GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The preseason media poll that predicted North Carolina would share the Atlantic Coast Conference championship with Duke was still hours from being released. The national polls that picked the Tar Heels sixth (by the media) and fourth (by the coaches) were more than a week away.
But Roy Williams didn't feel a need to wait to issue a disclaimer about the early exuberance over his defending national champions.
"The expectations of our young kids, and the way they were evaluated or ranked as a recruiting class, puts a lot of expectations on kids who have never done it,'' Williams said last month at the ACC's media day, on the day his team -- missing the top four players and 74 percent of the points from the group that had waxed Michigan State in the national title game -- split the voting for the conference title.
DETROIT - The last North Carolinian to climb the ladder Monday night and clip a piece of the championship net for a keepsake was the head basketball coach, Roy Williams. He went up twice. The first time, he snipped just a strand. The second time, he severed everything that was left. It was quite apropos.
After all, there isn't anyone in Chapel Hill more deserving of all the success that has come to Tar Heels' basketball in the last few years than their dadgum, corny coach from Asheville, N.C., the '72 graduate who went away for awhile to Kansas before returning to his alma mater six years.
DETROIT – The last North Carolinian to climb the ladder Monday night and clip a piece of the championship net for a keepsake was the head basketball coach, Roy Williams. He went up twice. The first time, he snipped just a strand. The second time, he severed everything that was left. It was quite apropos.
After all, there isn't anyone in Chapel Hill more deserving of all the success that has come to Tar Heels' basketball in the last few years than their dadgum, corny coach from Asheville, N.C., the '72 graduate who went away for awhile to Kansas before returning to his alma mater six years.
Sure, the only thing you'll get better odds on than North Carolina winning Monday night is Roy Williams dropping a frick or two on the sideline, but the Heels can be beaten. How? From tracking Ty to cleaning the glass, here's Michigan State's five-point plan to topple North Carolina.
Somewhere in Michigan State's middle-class brand of Michigan hope and mixed martial basketball, and North Carolina's mechanized cavalry of an offensive attack, there may be a similarity or two lurking somewhere.
But you've got about as good a chance of finding it as you do spotting an opposing fan in Ford Field's South Pacific of Spartan green.
These two teams couldn't be more different if one of them came out in shoulder pads.
And, with Tom Izzo, who invited Vikings' offensive line coach Pat Morris speak to his team before Saturday night's win, and whose teams always play like it's fourth-and-goal from the one, that could very well be the case.
All eyes are on Detroit as we're less than one week away from crowning the national champion and moving on to 2010. So with only four teams still standing in the Big Dance, NCAA Basketball FanHouse got together for a FanHouse Roundtable to discuss what we can expect. Find out why the only thing we love more than the Heels are the head coaches.
Somewhere along the way, someone convinced North Carolina coach Roy Williams that he should always open with a joke.
And so, after leaving Oklahoma flatter than the FedEx floor Sunday, he did.
"I congratulate the NCAA for having cookies back there today, more than yesterday," Williams said to kick off his press conference after his Tar Heels won the South Region final. "And they're good. We're making progress in every area."
Now Williams won't be accused of being a particularly funny man any more than your accountant or Dane Cook, so for the coach with the vocabulary the Beav might find a tad gooey, this is about as good as it gets.
The NCAA tournament is just one day away, so FanHouse writers and editors got together to talk over each region. The Midwest Region got the ball rolling, followed by the East. Now, the South. What is intriguing about this region, and who do we like?
Matt Snyder: The one thing I like about the South Bracket is it's the one bracket with a bit of a mid-major flavor. Butler and Gonzaga should both have a shot at taking down Ty Lawson (right) and the mighty Tar Heels, and Western Kentucky has a solid chance at beating Illinois in the first round.
Thinking that the Virginia Cavaliers might have contended with North Carolina Thursday night seems kind of silly in hindsight, but for the first 18 minutes of the game, it at least seemed mildly plausible. Well, okay, it was more like Carolina was somehow 0-2 in the ACC, reeling off of losses to Boston College and Wake Forest, and the faint possibility of an 0-3 nightmare existed for the Heels.
It wasn't the case. Obviously. Tyler Hansbrough, despite shooting poorly from the floor, still managed to pass Christian Laettner for sixth all-time in ACC scoring (please don't get me started on who's more awesome between the two of those guys).
ACC play has officially begun. In their first conference game of the season, the No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels were beaten by unranked Boston College, 85-78.
How the Eagles did it was pretty simple: BC was on fire from behind the arc and clamped down on the Heels defensively. The Eagles also fought on the offensive glass and kept UNC from getting into its deadly transition game. That fact caused the normally poised Tar Heels to take frustration shots and make frustration fouls, which fed the deficit.
This was the first time all season that the Tar Heels have been truly tested. In every other game, they went on huge runs to create distance from their opponents. Of course, those runs are fueled by creating turnovers and getting out on the break and Boston College simply wasn't allowing that. BC kept the Tar Heels in check with a 17-7 run in the middle of the second half and Carolina just couldn't complete the comeback.
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The preseason media poll that predicted North Carolina would share the Atlantic Coast Conference championship with Duke was still hours from being released. The national polls that picked the Tar Heels sixth (by the media) and fourth (by the coaches) were more than a week away.
DETROIT - The last North Carolinian to climb the ladder Monday night and clip a piece of the championship net for a keepsake was the head basketball coach, 
Somewhere in Michigan State's middle-class brand of Michigan hope and mixed martial basketball, and North Carolina's mechanized cavalry of an offensive attack, there may be a similarity or two lurking somewhere. 
Somewhere along the way, someone convinced North Carolina coach 
The NCAA tournament is just one day away, so FanHouse writers and editors got together to talk over each region. The 
ACC play has officially begun. In their first conference game of the season, the No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels were beaten by unranked Boston College, 85-78.
