The ACC should close the deal tonight on its 8th straight victory in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The ACC currently leads 4-2 with five more games tonight. The marquee matchup, of course, is Ohio St. vs. UNC (the Heels are only 2-5 in this event). This is a much, much bigger game for Carolina than it is for OSU. The Buckeyes season really doesn’t start until Greg Oden gets in the lineup. An OSU loss tonight against the Heels is really no big deal for the Buckeyes. However, a Carolina loss would create a small panic attack amongst the baby blue faithful. And, with a capable Kentuckky visiting the Smith Center on Saturday, UNC can ill-afford a loss to OSU.

More importantly, it’s time the Heels actually played a solid 40 minutes. The first half against Tennessee was a solid and the last 10 minutes vs. Gonzaga was encouraging - it showed the Heels wouldn’t just lay down. But Carolina has yet to string together an impressive game-long effort. No time like the present, though, especially with the #1-ranked team in town.

The Buckeyes will be a difficult team to play. They have tremendous guard play, with Daquean Cook providing a ton of scoring. Mike Conley has been outstanding at the point. Conley and Cook will be extremely tough to defend off the dribble. With senior Ron Lewis making a slew of 3’s, the Buckeye backcourt will be the difference in the game. Carolina must defend the 3. Otherwise, the Heels won’t just lose….they’ll lose badly. Conley, Lewis and Cook will not be intimidated by any of UNC’s guards. Given OSU’s small front-line, I’d like to see the Heels play a little point zone and extend it a bit to force longer 3 point attempts. This will keep UNC’s front line from being away from the basket on defense. Undoubtedly, the Buckeyes will force Wright and Hansbrough to guard away from the bucket. With UNC’s inability to keep people out of the lane, Ohio St. should have some success allowing Cook, Conley, and Lewis to penetrate and pitch out to open 3 point shooters.

If Carolina will defend the 3 and find a way to shoot well against what is sure to be OSU’s packed in zone, the Tar Heels can control the game. Otherwise, it could be a long, long night.

Some quick notes:

- Quentin Thomas will be out with a stress fracture for about a month. Roy Williams is moving Marcus Ginyard in to the backup-backup PG. So, if Bobby Frasor is in foul trouble and Ty Lawson is tired, or vice-versa, then Marcus will get the call. With Bobby Frasor’s foot hurting, look for Lawson to get more minutes. And let’s hope that Marcus doesn’t have to do much at the PG position.

- It did not go unnoticed that Ty and Deon Thompson were without their headbands in the Tennessee game. According to Roy Williams, they’ll be without their headgear permanently. My guess is that the headbands created a little too much, um, “individualism” shall we say.

- If you like Las Vegas, and you like UNC, then make plans to be in Vegas next Thanksgiving. The Heels will be playing in the Las Vegas Invitational next year. Maui comes back around in ‘08.