FanHouse Marcus Ginyard

NEW YORK (AP) -- Brandon Triche and Arinze Onuaku combined for 13 points in Syracuse's 22-1 run to open the second half and the Orange went on to a 87-71 victory over No. 6 North Carolina on Friday night in the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic.

The Orange (4-0) were the only unranked team in the semifinals of the tournament that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer but they left Madison Square Garden with blowout wins over No. 13 California and the Tar Heels (4-1).

North Carolina had a 39-37 halftime lead but that was gone in a hurry as Triche and Onuaku had field goals in the first 40 seconds. By the time the run ended 8 minutes into the second half Syracuse had a 59-40 lead.

Tournament MVP Wesley Johnson (pictured, right) had 25 points for the Orange, who beat California 95-73 in the semifinals. Onuaku finished with 15 points and Triche had 11.

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.

And it was oh so good for the Heels.

MEMPHIS – After Roy Williams answered his last question Sunday night at the press conference following his Tar Heels' easy 72-60 win over Oklahoma to advance to next weekend's Final Four, a North Carolina sports information official barked out some trivia for the departing media: the Tar Heels won for the first time all season with forward Tyler Hansbrough, the defending player of the year, and shooting guard Wayne Ellington failing to score in double figures.

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.

North Carolina landed some tough news tonight, finding out that both Marcus Ginyard and Will Graves will miss the remainder of the season because of injury and suspension, respectively.

And while the news might have dampened spirits after the game, you couldn't really tell throughout a 108-91 beatdown that saw the Tar Heels hit 16 3-pointers -- seven from Wayne Ellington -- as they inspired an already exuberant Dean Dome crowd that showed up to see whether or not the Tar Heels could break a losing streak against a Maryland team that was suddenly slightly arrogant for no apparent reason.

North Carolina rolled over Maryland tonight, and the Tar Heels appeared, for much of the evening, to be rounding back into championship form after two early season ACC losses.

But just when Carolina appeared to be bouncing back, their 2009 title hopes took a serious shot when Roy Williams announced that Marcus Ginyard, the team's best defensive stopper on the perimeter, will miss the remainder of the season.

Ranking the rankings criticizes the critics as soon as the polls come out.

It shouldn't come as a tremendous surprise that the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, the nation's only remaining undefeated team, are the consensus number one team in the nation. Oh wait, what's that? They're not the consensus team? Interesting.

They are close though -- Duke garnered four AP first place votes and six votes in the coaches poll to lock up the second overall ranking in both polls, while Connecticut and Pittsburgh rounded out the top four. Perhaps Coach K's media scathing resonated with more than just the News & Observer.

This is, the first time that Wake has been No. 1 since Chris Paul graced the hardwood of Lawrence Joel, but it's an interesting change because this is a completely different Deacon team, and one that's dominated by a youthful demeanor.

I have no clue why ESPN scheduled North Carolina and Miami for Saturday night primetime. Oh wait. Yes I do. It's because, two weeks ago, the line for that game would have been "Carolina minus infinity" and expecting anything short of a total Hurricane bloodbath would have been insanity.

Then UNC lost twice. And suddenly this matchup was more of a "holy mess let them lose!" type of event where the WWL and the Carolina national bandwagon would be thoroughly embarrassed. Frankly, the game had the making of a potential upset heading into half.

The Tar Heels were only up four, they looked totally ineffective and suddenly Miami was dangerous. Then Wayne Ellington happened.

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).