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.