Travis Wear News

The chants of "over-rated!" began with about three minutes left Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Deon Thompson had 15 points and 12 rebounds and No. 6 North Carolina managed to hold on for a 77-73 victory over No.

Never-say-die Valparaiso nearly shook the Smith Center off its foundation yesterday, but flustered North Carolina held on against a last charge for an 88-77 victory.

With a team that leans heavily on underclassmen, North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams issued a warning prior to the season.

This is the one piece of advice Marcus Ginyard wishes someone had given him before his freshman year at North Carolina: "Coach Williams is right 100 percent of the time, no matter what," Ginyard said.

It's not often that North Carolina faces an opponent from nearby Durham in November, but that doesn't mean the sixth-ranked Tar Heels will be worried about the outcome of Wednesday's game in the 2K Sports Classic.

The 28-win average over the past five seasons. The regular place in ACC contention.

Published: Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. North Carolina may have to battle its struggling mid-major opponent for attention as the Tar Heels open their season as defending national champions.

Deon Thompson had 23 points and eight rebounds to help No. 6 North Carolina beat Belmont Abbey 107-59 on Friday night in its only exhibition game of the 2009-10 season.

BELMONT Rarely will Belmont Abbey College face longer odds in an athletic sporting event than Friday night when the Crusaders basketball team plays defending national champion North Carolina in a 7:30 p.m. exhibition game at the Dean Smith Center.

For the past four years, Roy Williams had the security of knowing Tyler Hansbrough would be there to take a big shot or grab the rebound that would start North Carolina's transition attack.