Tennessee beat Memphis, then promptly lost to Vanderbilt. According to ESPN, that puts the North Carolina Tar Heels back on top of the Power 16. Yay.

Actually, that is a good thing, because if Tennessee is ahead of the Heels in the final season polls, they probably get the #1 seed in Charlotte, because it's the regional closest to them, too. So, it's conceivable that both Tennessee and Carolina get #1 seeds. But, if Tennessee is the higher #1, they'll get Charlotte, and the Tar Heels could get Detroit, Houston or Phoenix. The crazy thing is, if Duke is a #2, for example, they could still go to Charlotte as the #2 there. But, for now, the Tar Heels are in the driver's seat. They just need to get the job done these next three games and in the tournament.

The Blue Devil fell off his surfboard and sprained his knee. In my best Nelson Muntz, "Ha ha!"

Rashad McCants has a web site. Yikes.

ESPN has hired Bob Knight as a studio analyst. Fantastic.

The Tar Heel women close out the regular season at home Sunday against Duke. The game's at 5:30 on FSN.

This story is interesting. It's an editorial from the Duke Chronicle about sneaking into Cameron for the 2006 Carolina game. This guy goes to great lengths to get into the game, and, well, Duke lost. He left that part out. Ha!

Box score

Wow. Just wow. I thought the streak was over. I thought it was something we'd remember years from now, but something that was done. I was wrong.

Carolina started out very lackadaisically, like they didn't know what they were doing on offense. In fact, there were five Tar Heel turnovers before they had a single shot attempt! By the time the Heels got on the board with Hansbrough, it was 8-2.

Clemson led 68-53 with 8:55 to play in regulation. Then, the Tar Heels' defense arrived (even with Marcus Ginyard out for the last four minutes and both extra periods) enough to let them crawl back into the game.

A lot of gutsy plays by both teams made this one an instant classic. Quentin Thomas' layup with 26 seconds left tied the score for the first time since it was 0-0. The decision to foul and send Demontez Stitt to the free throw line right before that was pretty bold. Thomas hit two free throws after an amazing Terrence Oglesby 3 put the Tigers up 2 toward the end of the first OT. Hansbrough cemented himself as the National Player of the Year, not only for his 39 points and 13 rebounds, but a tremendous steal from David Potter and midcourt in the second overtime. Wayne Ellington was tremendous and Danny Green hit some big, big 3s toward the end of regulation. Both came back from poor performances on Wednesday.

I don't think we can say yet what this victory means for this team right now. Maybe we'll know later in the season, perhaps in tournament play. To win this game without Ty Lawson, coming back from down 15, is going to pay dividends. I don't think anyone would say they liked the way this team played for the first 31-32 minutes. But the game is 40 (or more) minutes, and the Tar Heels 'hearted up' and found something in themselves, reached down and pulled out a victory.

Wow. Just wow.

And, as it turns, out, the sun rose this morning. Other thoughts . . .

The worst thing that could happen from this game is for the players to think, 'Well, we didn't have Ty, so we lost. Next time we'll have Ty, and we'll win,' because that could not be further from the truth. The truth is, you can't have four bench points. You can't have Ellington and Green shoot 4-24. You can't have the two of them not going to the rim. You can't have three offensive fouls, you have to adjust to how the game is being called. You can't have 20 turnovers to 17 assists.

Ty Lawson's ability to finish was missing. The Tar Heels got the ball down the court, but then weren't able to take it in like Ty can. Marcus Ginyard, though effect offensively, was thrust in a different role as a ball handler, and I'm sure wasn't quite as effective on the other end of the floor. This team has got to commit to defense. If you aren't great defensively, you have to try hard, and they looked casual when Duke had the ball. You can't do that.

What you can do, however, is learn from it. Here's hoping they do.

I recap the women's game at Duke, preview the men's contest against the Blue Devils, and give you a special treat - a dramatic reading of a Cameron Crazies Cheer Sheet. It's all on the podcast for February 5, 2008.

Hey Gang -
I set the next HeelsBlog podcast for today, but I'm pushing it back to Tuesday, so we can have a more complete show for you. We'll have recaps from the men's game against BC and at Florida State, and talk about the women's games at home against Maryland, at Wake Forest, and Monday night's game at Duke. Plus, we'll preview football signing day, which is Wednesday. And, we'll have a special guest. So thanks for your patience.

Nice win over Boston College last night. Ty Lawson's line for the last two games is amazing - 20 assists and one turnover. Deon Thompson played perhaps his best game as a Tar Heel, and Tyler Hansbrough was Tyler Hansbrough.

Will the team look past Florida State on Sunday? I don't think so. They might have if they had not lost to Maryland, but I think that game woke the team up. Toney Douglas will be tough to guard, but the guys can get it done.