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Off the cuff: The Deacons have a lot of young talent for the future with Johnson, Teague and McFarland, who got in foul trouble. But I still find it hard to believe that they beat Duke. The Tar Heels shot well and rebounded well but didn't really play as well overall as they have been the last couple of games yet still beat Wake by 16.

It was actually refreshing to see two palming calls on the Tar Heels. That's one of the most under-called violations in basketball. Of course it would be good to see some called on the opposing team too.

Does anyone else think that the students holding their arms in the air when Carolina players shoot free throws is a little fruity? Kind of reminds me of the cute little wolf that State fans make with their wuddle fingers.

The Fox Sports TV broadcast missed showing free throws on two occasions. That's just inexcusable. Once they were showing an interview with the Wake coach instead. Huh? Didn't we tune in to watch a game not a pre-game?

The TV broadcast was eight to 10 seconds behind the radio broadcast, making it annoying to listen to Woody except during stoppages of play.

Deon Thompson is still hampered greatly by the knee injury and Coach Williams said he probably shouldn't have played at all. Danny Green and Alex Stepheson played well in his place but Stepheson did get in foul trouble. Thank goodness for the steady play of Q, the shooting of Ellington and the All-America play of Hansbrough.

Heels 89, Demon Deacons 73
Ellington shoots down Wake; Hansbrough scores 29

UNC's Wayne Ellington is back in a shooting groove as he scored 17 points including a back-breaking three late in the first half and Tyler Hansbrough continued his MVP-caliber season with 29 points as the Heels beat Wake at home 89-73. (2/24)

Ellington's shooting resurgence over the last few games following a mid-year slump comes at a good time since Ty Lawson remains sidelined with an ankle injury. Coach Roy Williams had thought Lawson would be available for this game but doctors decided against it. Lawson could be back Saturday for the next game at Boston College.

While Quentin Thomas played well in Lawson's place with seven assists, the Tar Heels - even though playing a slower-paced game with Lawson out - are turning the ball over more. The Tar Heels had 17 assists but 21 turnovers on the night. "We can't have that assist-turnover ratio and be a great team," Coach Williams said.

Fortunately for the Tar Heels, they held a 38-24 rebounding advantage, which led to second-chance scoring opportunities on the offensive end and held Wake to one shot on the defensive end.

The Tar Heels also shot 56 percent from the field and got a slew of points from the foul line (26 of 34). Coach Williams said his team is going to go to the line because the Heels are going to attack the basket. "We're not going to shoot threes all the time," he said.

At first it appeared that Wake would hit threes all the time as the Deacs sank six of their first 10 but then went only one of 10 the rest of the way to finish seven of 20. Carolina got a couple of threes of their own - by Will Graves and Danny Green - midway through the second half that opened the game up at 76-61. It never got closer the rest of the way. The biggest lead of the game came late when the Heels got it up to 21 points at 84-63.

In the first half the Tar Heels trailed 18-16 seven minutes in after Wake's Jeff Teague sank a long, long three pointer at the end of the shot clock. But Green, who finished with 15, scored seven of the Heel's next 10 points including a three pointer of his own, preceding a three by Will Graves. The 10-0 run put the Heels up 26-18.

Wake got the lead down to two points on several occasions the rest of the first half until Carolina went on an 11-4 run highlighted by an off-balanced three from the left corner by Wayne Ellington at the buzzer. That opened it up a tad for the Heels who led 50-41 at the half.

Wake Forest was led by James Johnson who had 22 points and eight rebounds while Jeff Teague tallied 18.

The Tar Heels advance to 26-2 and 11-2 in the ACC while Wake Forest drops to 16-9 and 6-6 in the league.

Check out the game box score and a game photo gallery.
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Read my Tar Heels' season preview on WRAL.com by clicking here.