UNC coach Butch Davis said after last week’s 26-10 loss to Virginia Tech that eliminated the Tar Heels from any chance at the ACC championship game, it’s important to bounce back psychologically and emotionally this week. Being that this week’s game is at home against a good N.C. State team that is a chief rival, that will help the Heels “get over the funk of last week’s game,” Davis said.

He said it’s an important week for the Tar Heels, who are looking to fix their problems from last week’s game, mostly the six turnovers. It’s important especially to the 17 seniors who in three tries have yet to beat the Wolfpack. But some observers claim that the State players care more about the rivalry in good measure because State coach Tom O’Brien stresses the rivalry aspect of the game each year.

“I have no idea what they stress,” Davis said. “We want to play extremely well every single week. Obviously certain games are going to carry more magnitude but if you are going to win the ACC, you gotta win all the ACC games, not just play well in one game.”

The strategies have worked somewhat for both coaches. O’Brien’s players have seemed more fired up and focused on beating the Tar Heels when the two play while UNC has had a better overall record over the last three seasons. This year State (7-3) comes in with the better record and Carolina (6-4), though depleted as well documented, seems to be fired up and focused themselves this time around.

“It’s very important to our football team and the program,” Davis said.

Senior Deunta Williams said, “We can’t go out on no ‘L.’ That’s just what we’re thinking about, in our last game at Kenan, especially against N.C. State.”

The North Carolina women’s soccer team advanced in the NCAA tournament today in Chapel Hill while the men’s team fell in the finals of the ACC championships in Cary.

Freshman Crystal Dunn scored two goals as the Tar Heels beat James Madison, who was in the game until the 65th minute, by a 3-1 score.

Dunn isn’t only known for her ability to score as she is the first freshman in ACC history to be named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Carolina, now 19-2-2, hosts Notre Dame on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Fetzer Field.

The Carolina men weren’t as fortunate as a controversial handball call on UNC’s Enzo Martinez led to a penalty kick goal for Maryland, which won the title 1-0 at WakeMed Soccer Stadium.

The team and fans were already mad at the officials because the Heels, who were the top seed coming into the tournament, had to play the final 55 minutes down a man as UNC’s Michael Farfan, an All-ACC midfielder, was ejected for a sliding tackle.

The loss was the first in 13 games for Carolina, now 16-3-1.

Carolina is expected to receive a bye in the 48-team NCAA tournament field, which will be announced on ESPNU at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

North Carolina has been a slow-starting, good finishing team this year. That all changed in a 26-10 loss to Virginia Tech in Chapel Hill.

On Carolina’s opening drive, the Tar Heels combined a good mix of running and passing and featured a scramble by quarterback T.J. Yates for a first down inside the two. Anthony Elzy, who was starting in place of injured Johnny White, went in for the score to cap an 80-yard drive to put the Heels up 7-0.

Except for a field goal, that was it for the Tar Heels the rest of the way as drives were stalled or ended by penalties or turnovers (Carolina had six).

Carolina managed to lead an evenly contested game at the half by a 10-9 score. But the second half, particularly the third quarter, was disastrous for the Heels. In the first nine games this season, Carolina had outscored opponents 113-59. This time, the Heels were outscored 17-0 in the third period as VT quarterback Tyrod Taylor hit Marcus Davis with a pair of touchdown passes.

The turning point actually seemed to happen in the second quarter. UNC receiver Erik Highsmith and VT safety Eddie Whitley both came down with a Yates pass in the end zone but Whitley wrestled it away for the interception.

“I think that was a gigantic play and a great play,” Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. “Two guys go up and he comes down. That’s why I talk about battling, just battling for the ball. I think that was the key, key play in the ball game.”

The Heels did manage to drive into the Hokies’ territory a couple of times in the fourth quarter but turned it over, once on an Elzy fumble at the two.

Yates, coming off his best game of the season, had by far his worst game of the season as he threw four interceptions.

Virginia Tech is almost guaranteed the division title while Carolina falls to 6-4 and 3-3 in the conference with its final two games against rivals N.C. State and Duke.

During North Carolina’s 80-66 season-starting victory over Lipscomb tonight, everybody was looking to Harrison Barnes, who did score 14 points, but it was sophomore John Henson who stole the show. Henson won’t have smaller guys to pick on when the ACC season starts but he did have career highs with seven blocks and 17 rebounds.

Henson has put on 25 pounds and says he tries to eat five or six times a day in order to keep on weight. Don’t hate him ’cause he’s thin. He’s worked his weight up to 210 and says he’s able to hold his ground better and not get knocked off his spot as easily as he did last year.

The biggest shot of the game, however, was made by Leslie McDonald who drilled one from the baseline after the Bisons had cut the lead to just three. The basket started a 10-2 run that opened the game up with less than five minutes to go.

For a game story, please click here. For a photo gallery, please click here.

(Editor’s Note: The Tar Heels kick off the 2010-2011 season tonight at home against Lipscomb University of Nashville)

After admittedly the most challenging season of his coaching career, and after losing three who would have played significant minutes this season, UNC Roy Williams nonetheless thinks this year’s team has potential to be good.

The Tar Heels should enter the ACC tournament with a 25-5 or 24-6 record with maybe four losses in the league. If there are no season-ending injuries, UNC has the talent and, yes, the potential to make it to the ACC finals and the NCAA Elite 8.