I know, I know. Four games into the basketball season and I haven't updated. Well what better way to analyze this team than with last night's gutty performance, a home loss to Illinois.

It was billed as a rematch of last year's title game. Note to ESPN: If you must use that to sell an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game between two of the nation's best programs, then I can't help you.

You know this isn't the same North Carolina team. You also probably know it's not the same Illinois team. Would have been even more different if Dee Brown doesn't break his foot this summer (he intended to enter the NBA Draft).

Anyway, so here we go. I'll cut to the chase: I have never been more impressed with a North Carolina basketball team. Not a national championship team, not a Stackhouse/Wallace team, not a Jamison/Carter team.

I'll address this first: We (yes, we) should not have gotten down 64-50. The slow start to second half was ultimately the reason the Heels lost. Illinois forced the Heels to play their offense between half court and the free throw line. The basket is not in between those two lines.

So we establish that the Heels should not have allowed the Illinois run to start the second. Beyond that, you have to be impressed with the young Carolina squad.

Down 64-50, the crowd at the Smith Center seemed a little deflated. But the young Heels never gave up, and they laid everything they had on the line. The four freshmen showed us all what they will bring to Carolina basketball, and that's a whole lot of heart.

Tyler Hansbrough is a beast. He's going to be one of those all-time great Tar Heels. He may be one you talk about in 15 or 20 years. "Remember the tenacity of the Missouri Mule?" You will. For a long time.

Marcus Ginyard and Danny Green are very pleasant surprises. I don't know if Danny is great in any one area, but he sure is good in a lot of them. Marcus, besides being a terrific defensive asset, has an uncanny ability to create his own shot.

Bobby Frasor and Wes Miller shared the point guard duties. They both did a fine job, though there were times when Bobby and Wes seemed reluctant to take shots that I wish they would. Both ran the floor and did a fine job on Dee Brown, who didn't have a great shooting night. Wes and Bobby showed a lot of composure in a big game.

David Noel is the leader he needs to be. Reyshawn Terry, on the other hand, really needs to find his role. He's got to realize that he doesn't have to carry this team by himself. He's got Noel. He's got the freshmen. Reyshawn has to be find a comfortable role to play.

Quentin Thomas' foot injury must be worse than we thought. The Heels missed him, at the very least to have an extra body to give some breathers to Frasor and Miller.

So, given the expectations for this team, and keeping in mind the fact that Sports Illustrated doesn't have the Heels making the tournament, you have to be impressed with the resiliency and fight in this year's Tar Heels team. Don't get me wrong: I want to win every game. But I am realistic as well. I think this losing effort will pay dividends way down the road, beyond what just another win would.

I had been saying that I was just looking at this year at a minimum as a preseason for next year. The freshmen now will at the very least gain big-game, ACC experience to be leaders in 2006-07. But that's not fair. It's not fair to David Noel and Byron Sanders to want to look beyond their senior seasons. It's not fair to Tyler Hansbrough to not want to count his freshman year. It's not fair to the walk-ons who are helping this year's team get better in practice. I now realize the value that we have in the 2005-06 Tar Heels:  a fun team to watch, and a team that will give you everything they have night in and night out.

I hope all that made sense.

Check Adam Lucas' article if you want to tear up. Just a little bit. Honest.

The 4th quarter of the game is about to start in Blacksburg. The Heels trail, 27-3. There are several things that are frustrating me about this game.

The officiating has been horrible. There have been at least two plays in which replay could have or would have changed the outcome of the play in the Heels' favor. First, Virginia Tech's touchdown catch. Some say it was a trap.

The second, Marcus Vick's fumble that wasn't. Looked like a fumble to me.

The facemask flag that was picked up, when ESPN's replay clearly showed the flag that was thrown (and picked up) should have stayed on the ground.

Dropped balls. This has been the story all season. Jesse again drops a touchdown catch. This story is way old.

Also really old is the offense's ineptness. You can only ask so much from the defense. We should have been able to win against Wisconsin. We should be able to be competitive in this game. But when we punt from the 1 and put the D against the wall, what do you expect? Unreal.

"That guy should have a maroon shirt on." - Bob Davie during the ESPN broadcast of North Carolina at Virginia Tech, after Ronnie McGill broke four or five tackles.

So North Carolina can't have athletes that can break tackles, Bob? Anyone that might be able to do things like that ought not to be at a program such as North Carolina, right?

Give me a break. I love Carolina football, but this is all driving me crazy. It's hard to be a Carolina football fan sometimes.

And now Kyndraus Guy is out. We don't need kids getting hurt in blowouts.

I've been busy with a short week at work and the same amount to be done. I'll be back Saturday with a wrap of three basketball games and a wrapup or preview of the game at Virginia Tech.

Have a great Thanksgiving and Go Heels!

Welcome to Kenan Stadium.

So it was Senior Day for guys like Matt Baker. Tommy Davis. Derrele Mitchell. Chase Page. Tommy Richardson. Jarwarski Pollock. It was against Duke. The rival. The 1-9 Blue Devils. The terrible, terrible team.

Welcome to Kenan Stadium.

We scored on the first drive. Great. Harder than it should have been, but we were going to win this one by 38 points, right?

Welcome to Kenan Stadium.

We give up a touchdown to Duke. Whoops. A goal line stand and then Asack goes in on 4th down. Okay..... We're still going to win this one by 38 points, right?

Welcome to Kenan Stadium.

We go down 14-7. Wait. This isn't supposed to happen, is it? This is a joke, right?

Welcome to Kenan Stadium.

Baker connects on a 38 yard TD pass to Mitchell. Senior to senior. Nice. 14-14. Here we go, right?

Welcome to Kenan Stadium.

Wrong. Well, we got a Barth field goal to close the half up 17-14, but we're still playing Duke, right?

Welcome to Kenan Stadium.

Cue a pretty boring second half. No third-quarter scoring. Then in the 4th, we go into "play not to lose" mode. And give up another touchdown. So we're down 21-17 with five minutes to play. We're down. At home. To Duke. Football.

"This is your Senior Day, Matt Baker." That's what I kept saying to myself. I had my hat inside-out, like Randy Quaid in Major League II. Hands in pockets, wearing a disgusted frown; I was the anti-fan. "This is your Senior Day, Matt Baker."

Welcome to Kenan Stadium.

Ronnie McGill gets a generous spot on a 4th down run and we're driving. Ronnie's running and we're driving. Matt's running on 3rd and 10 and we're driving.

"Did he get it? Did he get it?" The HBG (HeelsBlogGirl to you new readers) says to me. I nodded my head. She turns around, bouncing up and down in time to the fight song.

Ronnie's in and we're up 24-21. Tommy Richardson intercepts ("This is your Senior Day, T-Rich") and we win. Sigh.

Duke did an excellent job bringing their personnel in to play. They also did an excellent job attempting to hurt North Carolina's athletes, ripping off helmets, shooting for knees and blocking in backs. I once had respect for Ted Roof. Felt sorry for him and Duke football, even. No more.

The Heels played terribly and won a game that would have been a thriller against a better opponent. Normally I would say we have a shot at an upset this weekend at Virginia Tech, but with injuries and the attitude with which the Heels approached this game (this game against Duke), I just don't see it happening. The Hokies need to beat us to go to the BCS. We need to beat the Hokies to go to 6-5 and have a shot at a bowl bid.
Guess who's got the most motivation?

Welcome to Kenan Stadium.
Sigh.

It was another one of those sports weekends in Chapel Hill. Women's Basketball Friday. Football and Basketball Saturday. Sheesh.

The women's team let Davidson hang with them for 15 minutes before pulling away for the rest of the game, winning 86-48.

The Tar Heels looked pretty good in pulling away. They will miss Nikita Bell's rebounding, but some of the freshmen looked good in filling in, and sophomore LaToya Pringle will be a big help on the blocks.

Rashanda McCants. It's uncanny how much she looks like her brother. Her game, mannerisms, and the way she carries herself on the court. Her line? 4-15. Heh. A little too much like her brother.

The Tar Heels face Liberty, a Sweet 16 team in 2005, at 7 Monday night in Carmichael. The first few games might be a little sloppy, but this is going to be a championship-contending Tar Heel team.


Part 2, on football, to come.

If you weren't a fan of either team; if you didn't care who won (or if you were a Maryland fan), yesterday's football game against Maryland was a great game. It was a classic matchup between two evenly-matched teams. Neither team was the best in the country. They both wanted to win badly. Maryland won.

As the game entered its final minutes, it was clear that this was going to be a game to be remembered. By the winning team.

So we lost, and here we are at 4-5, needing to win at home against Duke and on the road against Virginia Tech.

How is it that we kept getting beat deep? Maryland exploited the injury to Jacoby Watkins, and simply went over the top. Those touchdowns came out of nowhere.

Good thing - pass protection. I don't remember the Heels giving up a sack.

Bad thing - run protection. Hardly any yards on the ground (maybe in the high 60s by the running backs).

Good thing - the pass rush

Bad thing - the secondary

Last year, the Tar Heels needed to win 3 out of 4 to get to a bowl. They won at home against Miami, lost a close one to Virginia Tech, and beat Wake and Duke on the road.
This year, the Heels needed to do the same thing. They won at home against BC, lost a close one at home to Maryland, and now have Duke and Virginia Tech.
Last year, they got to 6-5 improbably.
This year, the same feat would be even more improbable.

If you're going to be in Chapel Hill this weekend, you're in for a treat.  A virtual Tar Heel sports smorgasbord will take place Friday through Sunday.

Friday at 5 p.m., the ACC Champion Women's Soccer team will take on Western Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Fetzer Field.

If you're in Cary, the men's soccer team takes on Clemson at 8 p.m. Friday in an ACC semifinal.

As you know, the gridiron Tar Heels take on Maryland at noon Saturday. The Heels, at 4-4, have three games remaining. As noted, they need two of three. Unless the Tar Heels plan on beating Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on November 26, they need to take care of business Saturday.

As I said before last weekend's games, John Bunting's teams find a way to win in tough spots. Jesse Holley is truly asserting himself, in spite of other holes in the offense. The Tar Heel defense is carrying the team (aside from Holley).

John Bunting has never beaten Ralph Friedgen. He will this weekend.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, the men's basketball Tar Heels take on Catawba at the Dean E. Smith Center. Catawba fans, don't forget to pick up your t-shirts to commemorate the game.

If the women's soccer team wins Friday, they would take on either Virginia Commonwealth or Clemson at 1 p.m. Sunday at Fetzer in the NCAA second round. At the same time is the men's soccer ACC final at SAS soccer park in Cary.

Also - Craig Shemon and James Washington (Shemon and J-Dub on Fox Sports Radio) will be broadcasting live from Spanky's on Franklin Street on Friday and Saturday.

Have a great weekend, and go Heels!

At 7 p.m., the Women's Basketball Tar Heels take on Davidson in their first game of the season at Carmichael Auditorium.

Here's what I don't understand: how is it that Duke is the preseason #1 team in the country (here's a hint- Monique Currie is seriously overrated), and the Tar Heels, who return four starters and have brought in a great freshman class, oh, and swept Duke, beating them by 3 million points in the ACC final, are ranked #7?
Listen, the Heels have one thing no other team in the country has: her name is Ivory Latta. Watch out. Don't sleep on Camille Little, either.

Tracy Schultz of SI.com has the right idea.

Today's win over Boston College was huge for the Tar Heel football team.
It means that UNC only needs to beat Maryland and Duke over the next two weeks to reach six wins and bowl eligibility. A win at Virginia Tech, while highly unlikely, is now not a must-win to reach the six-win plateau.

Like I said yesterday, John Bunting's teams have shown the ability to overcome adversity.

The Heels need not rest on their laurels, as there is certainly room for improvement. However, today's was a total team win over a Top-20 team.

To put themselves in a position to a) get to a bowl, and b) win it, the Tar Heels have to capitalize on opportunities. First-and-10s inside the 15-yard-line need to lead to touchdowns, not field goals (although it is a relief to see Connor Barth go 3-3 again). We need six points in the red zone. Those are points we'll need to have in later games.

Still, the offense is to be commended for putting together some long, sustained drives that gave the defense some rest, enabling them to make some big plays and stops.

Game ball goes to Jesse Holley. Who else? The kid is a playmaker. His receptions on 3rd-and-long kept drives alive, and led to points. They'll lead to more touchdowns soon.

A good, solid W today. The BC touchdown in the last minute provided some drama, but the Heels were the better team today.

I'll be honest: I haven't watch Boston College football too much this season. In fact, I've seen very little.

I am not at all qualified to make a prediction for Saturday's game, but I will anyway.

I know this BC team is probably better than the one that beat Carolina in last year's Tire Bowl.

I know that this year's Tar Heels have not proven to be better offensively than the team that lost to BC in December.

But I do know how John Bunting's  teams respond to adversity. They win.

Heels by six, 27-21.