Tyler Zeller Bails Out Tar Heels in OT Win over Ohio

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 23, 2012

Without their playmaker, Kendall Marshall, North Carolina barely survived their regional semi-final tilt with the Ohio Bobcats, Friday night, having to go into overtime to eventually conquer their upset-minded opponents, 73-65.

Marshall suffered a fractured wrist in the Tar Heels' previous game, an 87-73 win over Creighton this past Sunday (March 18) that set up the Sweet 16 meeting with the Bobcats. Coach Roy williams was forced to start freshman Stilman White in his place, and, while White was an adequate replacement, North Carolina still turned the ball over 23 times against Ohio.

What the Tar Heels lost with Marshall's absence was compensated for by the steady play of senior forward Tyler Zeller, the ACC player of the year, who tallied 20 points and 23 rebounds. Zeller's 20+ double-double was the first time any player in the NCAA tournament had accomplished such a feat since Tim Duncan did it when playing for Wake Forest in 1997, putting Zeller and his accomplishment in elite company.

Besides the scoring and glass-cleaning, Zeller was a powerful force in the middle, with four blocked shots and numerous others altered as Ohio players tried in vain to penetrate the middle against him and fellow front court stalwart John Henson.

Carolina's win sets up a Sunday afternoon meeting with the Kansas, the #2 seed in the Midwest region. The winner will earn a trip to New Orleans and the Final Four.

Tyler Zeller Leads Tar Heels Past Wolfpack, 74-55; Indiana Slide Continues

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, January 26, 2012

When Tyler Zeller finds matchups he likes, i.e., shorter guys in the paint, the North Carolina Tar Heels are virtually unstoppable.

That was clearly evident as Zeller led the Tar Heels to their 17th win against just three losses, putting a thorough thumping on nearby rival NC State, 74-55.

While the 7-foot senior was putting up 21 points and 17 rebounds - his eighth double-double of the season and fourth in a row - his teammates were clamping down on the Wolfpack, limiting them to 37% shooting, blocking eight shots (five by Jon Henson), forcing 17 turnovers and outrebounding them by a preposterous 48-26.

Zeller's performance was one of his best of the season, hitting 8 of 11 shots, all five of his free throws, and getting six offensive rebounds.

With the win, the 7th-ranked Tar Heels improved to 4-1 in the conference, 1/2 game behind ACC co-leaders, Duke and Florida State, both with 5-1 records.

NOTABLE: After a stunning December in which the Hoosiers beat two top-ranked teams, Kentucky and Ohio State, Indiana has found the sledding in the Big Ten to be a little rough. They lost their conference opener at Michigan State, 80-65, then beat the Buckeyes, 74-70, and topped Michigan and Penn State, but since have lost four of their last five, including Thursday's 57-50 dinimg at #25 Wisconsin. Indiana's currently ranked 16th nationally, but, with losses mounting, especially against conference foes, their grip on a Top 25 ranking is quickly slipping away.

Zeller Goes for 31 in 26 Minutes as Tar Heels Roll to 9-2

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, December 17, 2011

Even though they've dropped two games already, the North Carolina Tar Heels are still a force with which to be reckoned, especially when their twin towers, John Henson and Tyler Zeller, are having their way in the paint.

Henson scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds, but Zeller led all scorers with 31 points, to go with his 10 rebounds, as the Tar Heels dominated Appalachian State, 97-82, improving to 9-2 on the season and 6-0 at home.

The final score doesn't truly indicate just how badly the smaller Mountaineers were outplayed, as no North Carolina starter played more than 29 minutes. Zeller, the 7-foot forward many believe to be one of the top three big men in the country, did his damage in just 26 minutes, making 11 of 15 shots and hitting nine of 10 from the foul line.

Zeller's 31 was just one shy of his career high, which he scored in North Carolina's opening game in last season's NCAA tournament, a 102-87 rout of Long Island. The ten boards gave him his third double-double of the current season.

The 6th-ranked Tar Heels shot 55% for the game, racing out to a 48-32 lead at the break. Coach Roy Williams played mostly subs in the second half, allowing the Mountaineers to stay relatively close, though never threatening North Carolina's lead.

With just four more games before opening ACC play on January 7 against Boston College, North Carolina's toughest opponent in upcoming games will be the Texas Longhorns, on December 21. On Saturday, the unranked, 9-2 Longhorns knocked off Temple, 77-65.

Tyler Zeller Is North Carolina's Front Man

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 25, 2011

In North Carolina's 81-63 elimination of Marquette from the remaining tournament field, Tyler Zeller was just plain scary, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor, glowering and scowling his way to a game high 27 points.

Zeller, a junior on a team full of underclassmen, may be the elder statesman on the team, but his playing time at North Carolina isn't much more than that of many of his younger teammates, since he spent much of his freshman and sophomore years on the bench with injuries.

Now fully healthy, the lanky 7-footer has brought the Tar Heels to the brink of history. He had 32 points in North Carolina's tourney opener over LIU, then scored 23 in the nail-biter over Washington in the second round. In Friday's outing, Zeller tied teammate John Henson for top rebounding honors, with 12, grabbing 7 on the offensive end.

With his front court running mate Henson checking in 6'10", but with the reach of a man 7'3", the Tar Heels are as imposing and threatening up front as any team in the tournament.

North Carolina Trio Unstoppable in Win

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 18, 2011

While there were many exceptional performances on Friday, the second full day of the Round of 64, it's hard to compare with effort of this trio of Tar Heels: Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson, who accounted for 84 points in North Carolina's 102-84 win over Long Island.

Barnes scored 24 points and was only the third highest scorer for the Tar Heels, though he did chip in with 16 boards. Zeller led the way with 32 mostly-uncontested points and John Henson had 28, 20 in the first half.

The numbers were career highs in scoring for both Zeller and Henson, and Barnes set a personal mark for rebounds.

North Carolina moves on to face Washington in the Round of 32.

Zeller Delivers for Tar Heels, Sends Kentucky to 2nd Loss

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, December 4, 2010

With their season on the brink of disaster, the North Carolina Tar Heels knew they'd have to be at their best to avoid a fourth loss on the early season when the Kentucky Wildcats came calling to the Dean Smith Center.

what they found, over 40 minutes of manic, sometimes desperate, play, was a tough-minded big man in Tyler Zeller and the resolve to defeat a committed opponent.

Zeller, who led both teams in scoring and rebounding with 27 points and 11 boards, canned key free throws down the stretch to seal a 75-73 Tar Heel win and keep North Carolina's record respectable, at 5-3.

Zeller, a seven-foot junior who's been injured for parts of each of the past two seasons, put up career highs in both scoring and rebounding and recorded his second double-double of the season. He also nailed 11-of-12 free throws, many of them pressure shots to keep the Tar Heels in front down the stretch.

The #10 Wildcats suffered their second loss of the season (5-2). They fell to Connecticut on November 24, both losses coming away from home.