I have four requests:

1. Please don’t fret over this game alone. The Heels are going to gets a Super Regional, and at this point that’s all that matters. Watching the pitching staff struggle like that can be a bit unnerving, but this team finished the regular season #1 for a reason.

2. No more games that end at 1:30 in the morning. Please.

3. Can’t our pitching staff just have a three up, three down inning, like a normal good baseball team?

4. To have frickin’ sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads! Now obviously my cycloptic colleague tells me this can’t be done. What do we have?

Sea bass.

…

…

Rrrrriiiiiiiighhht.

Well…they are…MUTATED…Sea bass.

Really? are they ill-tempered?

Oh, absolutely.

Well that’s a start.

If you haven’t been watching already, it’s time to start paying attention to the UNC baseball team. Carolina is heading into the ACC Tournament tonight as the #1 team in the nation after winning a 3-games series against Miami, the previous #1. The Heels have a 45-10 regular season record, including 22-7 in conference. They have gone the entire season without losing a single multi-game series. They have three players (Dustin Ackley, Tim Fedroff, and Kyle Seager) batting a .382 average of better. They return pretty much their entire offensive lineup from last year’s College World Series finals team. Their top three starting pitchers (Alex White, Adam Warren, and Matt Harvey) have a combined 22-6 record. Their closer, Rob Wooten, has a 1.17 ERA and is 5-1 in his own right. They might have the nation’s most versatile player in Tim Federowicz. And the Heels have battle tested in what is quickly becoming the nation’s toughest baseball conference, with two other legitimate CWS title contenders this season (#3 Miami and #4 Florida State).

Excited yet? You should be.

It’s understandable if you’ve missed out on the Diamond Heels’ performance this year. After all, they’ve been been playing their home games 20 miles from campus in Cary, and only two of the team’s games have been televised in the state of North Carolina. But it’s the postseason now, and that means all of Carolina’s remaining games should be available for your viewing pleasure.

It all starts tonight at 8pm (although it’s looking more like 9 at this point) when the Heels play Virginia in their first of three round robin games. They will then play Wake Forest on Friday night and Florida State on Saturday at 1pm for the right to play in Sunday’s ACC Championship game. All games will be televised on FSN South in NC and SportSouth or FSN South in the rest of the Southeast.

(Photo from Inside Carolina Gallery. All stats from Tar Heel Blue.)

(The following college basketball conspiracy theory is not to be taken seriously.)

A very, very important thing has happened since I last posted. As you are well aware, UNC played its worst 15 minutes of basketball all season in San Antonio, immediately followed by 15 of their best basketball all season, immediately followed by some pretty bad basketball to end it. It was sad to see such a great season come to such a bitter end. I can imagine, however, how much worse it would have felt for Kansas fans had the Jayhawks succeeded in blowing that 28 point lead.

A lot of speculation has gone around as to why UNC lost that game. Was it bad coaching? A lack of adjustments? Was UNC mentally out of it to start the game? Did the comeback take so much energy out of them that they were unable to finish it? Did Bill Self, having inherited a Roy Williams coached team, understand all of his strengths and weaknesses and have him beat the moment the Jayhawks walked off the court in Detroit? Could not take the thought of beating the team that used to be his team? Or were the Jayhawks just that good?

All of these are valid points, and any one (or all) of these factors could have played a role on April 5th. However, I have a particular spacegoat in mind. One scapegoat, who, if he did what he was supposed to, could have prevented all of this.

That scapegoat, my friends, is Bob McKillop.

What were you thinking on that last play, man?!? YOU HAD THE JAYHAWKS! YOU HAAAAAAAD THEEEEEEMMMMMMMM!!!

You had a chance to get Jason Richards, Stephen Curry, or the White Lobster open for a game winning three. You had plenty of time to set up that play. But you needed Richards to drive the ball up the court while Davidson’s forwards set up a shot for another 3-point shooter (Curry or Barr). Instead, the ball was inbounded to Curry, and he hadn’t brought the ball to anything resembling shooting range until there were less than 5 seconds on the clock. He tried to do everything himself, but everyone came to defend him, forcing him to give the ball up to Richards, who threw up a desperation off-balance shot too wide left to go in.

If Davidson gets a better-looking shot, they hit the three, win the game, and go to the Final Four. A future elementary school principal, a 12 year old boy, a Quebecois, a White Lobster, a 6′8″ man with elf ears, and a Nigerian porn star get to play in college basketball’s biggest stage. Gus Johnson climaxes on national TV, an already great game becomes legendary, and the college basketball apocalypse of four #1 seeds is averted. More importantly for Heels fans, however, the catastrophic end to UNC’s otherwise fantastic season would not have happened. Sure, we probably would have trailed Mount Saint Mary’s the way we played in the first half against Kansas, but I would have more at peace with losing to a mid-major team of destiny. Although many other Tar Heel fans might disagree with that last statement (”losing…in the Final Four…to friggin’ DAVIDSON? No way, dude.”)
So now, a month later, Heels fans have a clearer picture…and a clearer head. There is no Roy Williams/Kansas conspiracy (except for maybe not being the best coach on the fly). The National Player of the Year is coming back for a Senior season, the legend that is Quentin Thomas is shaking his collegiate coil, and pretty much our entire backcourt offensive production will be testing the NBA waters for the next month or so before deciding whether or not to go pro. As much as Carolina fans love Hansbrough, I think that having a solid, experienced backcourt will be just as important for another run at the National Championship as Hansbrough staying, if not more important. Despite the Kansas game and regardless of who comes back, this season was great and next season may prove to be even more awesome.

So let’s just leave it at that. We Heels fans have more important things to think about. Such as the even greater conspiracy theory of Pablo killing Rameses XVII to take his place as mascot. Or what could be the baseball team’s best season EVARRRR.

 Tonight UNC faces Louisville in the East Regional Final (9:05 pm, CBS). Both of these teams like to run, so this game should be fun.

Louisville’s strengths: Louisville distributes the ball very well. Four players average double digit points, and eight average more than six points per game. UNC has depth, but Louisville is more than able to match it. In particular, Teraance Williams, a big yet speedy player, could be a  nightmare of a matchup against UNC’s defense. On defense, Louisville has been able to contain the best scorers of each they’ve faced in the tournament so far.

Louisville’s weaknesses: They’re the only team left in this tournament without a true point guard. Jerry Smith fits the height profile, but he’s kind of awkward at the point. If Ty Lawson can take advantage of this matchup, it could be a long day for the Cardinals. The guards are also susceptible to foul trouble.

What UNC needs to do to win the game: Like in the Washington State game, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green need to get incorporated into the offense early, and the Heels need to play solid defense and outrun their opponent. Unlike the Washington State game, Hansbrough cannot be outplayed by David Padgett for the first 25 minutes.

Prediction: UNC will almost surely get their first close game of the tournament. These obliterations, as much as we would like them, cannot be expected to continue. However, I expect the Heels to get a close win in this game.

Tonight the Tar Heels play their first tournament opponent who legitimately scares me, the Washington State Cougars. It will be a treat to watch the two most contrasting styles of the tournament, UNC’s breakneck offensive pace versus Wazzu’s stifling defense.

I’ll be at Storming The Floor to live-blog this game, as well as all of tonight’s action. So join us, won’t you?

As the Tar Heels head into their Sweet 16 game against Washington State, the minds of the Tar Heel faithful have been eased thanks to two blowout victories, including a game against the talented Arkansas Razorbacks that was over by halftime. While the Heels were 32-2 entering this tournament, the majority of those victories have been closer, uglier conference games, and these convincing wins were welcome respites from results in conference play.

There are several plausible phenomena that could explain this. First and foremost is the return of a healthy Ty Lawson. Another possibility is that, despite a weak year and receiving only 4 tournament bids, the ACC prepared North Carolina well for tournament play. But perhaps both the most important and most surprising key to UNC’s dominance in the first two rounds has been the play of the frontcourt players not named Tyler.

The offensive efficiency of Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson has been simply unreal. Thompson has scored 31 points on 14-16 shooting from the field playing for only 40 total minutes in two games, and Stepheson has scored 22 points on 10-11 shooting. This is in stark contrast to most of their performances this season.

Whether UNC’s other frontcourt players can continue anything close to this level of success for the rest of the NCAA Tournament. However, there does seem to be a direct connection between Deon Thompson playing well and either Tar Heel success or inferior opponents. The Tar Heels are 7-0 this season and win by an average margin of 29 points when Deon Thompson makes at least six field goals. But those seven teams are combined 116-111. Carolina is also 7-0 when Alex Stepheson makes at least four field goals, but the quality of the teams is similar

So, does UNC win big because Thompson and Stepheson play well, or do they only play well when the Heels would have won by 30 points anyway? Whatever the case may be, these two players will likely need to deliver more good performances in order to win the national championship.

On Sunday the Tar Heels play their fist tough game of the tournament, a second round matchup against the talented Arkansas Razorbacks.

Keys to the Game:

Hog Wild Backcourt. Patrick Beverly, Gary Ervin, and Stefan Welsh combine for 27 points and 8 assists per game. Add Sonny Weems as a swingman (who lit up Indiana in the first round) and Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, and Quentin Thomas will have their hands full.

Battle of Awkward Whiteness. At least three players may be given the task of defending Tyler Hansbrough. One of those players is Stephen Hill, who may have the worst hair of this tournament.

How Arkansas’ frontcourt defends Hansbrough and Thompson could determine their fate.

Experience: Arkansas has six seniors on their roster. They will not be mentally fazed by the Tar Heels’ talent.

Biggest Weakness: Consistency. Many of their losses are puzzling: Providence, Appalachian State, South Carolina and Georgia, to name a few. The Razorbacks need consistency to keep up with UNC.

Enjoy the game. I’ll be live blogging this game, among others, at Storming the Floor.

Merry Basketball Christmas to all this Good Friday. I would be in a much more celebratory mood today had Belmont performed the upset of upsets over Duke. Give credit to Gerald Henderson, he wouldn’t let the Blue Devils lose that game. But I digress.

Last year’s North Carolina team was a testament to the importance of experience. The Heels of 2006-2007 was perhaps the deepest, most talented squad ever to grace Chapel Hill with its presence. Just look at this lineup:

F-Tyler Hansbrough, Sophomore

F-Brandan Wright, Freshman

F-Deon Thompson, Freshman

F-Alex Stepheson, Freshman

F-Rayshawn Terry, Senior

G/F-Danny Green, Sophomore

G/F-Marcus Ginyard, Sophomore

G-Wayne Ellington, Freshman

G-Wes Miller, Senior

G-Ty Lawson, Freshman

G-Bobby Frasor, Sophomore

G-Quentin Thomas, Junior

And that’s just the regular rotation. Nobody played more than 30 minutes a game, everyone had fresh legs, and when their heads were in the game they could run just about any college team in America into the ground and out of the building. Every one of these twelve players would be either starters or important bench players at most other schools. In Chapel Hill, they were some kind of Baby Blue Voltron.

Alas, therein lay their weakness. Nine of the 12 players in the regular rotation were underclassmen, Q might as well have been an underclassmen, and only Miller and Terry had any kind of starting experience, and they were 5th and 8th options in our offense, respectively.  This inexperience led them to lose quite a few games they had no business losing, and they squandered a few close leads. The most glaring example was the Georgetown game, where they went the final seven or eight minutes without scoring a field goal. On defense, they allowed the Hoyas to shoot over 70% from the field in that same span. Georgetown went on to lose in overtime, and I may have overreacted a bit. I’m pretty sure I scared my non-fan neighbors by screaming “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” to the television at the top of my lungs (I had made the mistake of leaving my windows open that day; it was 68 degrees, get off my case).

I’m sorry, where was I? Oh yes, this year’s tournament. So how do we avoid…that?

Win close games. This characteristic of a team tends to come with experience. Carolina is a much more experienced and focused team this year, if a bit more shorthanded. With graduation (Terry and Miller), NBA eligibility (Wright), injury (Frasor) and in lieu of incoming freshmen, our rotation is now 8-deep (with a bit of Will Graves and Mike Copeland peppered in). The backcourt is much more mature, and it shows. The close losses of last year have turned into close victories, as UNC’s players kept focus and clamped down on their opponent when they absolutely needed. Don’t expect a Georgetown-like late collapse this year. If anything, expect the implosion to happen early. Which reminds me…

Have your head in the game for all 40 minutes. If the Heels ever let a game mentally get away from them, it’s usually in the early going. Maryland jumped out to a double-digit first half lead, and the Heels never quite got into their rhythm, leading to their only loss of the season with Lawson in the lineup. Against Clemson (twice) and Georgia Tech the Heels let their opponents get ahead with poor execution before taking the game in the final seconds. And I don’t need to tell you what happened in Chestnut Hill. The Heels will keep it close no matter who they’re playing; if they stay focused for 40 minutes, they should be able to win all of their games.

Tyler Hansbrough must get to the line. That may sound like an easy concept, as he already holds the UNC and ACC career records for free throw attempts, and free throw shhoting usually accounts for about a third of his offense. Against Duke on March 8th, however, Duke managed to go the entire game wothout putting Hansbrough on the line once. You can bet that every prospective Carolina opponent will be poring over that game to try to reduce his trips to the stripes, and take 6-8 points out of UNC’s offensive production.

The perimeter shooting cannot go cold. In Carolina’s loss to Duke, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington were a combined 4-24 shooting, including 1-11 from three. In big games down the stretch, Roy needs to be able to count on them for about 20-25 points.

Point guard play. We’re still not 100% sure that Ty Lawson’s ankle is completely healed. Q has really stepped up for the Heels both in Lawson’s absence and coming off the bench when he came back. Q will need to continue that into the tournament.

Congratulations to the Tar Heels for their great season so far, and best of luck to them staring tonight against Mount St. Mary’s. Billy Packer following our every move aside, it’s going to be a fun ride.

(apologies for the layoff. Life got in the way during the ACC Tournament, but THM back just in time.) 

I like this one the most.

Carolina…outright ACC champs.

Photo: Gary Broome/AP (if the huge AP logo in the middle hadn’t already tipped you off)

No pressure, dude. No pressure at all…

No speedos. For the love of God, no speedos.

9:01 pm: A very touching moment of silence for Eve Carson.

9:02 pm: No speedos. For the love of God, no speedos.

9:03 pm: Quentin Thomas will start tonight ahead of Ty Lawson.

9:06 pm: 3-0, Duke. 20 seconds in and already Duke hits an open three. Did Carolina learn nothing from their last matchup?

9:07 pm: 4-3, UNC. Ellington and Hansbrough each hit tough baskets, and Carolina takes the early lead.

9:08 pm: Q!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gets a block on Lance Thomas.

6-3, UNC. That may have been goaltending on Thompson, but we’ll take it.

9:10 pm: Lawson comes in and immediately makes a great assist to Green.

Carolina is also honoring Eve Carson with black “EVE” patches on their right shoulder. Everyone in the stadium is wearing a light blue ribbon in her honor as well.

9:11 pm: 10-5, UNC. Scheyer with the basket, but he doesn’t get back on defense. Ginyard makes him pay with a huge dunk.

First TV timeout. A nice pace, if a bit inconsistent, and the speed favors Carolina right now.

9:15 pm: 10-7, UNC. Zoubek is in the game for Duke. We’ll see what kind of effect it has on Hansbrough.

9:17 pm: 10-9, UNC. Duke’s bench players seem to be playing better offense than the starters. The same might not be said of the defense, as Zoubek picks up two quick fouls.

9:18 pm: That was a cheap foul. Danny should know better.

This game is starting to get a little sloppy on both sides.

9:19 pm: Scheyerface is playing point. Cue the obligatory photoshop:

13-9, UNC. Green hits the three off the Ginyard assist.

9:24 pm: Taylor King is left WIDE OPEN for three. Fortunately for us, he misses. Duke’s been pretty cold from the perimeter so far this game.

9:25 pm: The line so far: The two teams are a combined 10-35 shooting. Ugh.

9:27 pm: The exact opposite of Ugh: Only 2 turnovers for Carolina. Green hits another shot to make it 17-9, UNC.

9:28 pm: 20-9, UNC. Q saves a bad pass, and Green is open for three again! Carolina brings the lead to double digits.

9:30 pm: 22-11, UNC. Hansbrough scores inside. Kyle Singler had no chance.

24-11, UNC. There’s the Ty Lawson we know and love.

9:31 pm: 24-13, UNC. I think Scheyer makes a face even when he shoots free throws.

9:35 pm: 24-15, UNC. Henderson may be only Dukie playing well thus far in the game.

9:36 pm: Uh-oh…Speedo guy. I liked the old Speedo guy better.

9:38 pm: 27-15, UNC. Hansbrough gets another offensive rebound, and he scores on the putback.

9:41 pm: 29-18, UNC. Paulus hits the three with a hand in his face. I wonder why he hasn’t been getting the ball in the perimeter.

9:42 pm: 29-21, UNC. NO!!! You can’t leave Paulus open like that!

9:44 pm: 31-23, UNC. Danny Green stops the bleeding, but the Cameron Crazies are back in this game.

9:45 38-26, UNC. The Carolina fastbreak. Or for Duke fans: the buzzkill to end all buzzkills.

9:50 pm: 40-31, UNC. It’s a bad sign for your defense when you know your opponent’s shot is going in before he even catches the pass.

9:52 pm: 42-31, UNC. Ty Lawson gets an easy layup inside off a nice pass.

9:53 pm: That’s the end of the first half, and Carolina leads 42-31. The Tar Heels have had a good game on defense, forcing Duke’s lowest-scoring first half this season. Carolina can win the way they have been playing thus far, provided three extra factors: 1) they don’t go cold from the line, 2) Duke doesn’t storm out of the locker room (a very strong possibly), and 3) the defense doesn’t let Greg Paulus continue to light it up from beyond the arc.

10:11 pm: As the second half begins, it appears that Duke is outhustling Carolina in the opening possession. Duke had more offensive rebounds in one possession than in the entire first half.

10:12 pm: 44-35, UNC. I don’t care who’s driving inside, and if they’re about to dunk. NO ONE can be left open on the perimeter.

10:14 pm: 44-37, UNC. Carolina has seven blocks in this game, but I have yet to see them box out effectively in the second half. Duke is outhustling us to every rebound.

10:15 pm: 46-37, UNC. Another game, another double-double for Hansbrough.

46-40, UNC. Paulus can’t miss right now!

10:16 pm: 46-42, UNC. For God’s sake, Carolina, FIGHT FOR A REBOUND!

10:18 pm: 51-44, UNC. Ellington hits a three to help quiet the crowd.

51-46, UNC. It;s a tale of two halves so far. Duke is playing like their lives depend on it this hald, while Carolina has looked mostly flat. Zoubek is consistently outhustling Hansbrough on the boards.

10:22 pm: 53-48, UNC. Ty Lawson is the only Carolina player who seems to be playing with any sense of urgency right now.

10:23 pm: 55-48, UNC. Ellington with a nice jumper.

10:25 pm: WARNING: Side effects of Cameron Indoor Stadium include gayness. Exhibit A: Dick Vitale.

10:26 pm: 57-54, UNC. Lawson has been key in the second half, but I have yet to see Hansbrough make a difference since he came out of the locker room. Meanwhile, Scheyer hits his first three of the game. Cue the Scheyerface:

10:31 pm: Hansbrough needs to get to the line in the second half.

DANNY GREEN, WHAT KIND OF A PASS WAS THAT!

10:32 pm: Carolina is committing the two worst acts of fundamental offensive basketball right now. First, they are taking rushed, low-percentage shots. Second, they are not getting in the paint fighting for rebounds. Most importantly however, I have yet to see Hansbrough get a meaningful touch in the second half, and we’re more than halfway through.

10:34 pm: 57-57. For the last time, STOP FALLING FOR THE KICKOUT!!!

10:35 pm: 60-60. Do my eyes deceive me? did Quentin Thomas just hit a three pointer? WHOOOOO!

10:36 pm: 62-62. Hansborugh finally gets a basket, but Lance Thomas answers on the other end.

10:37 pm: Hansbrough now stands at 1,999 points for his career. One more and he will be the first player in school history to score 2,000 points before his senior year.

10:39 pm: 66-64, UNC. Alex Stepheson get the tip-in.

This is the back-and-forth game we expected to see.

10:40 pm: 66-66. How did Ellington’s shot not go in?

Q…control thyself.

10:44 pm: 68-66, Duke. No…Scheyer for the lead!

10:46 pm: 68-66, Duke, 3:36 left. Less than four minutes left to decide the ACC regular season championship, and the difference is two points. Carolina will have the ball. It doesn’t more nerve-racking than this.

68-68, 3:00 left. Ellington ties the game.

70-68, 1:58 left. Carolina takes back the lead thanks on an offensive rebound and putback by–guess who?–Tyler Hansbrough. With that shot he eclipses the 2,000 point mark for his career.

1:48 left. Paulus finally misses, and it’s Carolina basketball.

72-68, 1:25 left. Lawson hits his free throws.

1:07 left. Duke gets the ball after a UNC turnover.

44.2 left. Lawson steals the ball, Green scores off the tip, and Carolina leads 74-68. The Heels have stepped up big in final minutes, and time is running out for the Dukies.

22.7 left, 76-68, UNC. Carolina gets the ball, Duke doesn’t foul and Green gets the HUGE dunk! My rational side says it may be impossible for Duke to comeback now. My irrational side says ITS OVER! ITS OVER!!! ITS OOOOOOOOOOOOVEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!

FINAL: 76-68, UNC. CAROLINA IS THE ACC CHAMPION!!!

It’s actually an extraordinary win considering the Hansbrough shot zero free throws tonight. Give tremendous credit to the Carolina backcourt who came up big after a lackluster performance in the first Duke game. Ellington, Lawson, Thomas, Ginyard and Green made the big plays when they absolutely needed to make them, and Duke missed their last eleven shots when they mattered most. But it’s worth repeating…congratulations to UNC on the ACC regular season championship.

I have been in absolute shock for the past 24 hours. Please give your thoughts and prayers to the family of Eve Carson. The Carolina senior and outgoing Student Body President was shot and killed outside of campus early Wednesday morning.

While it’s unfortunate that we won’t be able to wipe the floor with Duke the way the Women’s team did Sunday night, the tides have begun to turn since these two teams last faced.

On February sixth, Blue Devils came to the Dean Dome at their peak against the inconsistent and suddenly shorthanded Tar Heels. In the four weeks since Duke has been reeling, with road losses to Wake Forest and Miami and escaping an upset at the hands of NC State by the skin of their teeth (and arguably a bad foul call, which allowed Demarcus Nelson to hits the game-winning free throws; but that is another topic altogether). Now Saturday’s game carries, in all likelihood, the outright ACC regular season championship and the inside track to the #1 seed in the East Bracket. To put it simply, Jon Scheyer picked the wrong month to quit sniffing glue.

Once again, we look to the Scheyerface thread for inspiration.

Meanwhile, the Tar Heels have yet to lose since the Duke game despite injuries to Ty Lawson, Deon Thompson, Marcus Ginyard, Quentin Thomas, Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Rameses, assisstant coach Steve Robinson, several members of the Amis Chapel Baptist Church concession stand, and the very kind 80-year old man in the fifth row of the Smith Center who has paid thousands of dollars in scholarships for the privilege of his seat and will shout when he feels like shouting, dammit!

Now Lawson’s back (sort of) and Q and the rest of the Heels will be far more confident in their abilities than the last time these two teams faced each other.Then again, Q’s never played more than 10 minutes in a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, something that he will certainly have to do this Saturday.

It’s Duke-Carolina, and it’s for all the regular season marbles (barring an inexplicable loss to Virginia and/or Florida State midweek, but stranger things have happened). Should be loads of fun. Let the hate begin!

Today the Lady Tar Heels play Duke in Carmichael Auditorium. While the Heels have already won the ACC regular season title and have pretty much sewn up a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, This game is still important for three reasons:

1. It’s Carolina-Duke. Enough said.

2. With a win, Carolina will have completed their first ever perfect in-conference regular season.

3. It’s the final game in Chapel Hill for Erlana Larkins and Latoya Pringle, two of the Lady Tar Heels’ greatest forwards.

 The game is on at 5:30 pm on FSN, so be sure to watch.

The next person to mention UNC’s struggles on Saturdays at 3:30 pm on ABC is getting their pet goldfish castrated.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

13-2, BC. I am slightly concerned with UNC’s early turnovers, their poor defense, and Tyrese Rice.

UNCLEAN!!!

3:55 pm: 18-5, BC. Senor Tyler finally gets on the board with Carolina’s first field goal. So far: Tyrese Rice, 14; UNC, 5.

3:58 pm: 18-7, BC. Hansbrough loses a contact lens. Again.

One of Duke Basketball’s traditions is for the Blue Devil to ride a surfboard on top of members of the pep band, who roll to propel him across the court. In Duke’s win over Georgia Tech, however, the stunt went horribly wrong (thanks to Awful Announcing for the video):

Granted, it’s just a knee sprain and he’ll be okay, but…watching the felt representative of all that is evil in the universe hold his knee in pain with such gusto…it is one of the many small joys that makes the world a better place.

Stewart Mandel says we should have seen this coming, but you still have to make sure you’re awake before you realize that Duke has just lost two straight ACC games to the teams that finished 11th and 12 last year, respectively.

More importantly, however, it’s an excuse to post these, courtesy of one of the greatest forums in internet history:

Not taken from Duke’s loss, but still thoroughly enjoyable. See you Friday.

Carolina finished on a 9-0 run to end the First. Will they continue their momentum in the second half, rather than play the way they played for the first 15 minutes? The end of the lunar eclipse could point to yes. Yes, that’s irrational, but since when is college basketball fandom supposed to be rational?

8:02 pm: 36-31, UNC. Hansbrough opens the second half with the turnaround baseline jumper.

8:03 pm: 38-33, UNC. Hansbrough gets an easy one inside, but Thompson does a not-so-great job on the defensive end.

8:04 pm: 40-33, UNC. Qiuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…

8:04 pm: 40-36, UNC. Another three-pointer for the Pack. This time it’s Costner.

8:07 pm: 42-36, UNC. Ellington draws a foul and hits two free throws.

At this point, the Pack seem to be letting Hansbrough catch the ball in the lane at will.

8:08 pm: 46-38, UNC. Hickson finally gets a nice shot inside, but Hansbrough hits another easy basket in the lane.

8:09 pm: 48-38, UNC. Q hits an outside shot. Believe me, that’s a big deal. Carolina has the game’s first double-digit lead.

8:15 pm: 52-38, UNC. Ellington gets a layup in transition. The Pack are starting to let this game get away from them. In part, that’s because our defense is finally clamping down.

8:17 pm: 56-38, UNC. Uh-oh. This could get ugly. Ginyard gets a dunk inside, and Hansbourgh gets the steal and dunk on the ensuing possession.

8:17 pm: 56-40, UNC. The Pack finally stop the bleeding.

8:19 pm: Ellington is called for the offensive foul.

8:23 pm: 56-41, UNC. Just for the hell of it:

8:26 pm: 59-42, UNC. Ellington hits another three. He has 16 for the game.

8:27 pm: 59-44, UNC. You know you’re in the country when the big sign below the scorers table reads: “Enjoy North Carolina Peanuts”.

8:28 pm: 63-46, UNC. Carolina’s transition is revving up in the second half. meanwhile, Deon Thompson’s defense is still iffy (perhaps his knee is still not 100%).

8:30 pm: 66-49, UNC. Ellington’s on fire tonight!

8:31 pm: 68-52, UNC. The Wolfpack finally hit a three. If they have anything left in the tank, Sidney Lowe’s team needs to use it now.

8:34 pm: 70-52, UNC. Hansbrough (28 points) finally takes a breather.

8:36 pm: 72-53, UNC. QIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!

8:38 pm: 72-58, UNC. Looking for something nice to say…well, Sidney Lowe really knows how to whistle.

8:39 pm: 75-58, UNC. J.J. Hickson has not been a factor in this game.

8:40 pm: 78-58, UNC. It’s one thing to be up against a better team, but it looks like the Wolfpack have just given up. They just let Ginyard drive and dunk from the top of the key. It was awesome, but it shows that Carolina is putting a lot more effort into this game than their opponent.

8:44 pm: 80-60, UNC. Green with the reverse layup.

8:45 pm: 80-62, UNC. Oh, sure. NOW Hickson makes his presence felt in the paint.

8:47 pm: 82-64, UNC. After that nice little shot that hung on the back iron before falling in, it just occured to me: Carolina has completely shut down Gavin Grant in the second half, after he was the leading scorer for the Pack in the first half.

8:50 pm: 82-67, UNC. Oh God, no. Plese tell me Mike Patrick did not just do that, Tell me he did not just compare Hansbrough to Wojo. I know what you’re trying to say, Mike, but that’s the last comparison we need.

8:52 pm: The game goes final: UNC wins, 84-70. An impressive victory for the Heels, who dominated the second half. Hansbrough delivers another spectacular performance, with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 steals. Ellington has 21 points, and Thomas has 10. Carolina is now 25-2, and will next face Dino Gaudio’s red-hot Wake Forest team in Chapel Hill.