NEW YORK -- After beating Ohio State on Thursday night, North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he believed his Tar Heels could be a very good basketball team -- he just wanted to come sooner than it was.

Judging by the sixth-ranked UNC's 87-71 loss to Syracuse in the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic on Friday, it's going to take a while longer.

The sixth-ranked Tar Heels (4-1) tried to fight back 20-point second half deficit at Madison Square Garden, but lacked the firepower and poise to take it all the way.

It marked UNC's first loss of the season, and it will have to adjust fast: three of its next six opponents are ranked in the Associated Press top 25.

Carolina led 39-37 at halftime. But Syracuse opened the second half with a 22-1 run that gave it a 59-40 lead. UNC sophomore Tyler Zeller buried his team's first field goal of the half - on a short jumper - with 12:02 left before Syracuse' Kris Joseph gave his team it's biggest lead of the game, 62-42, on a 3-pointer.

UNC didn't fold. It countered with a 18-6 run - including six points by senior Marcus Ginyard, four from freshman Travis Wear, and a 3-pointer by David Wear -- to cut the Orange's advantage to a manageable 67-57 with 7:26 left.

But Syracuse immediately came back with a 13-2 run of it's own. The chants of "Over-rated!" began with about three minutes left.

And it was hard to blame the crowd.

Ed Davis and Ginyard led the Tar Heels with 15 points apiece, but the Tar Heels shot tk percent while allowing five Syracuse players to finish in double figures.

The match-up marked the first time UNC had played the Orange since Nov., 1987 - and the first time UNC coach Roy Williams had matched up with Syracuse coach (and friend) Jim Boeheim since the Orange beat Williams' Kansas team in the national title game in 2003.

Syracuse, unranked in the Associated Press poll but looking like it deserves to be, opened the game with an 11-2 run, but the Tar Heels used two 3-pointers from junior Will Graves and seven points from Davis to counter with a 13-1 run to take a 15-12 lead.

But Wes Johnson, a transfer from Iowa State and the Orange's leading scorer, scored 10 points in a row for his team to give it back a 22-20 lead.

The Tar Heels trailed, again, by as much as 31-22 when Scoop Jardine buried a jumper. But Carolina ended the half with a 17-6 run - culminating with an alley-oop layup from Larry Drew II to Davis.

North Carolina will be packing its bags the week before Thanksgiving next season, too. The Tar Heels will be one of eight teams participating in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off; they will play Nov. 18, 19 and 21. They will be joined by Davidson, Hofstra, Minnesota, Nebraska,, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, and Western Kentucky. Tickets will go on sale next summer. 

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. -- Say what you want about N.C. State's prospects for the long haul, but the Wolfpack hasn't missed a beat yet.

In what may have been one of the best halves by an N.C. State team in recent memory, the Wolfpack hit 10 of its first 14 shots on its way to a 22-point halftime lead and 66-45 win over Akron, the defending MAC champions and an NCAA Tournament team last year.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams said his team didn't get very good
leadership during its lackadaisical victory over Valparaiso last
Sunday. Obviously, that stuck in senior Marcus Ginyard's craw - and he
stuck it to No. 15 Ohio State.

Led by Ginyard's defense, determination and timely buckets, the
sixth-ranked Tar Heels (4-0) survived a late-game surge by the
Buckeyes, 77-73 Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in their first
real test of the season.

N.C. State reserve wide receiver Steven Howard is out for the final two games of the season with a knee injury according to the injury report the school released Thursday evening.

Howard made 13 catches for 186 yards this season as a sophomore.

The NCAA has granted N.C. State senior running back Toney Baker's request for an extra season of eligibility, coach Tom O'Brien announced Thursday after practice.

Baker missed all but one game over two seasons because of a knee injury before returning this season for the Wolfpack. Getting the extra year doesn't guarantee that Baker will return, though, because there is a chance he will enter the NFL draft after this season.

Joseph Uchebo, a 7-foot, 240-pound center who’s originally from Nigeria, has made an early commitment to N.C. State.

Uchebo is a sophomore at Oak Ridge (N.C.) Military Academy and played last season at Mount Zion Academy in Durham. Oak Ridge coach Stan Kowalewski said Uchebo run the floor well, has good passing ability and vision, and can score from 18 feet.

In case you missed the print edition, today's column looked at home-field advantage in the ACC.

Home, sweet home? Not quite, Tommy Lee, not in this state anyway.

Duke injury report @ Miami

Probable: WR Austin Kelly (upper body), LB Abraham Kromah (leg),
QB Thaddeus Lewis (leg), LB Vincent Rey (leg), K Will Snyderwine (leg).

Out: RB Re'quan Boyette (leg), DT Vince Oghobaase (leg), WR Johnny Williams (knee).

N.C. State running back Toney Baker hasn't decided yet what he will do if the NCAA grants him a sixth season of eligibility.

Because Baker missed all but one game for two straight seasons with a serious knee injury, there's a chance that the NCAA will award him an extra season in 2010. N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien has said another healthier year with the Wolfpack would help Baker erase any doubts that NFL scouts might have about his knee.