Treacherous travel conditions exist in Washington, D.C., but North Carolina still has a basketball game to play there today and a losing streak to end.
UNC will visit Maryland in College Park, just off the Capital Beltway, for a 2 p.m. game at the Comcast Center. Coach Roy Williams and his players arrived there Friday afternoon, well ahead of the storm that dumped 20 inches of snow and more in the area.
Williams was able to put his team through practice yesterday at the Center. Steve Kirschner, UNC's basketball sports-information director, said that plows at the the team's hotel had to clear snow from around the bus.
He said it took about 25 minutes to get the team the six miles to the Center.
The Tar Heels have enough trouble to deal with in its season without having to worry about travel conditions and the weather. Six losses in eight games have shoved them close to the ACC cellar.
But Williams said he saw signs of improvement after the 74-70 loss at Virginia Tech on Thursday, UNC's second straight loss and its fifth in six games.
"I think my team competed harder than we've been doing," Williams said. "I've never had a team that I've worried about how hard we were playing, but that's seeped into our poor play lately. I thought we played with much more intensity."
UNC is 13-9 overall and 2-5 in the ACC. Maryland is 15-6 and 5-2, and is second in the ACC behind Duke.
The Terrapins have beaten North Carolina in three of their past four games. A poised team, Maryland has two wins of two points and one win of three points in overtime.
The Tar Heels have won only twice in six games in the Comcast Center.
What starting lineup the Tar Heels will have for a second straight ACC road game remains to be seen. Freshman guard Dexter Strickland started at Virginia Tech in place of senior Marcus Ginyard, who has been struggling in most facets of his game.
The lineup switch produced mixed results. Ginyard scored six points off the bench but missed five of seven shots. Strickland had one point and seven rebounds in 15 minutes.
bcole@wsjournal.com.
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