How UNC can survive without Marshall 
The biggest question of the entire NCAA tournament so far is whether North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Kendall Marshall will play in the Sweet 16 this weekend. It's logical because, on a team with three likely NBA lottery picks in June, Marshall is the Tar Heels' most indispensable player.
The Indianapolis Colts losing Peyton Manning last season is an apt comparison to Roy Williams losing Marshall indefinitely. North Carolina is 48-8 since Marshall took over the Heels' full-time quarterbacking duties a season ago.
Not only is Marshall one of college basketball's best point guards in the past decade but the Tar Heels do not have a good answer to how they will replace him, given that backup Dexter Strickland was lost to a knee injury in mid-January. Their backcourt's ability to handle the ball in Marshall's absence is certainly in question.
Whether Marshall plays or not, Williams and staff will be in "crisis management mode." Their job will to be to come up with the best game plan to beat the Ohio Bobcats on Friday night and, if successful, to figure out a way to win =Sunday against the Kansas Jayhawks or the North Carolina State Wolfpack. After talking with Williams on Thursday, I am going to put myself in his shoes and give the Tar Heels my game plan on how to win without Marshall.
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Fran Fraschilla
College BasketballABOUT THIS BLOG
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Fran Fraschilla is an analyst for ESPN and was previously the head coach at New Mexico, St. John's and Manhattan.
Joe Lunardi is the resident bracketologist for ESPN.
Seth Greenberg is an analyst for ESPN and was previously the head coach at Virginia Tech, South Florida and Long Beach State.
