North Carolina 2009 Champions (Image: Newscom)

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, six assists and four rebounds. Wayne Ellington, yet another North Carolina player who will one day play in the NBA, chipped in 19 points.

For Michigan State, bigman Goran Suton had 17 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Coming into March Madness, Suton wasn’t a widely known player. But after a number of memorable performances, he’s now known around the country. Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers scored 14 and 13 points for the Spartans, respectively.

The game quickly got out of hand when North Carolina jumped out to a 34-11 lead. Their 21-point halftime lead was the largest in the history of the championship games.

“When you play North Carolina,” said Tom Izzo, the coach of the Spartans, “there’s nothing you can do.”

Nothing other than hand over a fifth national championship.

Post from: EveryJoe

North Carolina Wins Fifth Championship

[ 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 game tonight at 8 as his Game! Of! The! Night! Couldn't be better timing, I'm tired of hearing about the Missouri Valley so often (I could be imagining it). ] The mid-majority

[ You may or may not be surprised which team will give the Tar Heels the most fits come tourney time.] Hoops Addict

[Howard Salwasser is doing his best to set things straight in this world of rampant hoop misinformation.] Bracket Watch

Post from: EveryJoe

Fast Breakin’

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 (so much for home court advantage).

Or do you like No. 6 Duke (20-3, 7-2), which has won 17 of the last 24 meetings?

I’m going out on a limb here and say the Tar Heels prevail again at Duke.

The Blue Devils failed to impress me when they lasted only a few hours at number one, was pounded by Clemson, and struggled at home against Miami (FL) to win in overtime.

The Tar Heels seem to have found their stride since the last time they were number one. North Carolina has won seven straight by an average of just under 14 points a game.

As far as regular season games goes, this is college basketball’s version of Lakers vs. Celtics, USC vs. Notre Dame and Michigan vs. Ohio State in football, Canadians vs. Maple Leafs, or Yankees vs. Red Sox.

This game is so big that ESPN has it listed as the third biggest rivalry in all of sports. Only Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier and Michigan vs. Ohio State in football ranked higher.

So sit back and enjoy. As uaual, this should be a very entertaining game for all college basketball fans.

Post from: EveryJoe

North Carolina vs. Duke Part One

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 that blog you do, right?” my friend asked.

Aww man! Sunday is my off from life!

Oh well…

What’s that now, four top 10 teams losing this week?

Some kid named Tyrese Rice scored 25 points, and another kid named Rakim Sanders had 22 in the big time ACC upset win for Boston College (13-2).

The reason I don’t know who these guys are is because Boston College was picked to finish 11 in the ACC.

We here at College Fast Break only cover winners!

My boy Tyler Hansbrough’s 21 points couldn’t carry the Tar Heels today.

So the Tar Heels (13-1) go down in flames and sit in ninth place in the ACC standings.

I should have known they weren’t going to be that good.

Post from: EveryJoe

Oh, That Carolina Team Lost Today

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 course North Carolina is led by old “what’s his name” at forward who is averaging 23.1 points and 7.5 rebounds a game.

The wife and I are going out with about 25 of our friends to dinner at a sushi buffet restaurant in Huntington Beach tonight. More than likely we’ll all be too tired and too full to make it to midnight. We’ve been doing this for 12 years and it’s always a lot of fun.

Then of course beginning tomorrow there’s about 100 freaking college football bowl games on through Saturday. Since Duke isn’t playing in a bowl game, none of these games look remotely interesting to me. That means I’ll get up, get a good three to five mile run in, and sleep the rest of the day.

Hope all of you have wonderful New Year’s Eve and a great New Year.

Post from: EveryJoe

Tar Heels to close out 2008

“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 assistance from some “big, strong basketball players.” Within seconds, Hansbrough had sprung from his seat six rows up and rushed to the man’s side.

Hansbrough, teammate Deon Thompson and video coordinator Eric Hoots then lifted 45-year-old Melvin Ridley into the air. Holding him chest-high, they carried him to the galley, where paramedics rendered aid for nearly 30 minutes.

Once Ridley became responsive, he was removed from the plane and transported to a nearby hospital.

“It was a scary situation,” North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams said, “but I was proud to see how our guys responded. I’m sure there are some people who saw that and thought, ‘Those are some really good kids on the North Carolina basketball team.’”

Lester Banks, Ridley’s cousin, said Ridley was diabetic and that he had a history of heart problems. Banks said Friday morning that doctors in Maui ran a battery of tests on Ridley and determined that he had a seizure. He was scheduled to be released later today and has been cleared to take the next flight home, Banks said. Ridley lives in Silsbee, Texas.

“It’s a blessing that all of this happened before the plane left the ground,” Banks said. “If this had happened up in the air … who knows how it would’ve turned out.

“I wasn’t able to tell those players how much I appreciated their help. We’re going to do everything we can to get in touch with them and to let them know how much (their actions) meant to us. They were class acts.””

Let’s see you top that Duke!

Post from: EveryJoe

Is there anything Tyler Hansbrough and the Tar Heels can’t do?

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. Hansbrough score 16 in just his second game of the season.

Blah, blah, blah. North Carolina being North Carolina.

But did you see how those Fighting Irish got there?

Harangody scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a close 81-80 win against sixth-ranked Texas last night.

This may actually be a competitive game.

Game time is 7 p.m. Pacific Time. (I’m tired of everyone always using Eastern Time first).

Post from: EveryJoe

Game of the Week: North Carolina vs. Notre Dame in Maui Final

– 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 @ Cal-Santa Barbara. Tyler struggled from the field going 2-10. Tar Heel Fan Blog has it all covered.

STAT of the DAY

UConn freshman guard Kemba Walker netted his second straight 20 plus point performance with 23 in a 8 point win over La Salle. Matt has all the goods in his post game wrap up.

Post from: EveryJoe

Friday November 21st Scores

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 institution must provide documentation regarding any injury or illness of a student-athlete or family member and how those are directly related to the student-athlete’s transfer waiver request.”

Stephenson, a 6-foot-9 junior, who was a reserve player with the Tar Heels for two seasons will be eligible to play for the Trojans in 2009-10.

USC is in Puerto Rico today to face Seton Hall at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament at 4 p.m. Pacific Time.

In the meantime, Stephenson and USC can appeal the decision.

Post from: EveryJoe

USC Transfer Stephenson Will Have To Wait Until Next Season To Play For The Trojans

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.

Post from: EveryJoe

UNC Loses its Second Tyler of the Season