Spartans' rally helps me fight irrational exuberance

After North Carolina's first-half performance against Michigan State, I was reminded of former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan's warnings about irrational exuberance.

The Tar Heels' efficiency against a quality national power such as the Spartans really got me pumped up about the potential of this team. I've said all along that UNC would have plenty of rough games and that it might not be until February that we know if this team is a national-championship contender. I've always figured the team would be fine by that time.

UNC's first-half play made me wonder if the team will mature enough to get there sooner. But letting Michigan State get back into the game in the second half reminded me that this team still is young and must learn to put teams away.The Heels have to start making their free throws, particularly against the toughest teams.

A pretty satisfying 89-82 win even if the Heels gave me a scare at the end.

Roy Williams obviously wanted to use his depth to try to wear down Michigan State and push the tempo. How else do you explain Leslie McDonald playing five minutes after never getting off the bench in the win over Nevada?

The play of Marcus Ginyard and the 3 Ds: Deon (above), Davis (left) and Drew was outstanding and the injection of life from Henson, and even Strickland at times, showed that the Tar Heels may be a bit deeper than I thought.

Ginyard was outstanding if he did nothing on the offensive end with the way he harassed Kalin Lucas. If there's are thoughts that Lucas is an All-America candidate, they might go away if he had Marcus guarding him on a nightly basis.

But Marcus also played well on the offensive end, including an amazing spin move to the hoop in the first half.

I've said that Deon Thompson needs to become a go-to guy for UNC inside that Tyler Hansbrough was last year and, in the last couple of games in particular, he's shown that he has the ability to be that sort of player. In the first half, his  +/- was +17. That turnover with about 1:30 left was irritating, though, and he did make a few unfortunate decisions down the stretch..

When you add the impressive moves Ed Davis displayed in this game (22 points, 6 rebounds), it has to make it even easier for Deon (14 points) with teams having to plan to deal with both of them.

Larry Drew II, right, really is making strides in managing the offense and being confident with his decisions and shot selection with 18 points and 6 assists.

There was a stretch of the first half when Henson showed aggressiveness and, with his wing span and ability, you could see him starting to show more confidence.

I'd still like to see UNC rebound better and cut down on the turnovers. I sure hope more opponents dare to play man-to-man against the Heels!

Overall, a pretty impressive game against a Spartans team I was worried would beat the Tar Heels.

And Luke Winn points out that:

The Spartans allowed 1.14 points per possession to the Tar Heels on Tuesday -- the exact same amount the '08-09 State team allowed to a far superior UNC club in the national title game in Detroit. The ultra- efficient foursome of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington are all gone, but the Heels were still equally as effective.

Time will tell if that had more to do with the Heels' offense, the Spartans' defense or was simply a combination.

Bowl possibilities for the Tar Heels

After the annual loss to N.C. State, North Carolina is left with much-less appealing bowl options.

There seem to be two main possibilities, according to the projections I found: vs. Pittsburgh in the Charlotte bowl; vs. SEC team at the Music City Bowl ... possibly South Carolina? But the N&O says the Music City opponent "could be anyone from Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky to Ole Miss."

The problem for the Heels is that, at 4-4 in the ACC, they can't jump Georgia Tech (7-1), Clemson (6-2) or Virginia Tech (6-2) to get to the Gator or Champ Sports.

Champ Sports (in Orlando) could pick UNC over Florida State, but obviously they are likely to lure more Noles fans there.

Of course the bigger question: Which team will show up in the bowl? The one that played U.Va. and N.C. State or the one that played Virginia Tech and Miami?

A lesson I learned long ago: Never expect too much from Carolina football and be pleasantly surprised (stunned, in the case of the win over the Hokies) when the team is impressive.

If none of the junior pro prospects on defense leave for the NFL, that unit should be really good next year. If, in addition to that, the Heels can find a decent, consistent quarterback, who knows what can happen?