Turns out the best sporting event of the weekend was just down the road in Winston-Salem, where No. 4 Wake Forest continued No. 3 North Carolina's ACC slide by holding off the Tar Heels, 92-89.
I had been skeptical about the Demon Deacons going into Sunday's battle at Lawrence Joel Coliseum, what with Wake's biggest win coming at BYU (impressive, but top-five impressive?). It didn't take long for me to come to a different conclusion:
ME: Wake Forest is really good, by the way. Like, better than us.ROOMMATE: Didn't the game just start?
ME: It's seven minutes in.
ROOMMATE: And you're already saying they're better than us?
ME: Oh yeah. They're better than us.
Jeff Teague, who poured in a career-high 34 points in the Deacs' 92-89 toppling of the Tar Heels has made the leap from promising freshman to flat-out star. For long stretches early in the game and in the middle of the second half, Teague was far and away the best player on the floor, constantly getting to the middle of the lane and finishing among the trees with either soft floaters or hard drives to either side of the basket.
On the other end, the Demon Deacons have enough height and depth on the frontcourt not only to counteract UNC, but in fact to exploit the Tar Heels. Wake ran big after big at Tyler Hansbrough, who was limited to 3-of-12 shooting and took an ill-advised three that turned into an easy fast break layup that short-circuited a possible UNC rally.
On the perimeter, Teague, Ishmael Smith and L.D. Williams harrassed Ty Lawson into four turnovers--UNC had 18 overall with just nine assists--and made Wayne Ellington an afterthought until the game's final three minutes. Although the point was belabored ad nauseum by FSN's Tim Brando throughout the game, Danny Green was pretty much the only Tar Heel who could do anything offensively.
So while Duke fans rejoice Carolina's borderline stunning 0-2 start in conference play (quick poll: more or less stunning than the Arizona Cardinals' hosting the NFC Championship?), they have to simultaneously recognize that Dino Gaudio's team is further ahead of schedule than we may have thought.
If you think Florida State presented matchup problems with its height, just wait for Wake Forest to exhibit the same size with--what is it called? Oh yeah--discernible basketball-related talent. James Johnson and Al-Farouq Aminu are athletic forwards who can play inside and out, and Chas McFarland has improved even more than Brian Zoubek.
The Blue Devils continue to look fantastic defensively, but tonight, Wake Forest looked fantastic period.
Carolina, meanwhile, is looking more and more susceptible by the game. The injuries to Marcus Ginyard and Tyler Zeller have taken a toll on its depth--UNC goes "only" nine deep now--while Lawson and Deon Thompson aren't playing as phenomenally as they did the first month and a half of the season. That being said, the Tar Heels remain the team to beat in the ACC.
But now it's clear a Tar Heel title isn't a fait accompli. And it's time to circle January 28 and the Blue Devils' trip west to Winston-Salem on the calendar.
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