UNC trying to work out the kinks

North Carolina will face a double dose of stress today in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic semifinals at New York's Madison Square Garden.

UNC - 3-0 and ranked No. 6 in The Associated Press' Top 25 - will play its first game outside of Chapel Hill and its first quality opponent of the season when it meets No. 15 Ohio State (2-0) at about 9:15 p.m. Friday's consolation or championship game will be just as demanding, with No. 12 California and No. 24 Syracuse as the potential opponents.

"We've got to play better, and we've got to play harder," senior swingman Marcus Ginyard said. "We're not taking care of the ball. We're not talking on defense."

UNC has struggled at times and had to scrap Sunday to subdue Valparaiso 88-77 after failing to hold a 24-point second half lead. Coach Roy Williams was not pleased by any aspect of his team's play.

"We're not playing as well as we can play," Ginyard said. "We're letting teams that aren't necessarily as talented as us to hang in with us. There's no question the way we played (Sunday) is not going to get the job done in New York."

UNC is 9-2 against Ohio State, has won five straight against Big Ten opponents and is 11-1 against Big Ten opponents under Williams.

Williams is upset by his team's carelessness with the ball. UNC had 14 turnovers against Valparaiso, even though it faced a zone defense the entire game. UNC had 26 turnovers in its opener against Florida International.

The overall effort against Valparaiso prompted junior forward Will Graves to say that UNC was embarrassing itself by its play. Sophomore center Ed Davis is confident that UNC will be more aggressive and sharper tonight.

"It could be a reality check for us, that we're not as good as we think we are," Davis said. "If we play like that against Ohio State, we'll probably lose by 20."

Point guard Larry Drew fears that the outcome could be even more one-sided in the Tar Heels have another sloppy and uninspired game.

"This is a wake-up call for everybody," Drew said. "If we play in New York like we did (against Valparaiso) we're going to get killed. I don't want to travel all the way to New York just to get embarrassed. The games aren't going to get any easier; they're going to get harder."

UNC's five highly regarded freshmen will play on the biggest stage of their careers in the Garden. Williams is still trying to find their proper places in the playing rotation, and that has contributed to some of UNC's problems.

Drew said he's disappointed in his team's play and that he's more disappointed in his play.

"We've just got to know that if we go to New York with the same mentality, we're going to have problems," Drew said.

"The other teams aren't going to take us lightly because we're North Carolina, and we won a national championship last year. They're going to go out there to kick our butts, and we don't want that."

bcole@wsjournal.com.