If there's an ironic upside for ECU's fans to the team's disappointing performances in a narrow win over Appalachian State and pair of sobering losses at West Virginia and North Carolina, it has to be that Skip Holtz's lamp has dimmed.

Had the Pirates done as some pundits expected and opened 3-0, Holtz by now would be Topic-A among the thousands of disgruntled Virginia who are sizing up Al Groh's office for a new occupant, with more schools in similar situations to soon follow.

Pressed to choose, some ECU football fans no doubt would still rate the team’s only victory in UNC’s Kenan Stadium, on Oct. 25, 1975, as the most special in school history.

The 38-17 win that afternoon by Pat Dye’s second team has a lot of best-ever competition, of course. But there’s little question that the circumstances surrounding the upset were memorable. A day before the game, ECU football patriarch and athletics director Clarence Stasavich died suddenly. Many Pirate fans didn’t even get the news until an hour or so before game time.

Ordinarily, I'd be the first to say we need another post-season college football award the way we need another television timeout during game coverage.

This is different, though.

This one could be ours  — "ours"  being the great collective gang of in-state fans who follow teams from the Triad to the Atlantic Ocean. We could even throw in Metro Charlotte, but that area has an award and it's an important one — the Bronko Nagurski honor presented annually by the Charlotte Touchdown Club to the nation's top defensive player.

Logically, this can be tossed into the "no way" file.

But just in case smoke is always an indication of fire, there’s speculation within the Big East population that Boston College might listen to suggestions about returning.

The issue has been a casual topic almost from the day BC left to join the ACC. Of late, however, it’s been given some attention by ESPN and a newspaper or two in the Northeast.

Mike Krzyzewski’s reaffirmation to Duke basketball comes as no surprise, but it is another sign that his eventual victory total will stand long after the current wave of big-name college coaches moves on.

At age 62, with 833 wins and likely to coach five more seasons if his health remains good, Krzyzewski easily should overtake his old coach, Bob Knight (902 wins), on the all-time list.

ACC basketball coaches usually get their way, but an expanded conference regular-season schedule is inevitable.

An increase from the current 16-game slate to 18 may not be voted in by athletic directors and faculty reps during this week's spring meetings in Florida.

But as much as the 12 coaches prefer the status quo, television officials want additional inventory. In a stronger economy, the coaches probably could prevail indefinitely. But with school budgets tight and current TV contracts expiring after the 2010-11 season, the coaches eventually will be told schedule expansion is no longer a point of debate.

The pending question for Duke’s Gerald Henderson and North Carolina’s Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington isn’t  so much “if.” It’s “when” will the three juniors will declare for the NBA Draft.

They have until Sunday at 11:59 p.m. to declare. If they do, only Henderson would be able to play another season of college ball. The two Tar Heels used their free pro inspection shot last spring. Underclassmen don’t get a second chance.

Henderson could declare and return for ‘09-’10 under the stipulation that he doesn’t hire an agent and removes his name from consideration by 5 p.m. June 15.

What would change if they all leave?

DETROIT — Overlooked in North Carolina's national championship romp and the impressive stats posted by Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington was the encouraging play of junior forward Deon Thompson.

The 6-foot-8 Californian wasn’t particularly impressive in Saturday’s 83-69 semifinal win over Villanova, but his nine early points and aggressive inside defense were important in Monday’s 89-72 title win over Michigan State.

“He made several big plays early that helped them a lot,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. “He was very active inside.”

• Could tonight’s championship game between Michigan State and North Carolina be all but over at halftime?

A couple of trends say so. The Tar Heels (33-4) have a 31-2 record when they go to intermission with a lead. But not so fast. The Spartans are 23-1 when leading at the half.

In Saturday’s semifinals, Carolina led Villanova 49-40 and Michigan State was up 38-36 on Connecticut at the breaks.

MEMPHIS — Although North Carolina's 72-60 win over Oklahoma wasn't really as close as the final score indicates, the Tar Heels were in their offensive trouble range.

In the only two other games this season when they failed to score more than 73 points, the Heels’ record was 1-1. There was the 73-70 loss to Florida State in the ACC Tournament semifinals at Atlanta and a 69-65 win at Miami on Feb. 15.

Several factors contributed Sunday, the most important of which was OU’s defensive work against Tyler Hansbrough (eight points).