UNC wary of Eagles' Rice

BC star dropped 46 on UNC last season

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina senior Danny Green doesn't think Boston College guard Tyrese Rice will have another mammoth game today against the Tar Heels, as he did last March.

But then again: "Knock on wood," he added.

The feisty, speedy ballhandler lit up the Tar Heels for a career-high 46 points -- including 34 in the will-he-ever-miss first half -- to put UNC back on its heels. North Carolina completed a second-half comeback to beat the Eagles 90-80, but Rice's performance left a lasting impression.

And a weighty knowledge that if the top-ranked Tar Heels (13-0) want to keep cruising when they open ACC play tonight, slowing the Eagles' engine would help. BC, picked in the preseason to finish 11th in the league, is currently 12-2 and has won nine straight. Rice leads the team with 16.7 points per game.

"It still starts with Tyrese," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "... You can't stop him, you're not going to shut him out or anything like that; you hope he shoots a bad percentage and you hope the other guys don't feel as comfortable getting the ball where they want it from Tyrese."

When they get it, that is.

The last time these two teams played, in Chestnut Hill, Mass., Rice was on such a roll that he shot the ball seemingly every time (and from any place) he touched it. He made 8 of 9 attempts from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes, then started the second half with a steal and layup to give BC an 18-point lead.

"The guy had a performance; it was pretty amazing," UNC forward Tyler Hansbrough said. "The guy made every shot he took almost, it seems like."

In the end, Rice cooled to a simmer, missing all three of his 3-point tries in the second half and finishing 14-for-25.

To keep him in check tonight, Hansbrough figures it will take a group effort, and Green said every UNC defender will need to be aware of he is on the floor.

Knocking on wood, like Green, might not hurt, either.

"He was sensational, and I kept feeling like he's not going to make those for the whole game, and he almost did," Williams said. "... I do believe it was one of the best shows I've ever seen."