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Last night’s game was an aberration. If Carolina and Kansas played again, the Jayhawks might win, or the Tar Heels could prevail, but there’s almost no chance that we’d witness another ‘imperfect storm’ of Kansas playing ‘lights out’ on both ends of the floor while no one in Carolina blue seemed to be able to dribble, pass or shoot for most an entire half. Unfortunately, the “one and done” nature of the NCAA Tournament that gives Cinderella a chance to excite us in the early rounds applies in the Final Four too: One bad day and you go home. Carolina found that out the hard way Saturday night, playing easily its worst eight and a half minutes in the first half of its most important game, and leaving every Tar Heel fan aghast in shock and horror as the deficit expanded from 5 to 28 points in what felt like the blink of an eye.

By now, everyone knows that tonight’s Final Four in San Antonio will be the first time that all four #1 seeds have all survived and advanced to meet in the national semifinals. So if you thought the Tar Heels had a tough road through the East Regional (they did), as he saying goes, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Tonight’s game (estimated 8:47pm tipoff) against Kansas is almost certain to be a classic. If nothing else, it’s a chance to see at least six future NBA first round draft choices. Unfortunately, only half of that impressive accumulation of talent will be wearing Carolina blue, while the other half will be wearing a darker shade.