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No. 6/4 North Carolina (4-0) will face off against No. 24 Syracuse (3-0) in the finals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic tonight. Carolina beat No. 15 Ohio State 77-73 in the late game after Syracuse vanquished No. 12 Cal, 95-73. Carolina has a 4-2 record against Syracuse with the first meeting coming in the 1957 NCAA Tournament in the Regional Final. That is actually Carolina's only win over Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament - the Tar Heels lost to the Orange in 1975 in the second round, 78-76, and then again in 1987 in the Regional Finals, 79-75. Carolina is 3-0 in regular-season meetings against Syracuse.

Deon Thompson had 15 points and 12 rebounds and No. 6 North Carolina managed to hold on for a 77-73 victory over No. 15 Ohio State in the 2K Sports Classic semifinals on Thursday night.

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No. 6/4 North Carolina (3-0) will face off against No. 15 Ohio State (2-0) in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. The winner will play either Syracuse or Cal in the finals. Carolina is entering into a stretch of facing five ranked teams in its next eight games. Carolina leads the all-time series with Ohio State, 9-2. Carolina has also won 11 of its last 12 games against Big Ten teams.

Proliferating cable programs and sports Web sites create ever-greater demands for content, or at least filler. High school games, all-star contests, endless commentary, and all kinds of competitions now command their moment in the public consciousness, if only among a select group of devotees.

Deon Thompson started the season feeling pretty good about leading a defending national champion squad full of new faces and multitudes of talent. More than anything, he welcomed the pressures that come with being the sole senior from his entering class still at UNC.

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Deon Thompson scored 16 of his 20 points after halftime to help No. 6 North Carolina hold off Valparaiso 88-77 on Sunday. Ed Davis added 16 points for the Tar Heels (3-0), who didn't look sharp yet still earned their third straight double-digit victory to open the season. North Carolina led just 38-31 at halftime, but scored on 12 of 13 possessions to build a 24-point lead midway through the second half.

The University of North Carolina men's basketball program has signed Harrison Barnes, a 6-7 forward from Ames, Iowa, to a National Letter of Intent.

• Harrison Barnes Signs With Tar Heels
• Tar Heels Sign Bullock, Marshall To Letters Of Intent
• Book Excerpt: Hard Work
• UNC Topples NCCU, 89-42
• THB.com Spotlight: Zeller Feeling Like Himself Again
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No. 4/6 North Carolina (2-0) will face Valparaiso (0-1) in its last home game before a two-game stretch at Madison Square Garden to finish out the Coaches v. Cancer Classic. On Wednesday, Carolina beat NC Central 89-42. Valparaiso is coming off of an 88-78 loss at Ball State in its season opener.

• Book Excerpt: Hard Work
• UNC Topples NCCU, 89-42
• THB.com Spotlight: Zeller Feeling Like Himself Again
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The University of North Carolina men's basketball program signed two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, head coach Roy Williams announced Thursday. The Tar Heels signed Reggie Bullock from Kinston, N.C., and Kendall Marshall from Dumfries, Va.

I probably shouldn't share this because it's not really something to be proud of, but one part of my family tree goes back to the McCoys who feuded with the Hatfields all those years. On the other side of the tree, my mother's side, they changed their name from Dalton to Deyton because they didn't want to be associated with the Dalton Gang, some nasty folks who were killed trying to rob a bank in a small town in Kansas. There are no heroes in my family history, just a bunch of outlaws and fighters.

It's been almost a year since Tyler Zeller broke his wrist. Zeller's fall under the basket against Kentucky cost him the rest of his freshman regular season, valuable playing time and experience. While fellow rookies Ed Davis and Larry Drew II played supporting roles on the Tar Heels' run to the national title, Zeller was sidelined until the postseason.

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Marcus Ginyard matched his career high with 17 points to help No. 6 North Carolina beat North Carolina Central 89-42 on Wednesday night in the 2K Sports Classic.

Roy Williams Live, the popular call-in radio show broadcast live from University Mall in Chapel Hill, will air its first episode of the 2009-10 season on Monday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.

• Roy Williams Live! To Debut On Monday
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No. 6/4 North Carolina (1-0) will face North Carolina Central (0-0) in its season-opener and Carolina's second game of the season. This will be Carolina's second game of a span of three games in six days and five games in 11 days. Six of Carolina's first eight games will be in the Smith Center, and so are its first three in a row, ending with Valparaiso on Sunday Nov. 15th.

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Deon Thompson scored 20 points to help No. 6 North Carolina spoil Isiah Thomas' college coaching debut and beat Florida International 88-72 on Monday night in the 2K Sports Classic. Ed Davis added 13 points for the defending national champion Tar Heels (1-0), who had little trouble with the undersized Golden Panthers. North Carolina shot 56 percent and led by double digits much of the way to kick off its centennial season against Thomas, the Hall of Fame player and former NBA coach who took over the long-struggling program in April.

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Defending national champions North Carolina will begin the 2009-10 season against Florida International on Monday night. FIU was 13-20 last season and 7-11 in conference, and lost four starters from that team. Isiah Thomas, former Indiana guard and NBA head coach, is now the head coach at FIU. It is his first college coaching job.

• Brownlow: The Joy Of Defense
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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. Tyler Zeller scored 17 points for the defending national champions, while Ed Davis added 13 points, six rebounds and four blocks. The Tar Heels shot 57 percent and took a 56-36 advantage on the boards against the undersized instate Division II program. North Carolina used a 10-0 spurt for a double-digit lead 6 minutes in, then put it out of reach with a 13-0 run that made it 55-29 shortly before halftime. North Carolina led by as many as 52 points.

Fifth-year senior Marcus Ginyard is among 60 NCAA men's and women's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court and were tabbed as candidates for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Nov. 4. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.

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• Ginyard A Candidate For Senior CLASS Award
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One of the most confusing parts of the criteria for honoring jerseys has been cleared up, which means two new names will be added to the rafters. Wayne Ellington and Donald Williams talk about the honor, which is now being extended to Final Four Most Outstanding Players and ACC Players of the Year.

University of North Carolina sophomore forward Ed Davis, who helped guide the Tar Heels to the 2009 NCAA championship and was one of the top sixth men in the nation last season, has earned one of 50 spots on the 2009-10 Naismith preseason watch list, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. Seniors (19) and juniors (14) lead the way followed by 12 sophomores and five freshmen.