North Carolina’s Joel Berry has suffered an ankle injury and won’t practice today
North Carolina’s campaign to return to the NCAA championship started out on the right foot in the First Round on Friday night. They lit up Texas Southern, scoring 103 points in a rout, and were really never challenged throughout the game. Junior Justin Jackson broke out of a mini-shooting slump, and scored 21 points on 5-for-8 shooting from deep.
There was some potentially bad news coming out of the game for the Tar Heels, though. Joel Berry, the junior point guard, suffered an ankle injury during the game. When updating his status today, Coach Roy Williams said he wouldn’t practice today, and that he may not play in the game tomorrow.
North Carolina is slated for a much tougher matchup than their opening game, with 8th-seed Arkansas on tap. Joel Berry is the 2nd leading scorer on the team, averaging 14.5 points per game. But, more importantly, he directs the offense for the Tar Heels. They very rarely play with anyone else at the point, and Berry’s ability to create and shoot off the dribble is key for a North Carolina team that has fewer ballhandlers than you’d think.
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Berry suffered an ankle injury earlier in the year, and North Carolina played two games without him in December. Though they won both, the games were closer than comfortable against opposition far weaker than Arkansas. Should Berry miss the game, expect the point guard minutes to be picked up by Nate Britt and Seventh Woods, while Justin Jackson will be forced to pick up additional responsibility on the offensive end.
Berry’s injury looks to be minor, but if he has to miss this game, it could have a big effect on North Carolina’s offensive game. They should be strong enough to weather the storm, but you never want to take chances in a single elimination tournament. We’ll keep an eye out for any further updates.