CHAPEL HILL – A fellow scribe in the press box Saturday night described North Carolina’s loss to Virginia like an early round NCAA Tournament loss by a very high seed to a directional school.

Not that UVA is a directional school, but the manner the Tar Heels’ 31-27 shocking loss played out.

Sluggish, uninspired start, followed by an occasional flare-up, then a decent lead hinting the favored club would pull away before it completely fell apart.

In Big Dance parlance: As now 2-5 UVA hit three-pointer after three-pointer, the Heels got tighter. And by the time they had a chance to win, they were so flustered and not themselves, they screwed up and failed to get it done. Knock out!