UNC vs. ORAL ROBERTS

Tonight's game marks the first time Tyler Hansbrough has been in front of the home crowd since early November. It also marks the first game in ten days for the Tar Heels, who have been taking exams. The crowd will be anxious to see their senior leader back on the court. It will be interesting to see just how much better they are on their home court with him. Ty Lawson has gotten better over the last month, but will he still be able to progress into possibly the best point guard in the country in an offense that will get back to focusing on getting Hansbrough the ball?

20:00: The starters for Carolina are Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Deon Thompson, Danny Green, and Tyler Hansbrough. It's a very full house for a game that is taking place the day after exams. The Dean E. Smith Center is the fullest it's been this year for these home out-of-conference games.

15:34: I heard another journalist tonight say before the game that Carolina needed to play smart tonight. So far, it doesn't appear they will need to. Oral Roberts has six turnovers in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the game. Maybe Carolina just scares people so much, they come out nervous, but if this trend continues this game, look for a repeat of what the Tar Heels did to UNC-Asheville a couple of weeks ago.

11:56: Hansbrough has scored on four of the last five Tar Heel possessions. He has also taken two charges. The crowd seems to have missed him in his absence. Tar Heels 27 Golden Eagles 14.

7:52: I wonder if a team can weaken themselves by doing things that are not in their character. I ask this because Hansbrough and Thompson continue to shoot outside shots from 8 to 10 feet. Hansbrough is making his, so the answer to my question is a resounding NO in this case. However, why do it when they will need to bang and play hard down low if they want to win an ACC and a national championship?

2:46: I went to the NCAA Tournament every year as a kid. In 1990, I saw Popeye Jones drop about 40 on Michigan State and upset a high-seeded Spartan team virtually by himself. An upset will not happen tonight in Chapel Hill, but Oral Roberts has only one player, a little guard who looks like Armanti Edwards named Robert Jarvis. He's got 13 first half points and is the really only scoring threat for the Golden Eagles. Even Roy Williams patted him on the behind a couple of minutes ago when he hit a three with Danny Green right in his face.

Halftime: Tar Heels lead 54-34. Butch Davis has delivered the only rousing moments of the night as he sold his pitch to those in attendance to join the football team in Charlotte for the Meineke Car Care Bowl against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

17:09: Deon Thompson had a career-high for a half in the first half. He had 16 points. He has picked up where he left off, scoring four of the Tar Heels' first eight points. On a team with an abundance of potential NBA talent, he still will make the best pro out of all these guys. I truly believe that.

13:55: Here's the night's interesting stat. The Golden Eagles are 2-of-4 from the free throw line tonight. The Tar Heels are 14-of-18. UNC 70 ORAL ROBERTS 47

8:49: Oral Roberts had made a 12-3 run and had pulled as close as they had been all game, 71-56. UNC has weathered the run by turning to Ty Lawson, who looks to be able to do anything he wants if the defender shows any inclination to hesitate. He is still this team's most important player for a championship run. It is not Hansbrough, who they have already proven they can win without. As a side note, Hansbrough just hit a three. It splashed, the crowd went crazy and it seemed to energize him, but why is he shooting three's? This gets back to an earlier point. The team has to show more discipline to play within itself.

2:17: The Golden Eagles have battled back in spots during the second half. However, Roy Williams is set to put in the reserves and clear the bench. In the postgame, he will probably be a little vocal about the defense letting up a bit in the second half. I would imagine the pressure was not as extensive as he would have liked to see from the 15-minute mark on.

The Same Old Same Old

I read Pat Forde's article last week about how the University of North Carolina Tar Heels should be very alert that Duke is playing great basketball. He pronounced that they were back and would challenge UNC.

Forde was not alone in his prognostication. Turn on any Blue Devil game and hear all of the announcers talk about how Kyle Singler has gotten stronger, how they are more athletic and how Gerald Henderson is a great athlete.

All of this may be true, but Saturday's loss to Michigan proved one thing: they still have the same coach who refuses to adjust and cannot develop a productive lineup.

Duke handled Michigan easily 71-56 earlier in the season. What did they do to prepare for the Wolverines a second time around? Nothing.

What did John Beilein do to prepare his squad? He committed to the back-door cuts, and he preached a 1-3-1 defense that did not allow Duke to get close to the basket down the stretch and that created problems for John Scheyer handling the ball.

Gerald Henderson again postponed his coming out party that we continue to hear he will one day have.

Duke continued to live and die by the three, really only making them down the stretch it was too far behind to make any difference.

And all the depth, talent and athleticism we've heard so much about. It was not guarding Michigan in the second half.

This team is no different than last year save for one exception. Nolan Smith offers more than Greg Paulus does at the point both on offense and defense.

However, Nolan Smith is not enough to beat Carolina. He's not enough to win an ACC title. And he's certainly not enough to carry this team to the Final Four as of December.

A win in a statement game over Xavier next Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J., could offer some evidence to prove me wrong.