Slideshow: Tar Heels win ACC title CHARLOTTE - No. 1 North Carolina went into the weekend as the top seed in the ACC Tournament- and came out as ACC Champions for the second year in a row. It marks the first back-to-back tournament titles for the Tar Heels since 1997 and 1998, and it pushes their total to 17 - one ahead of Duke.
North Carolina has an uncanny ability to get to the free throw line - and a convenient knack for making shots once it gets there. In Sunday's 89-73 win against Wake Forest, the Tar Heels shot 34 free throws, making 26. WFU made just eight of its 17. And there were more difference-makers in the game than just free throws - Tyler Hansbrough's 29 points and Danny Green's 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench, for example. But the performance at the line sure didn't hurt, and fouls were a big part of the win.
When Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser died July 26, 2007, then-assistant coach Dino Gaudio lost his best friend. He had coached with Prosser for 17 years at both the high school and college levels, five of them at Wake Forest. Two weeks after Prosser's death, Gaudio stepped up to a podium to announce he would take the place of his longtime mentor. "This is a very bittersweet moment for me," Gaudio said at the time.
It was wake-up time for the Tar Heels on Saturday. After two of the team's last three ACC victories came by a combined total of three points, then-No. 1 North Carolina finally took the plunge. UNC (18-1, 3-1 in the ACC) dropped its first game of the season to Maryland (12-7, 2-2) at the Smith Center, 82-80. It was Maryland's first win in Chapel Hill since 2003.
It couldn't last forever. Two of No.1 North Carolina's three ACC victories were by a total of three points. Saturday, the Tar Heels (18-1, 3-1 in the ACC) couldn't keep up the close play as Maryland (12-7, 2-2) edged out a win at the Smith Center, 82-80, for the Tar Heels' first loss of the season. It was Maryland's first win in Chapel Hill since 2003. "Well I haven't done a very good job with this basketball team the last couple weeks," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "We've been living on the edge, and it caught up with us today."
Normally before games, North Carolina coach Roy Williams tells his players he just wants to win and eat. Saturday before the N.C. State game, he did things a little differently. "(Coach Williams) said that he wanted to beat State so bad that he would rather beat them than eat," Tar Heel junior forward Marcus Ginyard said. So while the rest of the team set up food deliveries for after the game, Williams declined any post-game delicacies. "I guess he doesn't like steak too much," UNC forward Deon Thompson said. A plethora of records
It's hard to see how No. 1 North Carolina could get any better, but flashes of brilliant defense in Saturday's win against N.C. State set a new standard. The Tar Heels put together one of their best defensive performances of the season - particularly in the first half - something North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he's been preaching all season. UNC forced 17 turnovers, eight of which came off steals. The Wolfpack shot an abysmal 17.6 percent from the field in the first half as UNC blocked more shots - eight - than N.C. State made -- six.
View the slideshow UNC-Asheville's 7-foot-7-inch center Kenny George had a night as big as he is, but that won't be what people take away from the game. Instead the enduring image from the night is 6-feet-9-inch North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough posterizing George on a thunderous tomahawk dunk.
The academic year ends on May 8 with the last day of exams. But for some athletes the year is far from over. While most students are relaxing at home or working summer jobs, many sports continue training and playing games long after the rest of the student body has left campus. The baseball team, for example, has eight regular season games after the May 8, for instance. The ACC Championships come next for the team, then the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals followed by the College World Series, if things go well for the Tar Heels.
Two pitches into the bottom of the first inning in Wednesday's matchup with High Point, the No. 6 North Carolina baseball team had a one-run lead. Four batters in, the Tar Heels already had three hits, upping the score to 2-0. "We were just happy to get on the board first," UNC shortstop Josh Horton said. "Anytime you can do that for your starting pitching, it helps a lot and lets them relax out there and throw some pitches." The Tar Heels (35-9) garnered only two more hits the rest of the game - though one was a Horton solo home run - and edged the Panthers 3-1 at Boshamer Stadium.
