the championship.  Both numbers were second best in the tournament behind overall number one Kentucky.  Without Marshall the Tar Heels drop to just 37.1 percent to make the Final Four, and 10.1 percent to win the title – just fifth best in the field.