North Carolina made their fifth college basketball national championship look easy. Up by 21 at the half, North Carolina cruised in the second half to win by a final score of 89-72. Michigan State, although undoubtedly a tough team, simply couldn’t match the talent that the Tar Heels put on the court.
Tyler Hansbrough put an exclamation point on his legendary college career by scoring 18 points and pulling down seven boards. However, the best player on the court had to be Ty Lawson, the speedy point guard for the Tar Heels. Lawson finished the game with 21 points, eight steals, …read more

Do not pass these up people. Nothing is more anticlimactic than Walter freakin’ Herrmann taking the last shot in a tight game.
[ A trick only a fluff high school coach would use. Classless. Weird. Primitive.] Deuce of Davenport
[ Looks like first place North Dakota State is the sexy pick to be the Summit League rep in the Big Dance. Oakland and Oral Roberts might have something to say about that.] Rush the Court
[Kyle Whelliston finally shows some love to the Summit League by awarding the NDSU @ Oral Roberts …read more

Can’t you just feel the excitement in the air?
In just over three hours the annual biggest game of the year part one gets underway – North Carolina at Duke baby!
This game is so big that it’s starting at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. That means assuming we make it through the snarling traffic that are Southern California freeways, we’ll be home in time to watch the start of the game.
Good luck with that one.
So who do ya like?
The No. 3 Tar Heels (21-2, 7-2), which hold an overall series record of 128-97? This record includes four straight wins at Duke …read more

So I’m hanging out at a local coffeehouse this afternoon and a friend approaches me.
He says, “you know Carolina lost today, right?”
And I said “Carolina? The Panthers don’t play until next weekend against the Arizona Cardinals” in the NFL playoffs.
And he said, “no, your beloved Tar Heels lost to Boston College today. That means Pittsburgh is going to be number one tomorrow.”
I pulled out my trusty Blackberry to check ESPN and sure enough the North Carolina Tar Heels were upset and upended by unranked Boston College at Chapel Hill of all places 85-78.
“You’re going to write something about it on …read more

It’s only appropriate that the number one team in the nation closes out 2008 with the last game of the year.
North Carolina will ring in the new year playing Nevada in Reno tonight at 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The game will likely be over by midnight on the east coast.
Reno isn’t exactly Las Vagas. It’s more like Las Vegas Jr.
This should be another double digit win for the Tar Heels. Nevada, which usually does well in the Mountain West Conference, and makes a good showing at the Big Dance is 7-5 so far this season with no quality wins.
Of …read more

Now he and his teammates are saving lives according to this story earlier today from Yahoo Sports.
“Tyler Hansbrough has always been known for his points and rebounds, but on Thanksgiving Day in Maui, North Carolina’s All-American forward came through with a timely assist.
After winning this week’s Maui Invitational, the top-ranked Tar Heels were set to begin a long trek back to Chapel Hill, N.C., when their travel plans hit a snag. As American Airlines Flight No. 6 backed away from the gate, a passenger in seat 25C was discovered unconscious.
When attempts to wake him failed, a flight attendant yelled for …read more

Now this is what I call a match-up!
Number one North Carolina verses eighth ranked Notre Dame in the finals of the Maui Invitational tonight.
This game features not one, but two Preseason All-Americans. North Carolina’s Tyler “Don’t Call Me Joe Wolf” Hansbrough and Notre Dame’s Luke “Don’t Call Me Joe Wolf Either” Harangody.
The Tar Heels are seeking their third title on the island. Notre Dame will try to give it’s fans a reason to forget that the football team is a 30 point underdog against USC this weekend.
North Carolina got to the finals by blowing out Pacific-10 “power” Oregon 98-69. …read more

– San Francisco throttled the Academy of Art 74-23.
– Wisconsin escaped Iona by 2 in overtime. The Badgers managed only 7 assists compared to 19 turnovers.
–Duke put Michigan in their place with a 71-56 win in the Finals of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Kyle Singler had 15 points and 10 boards.
–Xavier’s Dante Jackson hits half court shot with time expiring to beat the Virginia Tech Hokies. Jackson was 1-9 from the field.

–The Rollins College Tars (DII) disposed of Wisconsin-Green Bay by 17.
–Tyler Hansbrough returned from injury and scored 13 in a UNC victory …read more

Alex Stephenson transferred to USC from North Carolina because he wanted to be closer to home and help out with his ailing father. Stephenson and his family are from Los Angeles.
But the NCAA denied Stephenson a waiver that would have made him eligible to play for the Trojans this season because his request did not warrant relief for a transfer year-in-residence waiver.
In an email by NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn published in today’s Los Angeles Times, she said that there was, “a lack of contemporaneous medical documentation to indicate that the family members needed extra assistance.
“NCAA guidelines state that a member …read more

It was announced late Wednesday that Tyler Zeller, who has been filling in for the Tyler Hansbrough is out indefinitely with a fractured left wrist.
He suffered the injury on a foul by Kentucky’s Ramon Harris on a breakaway dunk late in the game in a win against Kentucky on Tuesday. He had surgery on Wednesday and is expected to make a full recovery.
The 7-foot Zeller scored 18 points in UNC’s opener against Penn.