UNC-Asheville vs. UNC

The Tar Heels come in with the Maui trophy, the country's #1 ranking and a whole lot of offense. They may lose only a couple of games this year, but Sunday night won't be one of them as the Bulldogs come into Chapel Hill and try to stay competitive. Stay tuned for live blogging throughout the contest.

20:00--Here are your starters for Carolina. Lawson, Davis, Ellington, Green, and Thompson. This team is clearly on cruise control and will rest Hansbrough as much as possible. Outside of the Michigan State game Wednesday night in East Lansing, there is no need to play him until ACC play begins.

17:21--The Bulldogs really are showing no fear. They lead 6-2 here by taking it to Carolina. Ed Davis has missed some easy putbacks that should have resulted in Tar Heel baskets.

14:58--So far, the game belongs to Lawson blazing down the court and setting a quick pace for Carolina's transition game. Will Graves has also decided to come off the bench for a back-door dunk and for a three. It's interesting to watch how Graves gets better just from being around so much talent. There is a lot of meiosis going on this year with UNC. So much talent creates more talent around it. When this team peaks during ACC play, I would be surprised if any team in the league can play them within 20 points.

11:54--The Heels have a comfortable 17-12 lead over UNC-Asheville. Larry Drew has come in and tried to find his way out on the court. Zeller saw early season success. Ed Davis could very well be in the running for ACC Rookie of the Year. But Drew continues to play a bit slower than the pace of the college game. Sometimes he looks tentative as if he is thinking too much. Roy Williams needs to get him minutes in games like these to speed up his game and give him confidence.

7:41--Without Hansbrough on the floor and with the team playing fast in Maui, this team became Ty Lawson's. It is the same story tonight. His defense has caused turnovers. He drives to the basket and is not afraid of contact, which results in three-point plays. And he finds open guys like Davis down low. It's his team, and it may be his team even after Hansbrough returns. The Tar Heels are out to a 32-14 lead.

4:20--Carolina continues to tear apart another zone defense this season. When a team figures out how exactly to defend this team, a Nobel Prize could be awarded. My one question continues to be Wayne Ellington. He continues to miss open shots and is not that much of a different player than the up-and-down, sometimes 20-point scorer we saw last year.

Halftime--UNC 53 UNC-Asheville 19. The defense has been the story. Early on, Carolina gave up a number of defensive rebounds to UNC-A, but Davis and Thompson have remedied that and continue to serve as a two-headed substitute for Hansbrough.

17:41--The worst sin in basketball is to find yourself in the air and not know what you want to do with the ball. Carolina has forced UNC-Asheville to commit this transgression twice in the opening two possessions for the Bulldogs. An error like this always separates the big boys from the lower-tier schools. UNC 60- UNC-A 24

11:13--Danny Green has hit three threes in the second half, one of which was launched from Greensboro. Green is an example of why players come to Carolina. If you give Williams the hustle, he gives you the freedom to find your offense.

7:48--The freshman Davis continues to grow into the shoes of of a strong player. He's had authoritative dunks down low. I've liked him from the get-go this season. When Hansbrough fully comes back, it will be interesting to see where Davis' points, rebounds and defense find time on the court.

Eyes Wide Open

I argued with another reporter sitting next to me at the end of North Carolina's 28-20 victory over Duke in Durham Saturday evening that the ACC was "horrible." Yes I used that drastic modifier to describe the lackluster, boring, inconsistent, injury-plagued, turnover-prone play that has dominated the league's games since August.

My colleague chose to beautify the face of the league by saying it was "balanced." He threw around the word "parity." Then he suggested that the league couldn't be so bad if, on Saturday, two ACC teams scored stunning upsets of two SEC teams. He was referring to Clemson's 31-14 upset of South Carolina and Georgia Tech's 45-42 stunner over rival Georgia in Athens.

I'm glad he cited Georgia Tech, because the Jackets prove my point about the absurdity of the league this year. Paul Johnson's first-year campaign will likely win him ACC Coach of the Year honors. His team is a couple of turnovers and bad calls in Blacksburg away from playing in Tampa next Saturday. And therein lies the problem. Georgia Tech is the best team in the Coastal Division, could even be the best team in the league, but Virginia Tech will be playing for the ACC crown.

Let's look at the Atlantic. Boston College held on to a position that Florida State, Maryland and Wake Forest continually let slip through their hands. However, I'm not so sure any of those four teams are the best in the Atlantic. I believe a team that resides in Raleigh and that, for the second straight year, decided to surge at the end of the season is the best team. They have Russell Willson, who is in my estimation the 2008 ACC Player of the Year.

So there it is. Inconsistency has given us a formula whereby the two best teams in the league right now will not even get to play for the ACC Championship. I realize those are the breaks, but to kid ourselves that this is quality football is like telling ourselves that "Eyes Wide Shut" was rewarding and resolute film experience.

I've watched Kubrick's last movie seven times, and it is a lot like ACC football. The more you watch it, the less sense it makes.

UNC vs. N.C. State

What are the most important days here in the state of North Carolina? There's the opening of the N.C. State Fair. There's Ric Flair's birthday.

Then there is today, when the 4-6 Wolfpack come and try and play spoiler to the 25th ranked Tar Heels. The Wolfpack is trying to complete a late season roll that could mirror what Tom O'Brien willed the season to do late in 2007.

The Heels will just be happy if they can figure out who is going to be their quarterback for the rest of the year. These story lines added to the caustic vitriol the two teams' fan bases share for one another, and it should make for a fun afternoon in Chapel Hill.

12:13--Yates is the starter, and the offense has displayed rhythm in its first series.

12:18--We have the game's first turnover. Draughn fumbled and the Wolfpack takes over at midfield. The Tar Heels wanted to cause turnovers, not give them up.

12:23--State couldn't turn the fumble into any points for themselves. Wilson looked good on the drive, but Josh Czajkowski missed a 39 yard field goal with 9:54 to go in the first quarter.

12:25--Draughn fumbles again on the UNC 24. If you would have told me turnovers would have been a storyline in the first quarter, I wouldn't have guessed they would be going State's way.

12:30--After a delay of game penalty helped State gain a second chance at making a field goal they had first missed, Czajkowski makes a 39 yard field goal to give the Pack a 3-0 lead with 8:12 to go in the first quarter.

12:42--Two fumbles and a punt in UNC's first three possessions. Is it time to unleash Cam Sexton?

12:47--Jarvis Williams just made an unbelievable 55 yard reception from Russell Wilson, who just set the N.C. State record for consecutive completions without an interception. Wilson also holds the longest streak in college football. The first quarter comes to an end with Wolfpack taking over at the Carolina 19. N.C. State 3 UNC 0

12:51--On the second play of the second quarter, Russel Wilson throws a 17 yd touchdown pass to TE George Bryan. N.C. State is controlling the ball by eating up the clock. I question whether the Tar Heels want to play today. N.C. State 10 UNC 0

1:03--Casey Barth helps the Heels answers and connects on 37 yard field goal. The Heels showed some gusto as they picked up a 4th and 8 inside the 50 . N.C. State UNC 3

1:19--The Heels' offensive line continues to let States front four get penetration up the middle. The Pack is getting off the ball with great speed and bullet into the backfield to either stop Draughn or sack Yates. Carolina will have to adjust in the second half.

1:28--The Heels, who usually generate turnovers like Britney Spears does bad headlines, have just turned the ball over for the third time in the game. Owen Spencer dropped a pass in the end zone that would have been a 39 yard touchdown and put the Heels at a major hole heading into half time.

1:34--Questionable coaching decision to end the half for O'Brien. N.C. State was on the UNC 31 with one second on the clock. Instead of attempting a 48 yard field goal, O'Brien elected to have Wilson throw down field. State came up empty in the end zone, and as a result, the Wolfpack hold a 10-3 lead over the Heels at halftime.

2:00--Yates starts the second half as quarterback. He hardly looked sharp in the first half, was responsible for one turnover and threw a number of balls low to his receivers. I have to ask. If Cam Sexton had started and performed that way, would Yates have been put in? I would have to imagine so, and I don't understand why the same wouldn't hold true now. Sexton was 4-0 at home this year. He has nine TD's, so why wouldn't he see some time today if Yates' offense only leads to stagnation.

2:08--Mine eyes have seen the glory. In a year of ups and downs and inconsistency, I am ready to claim some resolution to one issue. Russell Wilson should be the ACC Player of the Year. When you watch what he does to get rid of the ball and to play within himself, he never puts his team at risk. He completed a 54 yard pass to Owen Spencer, which set up a 1-yard TD run by Jamelle Eugene. N.C. State 17 UNC 3

2:16--UNC used a 27 yard completion from Yates to Greg Little in an 8-play, 60 yard drive to set up a 2-yard TD run by Ryan Houston. Once they were in the red zone, the Tar Heels committed to pounding the ball on the ground with Houston. It led to success as the Tar Heels now trail N.C. State 17-10 with 6:44 to go in the third quarter.

2:31--In the first quarter Mark Paschal dropped a sure interception that could have led to six the other way. Deunta Williams repeated this mistake. Two results: No turnovers for UNC and a State TD by Andre Brown. That would have been enough, but UNC fumbled the kickoff, and on the first play from scrimmage Wilson threw his second touchdown, a 21 yarder, to Owen Spencer. All of this took fifteen seconds to occur. N.C. State 31 UNC 10

2:48--There is 10:13 left on the clock, but the game is clearly over. I've yet to see a UNC team give up and quit. They did today. This loss falls on the players for deciding to wake up today and not care. I also assign blame to the coaches for sending mixed signals with the QB position all week. Nothing ever got established offensively, and it cost the Heels, who also had four turnovers. Just an all-around poor effort in Chapel Hill. State, on the other hand, is one win away from a bowl. State 34 UNC 10

Duke Wins "Championship"

I was on my way home from covering a high school basketball game last night when I heard on the Duke Sports Network that the Blue Devils, who beat Michigan Friday night 71-56 to win the 2K Sports Classic, had won their first championship of the season. Interesting. I did not know we were at that point that we've started keeping tracks of "championships" teams win in-season.

There used to be the Great Alaska Shootout. Then came along Maui. But when the NCAA limited how many times a team could appear in the tournament, new tournaments have blossomed all over the country to get us through the holiday season.

The problem is that with all of these tournaments, the value of winning a championship as been diminished, especially when it may only take two games to win one. The way I see it is that these tournaments serve the purpose of recruiting vehicles for high-profile teams like Duke, Memphis and UCLA when they cannot play in the big two, Alaska or Maui.

But they are nothing more than this. To imply that banners should be hung from rafters for an early-season tournament with that included mid-level talent is disingenuous.

Duke can win a championship in New York. Carolina can win one in Hawaii. However, until either one wins THE championship in Detroit , there aren't going to be many victory parades in The Triangle.

A Sign of Things to Come?

Though Halloween has passed, 13 could be a telling number for the 8th ranked Blue Devils. In their near-loss to Rhode Island Sunday, Duke managed only 13 bench points. There is no way that is going to be enough this year on a roster that has been touted as deep and a reserve squad that should be talented and improved.

Greg Paulus will have to do better than three points, even if he continues to come off the bench. Elliot Williams will need to be coaxed into the guard position like Nolan Smith was last year, but he will need to contribute points. Miles Plumlee can get by with no points, but he has to do better than having no rebounds. He was brought to Duke to bruise and battle underneath the basket.

Of course, the Devils' problems were not underneath the basket Sunday. They were on the perimeter, where they let the Rams shoot 71 percent for the game and an unbelievable 7-for-9 in the second half alone. Jimmy Baron went 8-for-10 from behind the arc by himself. Duke cannot allow this to happen over and over again this year.

The Devils did not have any long-range shooting themselves to counter Baron's performance. They went 4-for-17 from behind the three-point line. When you cannot guard the perimeter and cannot compensate for it on offense, you are not going to win many games.

Duke showed heart Sunday by staying in the game and finally taking the lead. A number of teams would have crumbled to a shocking and throwaway loss such as this on could have been to Rhode Island. However, the game felt like Duke's win against Belmont last year in the tournament. Yes, they won, but where do they go from here?

Stuck Inside of Tampa with the ACC Blues Again

John Swofford was probably hoping for a better Saturday for his league. Instead, he'll go into next weekend praying that it doesn't get any worse than it already is.

Going into Saturday, there appeared to be some added clarity with Miami's 16-14 defeat of the Hokies Thursday night. The Coastal Division seemed to be the 17th ranked Tar Heels' territory for the taking. They had three winnable games right in front of them. They couldn't even get past the first one, however, losing to Maryland 17-15 in the cold rains of College Park.

Now, the ACC is assured of two three-loss teams playing in the title game in Tampa on Dec. 6. Miami, who only has two conference losses, looks to now be the team most in control of its own destiny. Win out and they stay in Flordia to compete for a conference championship and solidify Randy Shannon as ACC Coach of the Year.

But what happens if they lose to Georgia Tech next week or to N.C. State on Nov. 29? Leaving the Dean E. Smith Center Saturday night and hearing disappointed Tar Heel fans, who had stayed to watch the end of the Maryland game on the arena's big-screen televisions, discuss the possible scenarios made about as much sense as someone deciphering the meaning of "Twin Peaks." Virginia was even still discussed. One fan said that someone should just double-check to make sure Duke had been eliminated from the scenario.

And things are not any better in the Atlantic Division for Swofford. Riley Skinner getting sacked on fourth down assured the Demon Deacs of a letdown in Raleigh Saturday evening at the hands of the Wolfpack, who, just as they did last year, find themselves on their way to a nice surge at the end of the season.

The Wolfpack are emblematic of the up and down season in the conference. Win next week in Chapel Hill and Nov. 29 at home against the Hurricanes, and they are bowl eligible.

You heard me correctly. N.C. State could still go to a bowl.

With the Wake Forest loss, 20th ranked Florida State found itself atop the Atlantic. Is anyone surprised at Christian Ponder throwing three interceptions and the Seminoles dropping one at home to the Boston College Eagles 27-17?

No team in the league can stand prosperity. Every team is a "Flavor-of-the-Week" or a "Your-Guess-Is-As-Good-As-Mine."

The only thing we know is that no team is an answer to the league's disappointing record in BCS contests. With Swofford needing a team to emerge and redeem the league's reputation on a national scale, it doesn't look like 2008 is the year for that.

UNC vs. PENN

4:08: Penn won the tip. It's strange not seeing Hansbrough in the starting lineup for a season home opener. Your starters are Ellington, Lawson, Green, Thompson, and Zeller, who has the first two points for UNC.

4:13: Carolina looks very committed to hitting 3's today. They missed their first three, but Ellington finally hit one from the corner. He then had a breakaway dunk that woke the crowd up a little bit. On a side note, it looks as if a good number of Heels' fans stayed home to watch the football game.

4:21: The Quakers are hanging tough wtih pretty smart play and hitting little jumpers from around the free-throw line. Freshman Ed Davis has looked good for the Heels coming off the bench for four points. Surprisingly, Penn is working hard to get a hold of some rebounds that Carolina should clearly be getting with its size. 11:25 left in the first half. Heels 20 Quakers16

4:34: Penn Sophomore guard Tyler Bernadini is making UNC's players pay for not staying with their men as the Quakers set screens and run the Princeton offense. He has nine points, all coming from 3's from virtually the same spot on the perimeter. Under 8:00 minute timeout. Heels 27 Quakers 25

4:40: There's 3:45 left in the first half, and Carolina has used turnovers to extend its lead and gain a little breathing room. In the last four minutes, the Heels have gone on a 14-6 run to pull in front of Penn 37-28.

4:58: Carolina closed the half with an 11-5 run and strong defense. With Hansbrough out, Deon Thompson is showing why he was such a sought-after recruit out of California two years ago. Thompson has always shown flashes, but he has served as a reliable rebounder in the first half dropping in buckets when the Heels needed to stop Penn's runs. He has ten first half points and five rebounds. Ellington also dropped in ten. Davis came off the bench to score eight points, but more importantly, to grab eight rebounds, six of which were defensive and reasons the Quakers came away empty-handed down the stretch. We're at the half at the Smith Center. Heels 48 Quakers 33. And the crowd just showed its pleasure as the football game against Maryland just popped up on the big screens.

5:11: The Heels look good coming out of the locker room. Danny Green hit a three on their first possession, and Zeller sent it home with a transition dunk. Zeller looks great running the floor. He is smooth, but he knows where to position himself when he's running, which shows that he's got acumen to accompany his skill. 15:48 to go in the second half in Chapel Hill. Heels 57 Quakers 41.

5:23: The line-up is predominantly freshmen right now. Davis, Zeller and Drew are on the court with Will Graves and Bobby Frasor. Carolina hit a little lull while they were in during that span. Under 12:00 minute timeout. Heels 62 Quakers 45

5:31: Carolina has implemented a full-court press on two of the their last couple possessions. The Quakers haven't been too rattled by it, though. One of the things that will have to happen this year for the Heels to win a national title is Wayne Ellington shooting consistently. He is not tonight. He was 6-16 in the first half and just made his first bucket in the second half. This is the Ellington that we saw last year. Thompson, on the other hand, continues to dominate. He has seven second-half points. 8:35 to go. Heels 71 Quakers 52

5:41: Lawson just sank two free-throws after being fouled. That marked the first time really all afternoon that I've seen Carolina exploit Lawson's speed against Penn. I thought this would be a game where he would make running the offense in transition look second nature.

5:47: The Heels have played sloppy the last three minutes and have turned the ball over on two straight possessions. This has afforded the Quakers with a chance to hit two straight 3's and go on a 10-1 run and cut UNC's lead to 76-66 with 3:43 left in the game.

6:00: Roy Williams just cleared the bench after Zeller was intentionally fouled. Carolina is going to win the game comfortably. However, this was far from the dominant performance that the fans, that is the ones who decided to show up and act interested, anticipated with all of the preseason hype.

Final Score from Chapel Hill UNC Tar Heels 86 Penn Quakers 71

Live Blogging--11/15/08 UNC vs. Penn

Follow the Tar Heels here at allintheacc.blogspot.com on Saturday from 4-7 p.m. I will be blogging live from the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill as UNC tips off their season against the Penn Quakers, who finished 3rd in the Ivy League in 2007-08.

A Dynamic Duo Brewing in Winston-Salem?

Nothing more could have gone wrong for the North Carolina Central University Eagles Friday night in Winston-Salem, N.C., where they fell to Wake Forest 94-48. The visiting team brought the wrong uniforms, and they only dressed eight players. Those were indicators of what the night would hold in store for the Eagles.

The real story at Lawrence Joel was the Demon Deacons. Fans had been waiting tirelessly all preseason to get a look at this team and at the highly touted freshmen who decided to keep their commitments despite Skip Prosser's death in 2007. The fans have to love what they saw Friday night out of Al-Farouq Aminu, who led all scorers with 21 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. Freshman center Tony Woods chipped in 12 points in his debut.

Aminu will not have to carry this team on his shoulders as a freshman. He will get plenty of help from sophomore forward James Johnson, who was an all-ACC rookie in 2007-08. The Deacs' victory over the Eagles showed this as Johnson went for 18 points and 10 rebounds.

As they did Friday night, these two could end up in a number of headlines this season in the ACC.

Next up for the Deacs are the Seahawks from UNC-Wilmington Wednesday night in Winston-Salem. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

Miami Helps UNC's Title Chances

Things have been going well for the UNC Tar Heels all season long. T.J. Yates got hurt, and Cam Sexton came in and became a proven winner. When Brandon Tate's season ended against Notre Dame, Hakeem Nicks provided an answer for the big plays. Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston emerged as a backfield combination of speed and strength that the offense has been waiting on for more than a year.

Something else went right for the 17th ranked Tar Heels Thursday night in Miami, Fla., as the Hurricanes outlasted the Virginia Tech Hokies 16-14. Though it looked like Miami's repeated failures to punch it into the end zone would cost them in the end, the 'Canes held on for a victory that added a little more resolution to the cloudy picture atop the ACC's Coastal Division.

The win gives the Tar Heels sole possession of first place in the division. With victories at Maryland Saturday, at home against the Wolfpack next Saturday, and at Duke in the season finale on Nov. 29, Butch Davis' group will be boarding a plane that will take them to Tampa and quite possibly to an ACC Championship.