CHARLESTON, S.C. — Monday against College of Charleston, No. 9 North Carolina will finally have a road game it is expected to win.
The Cougars of College of Charleston provide yet another small-team challenge to UNC, which is fresh off wins against Marshall, Rutgers and Albany in Chapel Hill.
But Bobby Cremins' club is loaded with outside shooters. Four of his five starters shoot better than .340 from beyond the arc, and Andrew Goudelock leads the team in scoring with 17.9 points per game. The speed and quickness of Charleston will test UNC, as will the hostile environment. Also, Cremins is a big-name coach, as for 19 years he was head coach at Georgia Tech, and has 519 career wins.
For the season, North Carolina is 1-3 outside the Smith Center, with losses to Syracuse in Madison Square Garden, at No. 3 Kentucky and against No. 2 Texas in Cowboys Stadium.
UNC also drew the ire of coach Roy Williams in both of the team's most recent wins. Williams questioned his team's chemistry and defense after both those games — including the most recent against Albany. In that game, UNC led by as many as 38 but allowed the Great Danes to come back and won by 17.
But College of Charleston presents unique challenges. They are the best outside-shooting team UNC has faced since Syracuse, and their speed on the perimeter will challenge the Tar Heels, especially as guard Marcus Ginyard recovers from an ankle sprain.
