The president of the state university system, Erskine Bowles, arrived late, but his seat and hundreds more were still available.
Many North Carolina fans left early, flowing up the aisles with seven minutes left and hope evaporating. Coach Roy Williams emerged from a timeout and studied the spectacle in stone-faced silence. That's unusual for a chatty coach with an expressive face, but this qualified as a career rarity.
Wake Forest went on the road and kicked Carolina to the curb last night, winning an 82-69 game that didn't seem that close once freshmen Ari Stewart (11 points) and C.J. Harris (20) started filling up the net from exurbia.
"We were feeling it, man," Harris said.
The Tar Heels crashed the offensive boards and hung within three points at the half, when Coach Dino Gaudio amended his scouting report in the Wake Forest locker room.
Stewart replayed the episode: "Coach Gaudio told us we can take the name off their jerseys, and we can beat those guys by 15 points. Those were his exact words."
The message needed little translation then, and it required little elaboration later. Just as Georgia Tech did last Saturday, Wake Forest put better players on the floor and made better plays, shooting 50 percent overall and hitting 9 of 16 3-point attempts.
The Deacons won the rebounding skirmish, and point guard Ish Smith (20 points, six assists) dominated the track meet. The Deacons restricted Carolina to 37-percent shooting and never allowed a transition basket.
L.D. Williams said that Wake Forest emphasized physical board work in the second half. "We knew they wouldn't give up," Williams said. "They're at home. They still have Carolina on their chests."
The jerseys didn't necessarily impress Chas McFarland, who snagged 10 rebounds and observed: "They've got Carolina across their chest, so lots of people are, like, ‘Oh wow, they're Carolina.' They're just players like we are."
Not exactly. Carolina couldn't match Wake Forest's talent, especially with Al-Farouq Aminu (13 points, 11 rebounds) wearing black and injured Tar Heels Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller wearing dark suits. The Tar Heels rank 24th in the AP poll, but they probably will disappear next week, replaced by the currently unranked Deacons (13-4, 3-2 ACC).
The larger question: Will Carolina (12-7, 1-3 ACC) drop so far off the map that it misses the NCAA Tournament?
That's quite possible, given the schedule and a computer ranking (No. 46 entering the game) suitable for bubble angst. Seven conference schools have higher computer status. Williams' teams won national championships in 2005 and last season, but reputations can stretch only so far.
"I'm going to ask them if they want to keep playing," Williams said. "If they don't want to, we can figure out something for them to do."
At one point of distress, Williams put five freshmen on the floor. They chased after balls and trailed plays and watched Wake Forest create uncontested shots from all distances. The coach looked exasperated. The players looked befuddled.
Travis Wear, the starting freshman twin, scored 13 points and mused: "Everyone is speechless."
The delirious Deacons had no trouble talking. Wake Forest last won here in December 2003, and senior Smith had lost on his two previous visits.
"I know last year we had really good players," Smith said, "but this year I think we've got a really, really good team. If we put it all together, I think we can be a special team."
The Deacons put it all together for an hour or so last night. They weren't quite world beaters, but they only had to be Carolina beaters. At the moment, there's a big difference.
lrawlings@wsjournal.com.
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