Wake will test Heels on road

3 P.M." SATURDAY JAN. 10 -- Only seven days removed from a rude awakening at the hands of Boston College that derailed them from their spot atop the national polls" the North Carolina Tar Heels will be thrust back into the fire Sunday as they face perhaps the biggest test of their young season.

The No. 4 Wake Forest Demon Deacons have used their speed" athleticism and depth to win their first 13 games" with none being more impressive than last Saturday's 94-87 road win against BYU to snap the nation's longest home winning streak at 53 games.

While their early season schedule has been far from strenuous"" the Deacs quickly turned the potential of last year's talented youth into rock-hard results during this campaign.

""I thought last year they had the makings of a big-time team"" UNC coach Roy Williams said Friday morning.

""Young kids like (Jeff) Teague and (James) Johnson who could really score" (Chas) McFarland who had gotten better and better L.D. Williams who is such an athlete … they had every piece to the puzzle. And I think they finished on a positive note at the end of the season last year. And then you add (freshman Al-Farouq) Aminu to the crowd -- and I loved him. I mean" I wanted him badly.""

Wake's talent will present plenty of problems" but the Tar Heels also have to cope with the additional challenges of playing on the road" and in the always raucous Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

""'05 (at Wake Forest) may have been as loud as I've heard in an ACC arena"" said Williams, who joked that he still doesn't quite understand the well-known Demon Deacon motorcycle that helps energize the crowd.

""I think it's a wonderful atmosphere" and it's extremely difficult to have that focus that you need to do in a place like that. I don't want to bring a motorcycle in the Smith Center" but that's the kind of crowd I want to have here.""

Williams' squads have dealt well with hostile environments in recent years.

""When we're on the road we're a lot more focused" I think junior guard Wayne Ellington said. We know what it's going to be like. We know everything's going to be against us" and I think that just helps us and gives us a lot more motivation.""

When asked to describe the characteristics of a good road team"" Williams mentioned the ability of the players and the way they focus and deal with the noise.

""I think that they've done a good job of focusing on what was going on on the court" what was being said by our bench" he said. Figured out some way in their minds to handle all the noise and pretend it was in their favor. Some of those kinds of mind games I guess.""

The electric atmosphere should certainly have both teams amped up come Sunday's 8 p.m. tip-off. And as if the Tar Heels needed anymore motivation than the Top-5 matchup already creates" they will be trying to avoid falling to a shocking 0-2 start in the ACC.