CHAPEL HILL — After a performance last Sunday in a closed scrimmage at Vanderbilt that North Carolina coach Roy Williams dubbed "yucky," the Tar Heels had to feel better about their 107-59 exhibition victory over Belmont Abby on Friday night.

Senior forward Deon Thompson, right, led the Tar Heels with 23 points; reserve forward Tyler Zeller chipped in 17 and freshman forward John Henson posted four blocks.

The game began with spotlight introductions, a nod to the updated lighting system at the Smith Center and coach Roy Williams’ desire to add a little NBA-style sizzle to the season.

Junior Will Graves got the start at small forward, joined in the first lineup by sophomore point guard Larry Drew II, senior Marcus Ginyard at shooting guard, sophomore Ed Davis at one forward and Thompson at the other.

Henson was the first player off the bench for Carolina.

UNC opens the regular season Monday against Florida International.

Photo: ROBERT WILLETT - rwillett@newsobserver.com

The Thursday night football game UNC hosted last month went well enough that the university expects to do it again.

The Oct. 22 game against Florida State was the first Thursday night game ever held on the UNC campus. For years,  officials had opposed the idea due to fears of congestion and other campus disruption.

But this year's game was held over Fall break, and athletics director Dick Baddour and others were pleased with how things went.

For the story, check out our higher education blog.

There will be more Thursday night football in Chapel Hill.

UNC's Oct. 22 game with Florida State went smoothly enough - aside from a loss for the home team - that campus officials now say they want to host another mid-week home game.

"It was a trial balloon and we were really pleased with what we found out," said Dick Baddour, UNC's athletics director. "We will do it again."

The Oct. 22 game was the first Thursday night game ever held at UNC. Kenan Stadium is squarely in the middle of a congested campus, and planners had long feared the gridlock that might accompany such a large event on a workday.

The UNC hospitals complex, which employs thousands, sits just south of the stadium and many workers get out around the same time as many fans would head into campus.

But this year's game was held during Fall break, which meant fewer students would be in town. And employees were dismissed at 3 p.m. that day, an attempt to alleviate traffic congestion.

UNC lost the game, 30 to 27. The following Thursday, they won a big, national TV game at Virginia Tech. So which brings the bigger payoff?

Said Baddour: " [At UNC] They're looking at the Carolina blue. They're looking at your fans. They're looking at, I think, the magnificence of your stadium, and your university is being talked about more. So I think there's a difference. If you ask me how you measure winning away vs. losing at home, I don't know. It's always good when you win. Maybe the difference is that your home crowd, your university, enjoys more exposure and you get a better sense, if you're John Q Public, of the university, the program, when you host at home. But there's no question that victory up at Virginia Tech speaks volumes as well."

Read more on this issue in Saturday's News & Observer.

CLARIFICATION: When Wood was introduced, Trevor Ferguson's name and number -- but not his picture -- flashed on the scoreboard.

 RALEIGH — When freshman Scott Wood, right, was introduced as part of N.C. State’s starting lineup Thursday night, a picture of Trevor Ferguson — last year’s No. 15 – was accidentally flashed on the big screen.

Bet that mix-up won’t happen again.

The 6-feet-7 wing from Indiana scored 12 points during the Wolfpack’s 84-42 exhibition victory over St. Paul’s College. His 4-for-4 shooting — along with DeShawn Painter’s eight points and six rebounds, Josh Davis’ three points and three rebounds and Jordan Vandenberg’s six points and five rebounds — gave the fans at Reynolds Coliseum a hopeful glance of what they can hope for out of the rookie class when State opens the regular season next Thursday.

“Our freshmen are going to be pretty good,’’ said sophomore forward Tracy Smith, who used his height advantage to score 21 points. “Scott Woods is an unbelievable shooter; DeShawn Painter has a good presence inside; Jordan’s very good on defense, we’re still going to work on his offense.”

Wood, Smith, C.J. Williams, Javier Gonzalez and Dennis Horner started for the Pack; State opens the regular season next Thursday.

Photo: ETHAN HYMAN - ehyman@newsobserver.com

CHAPEL HILL — The Tar Heels played a closed scrimmage at Vanderbilt last Sunday; NCAA rules prohibit teams from revealing specific details about workouts against other Division I schools, but coach Roy Williams said "we just didn't play well at all."

For the second time in three days, North Carolina women's soccer beat Maryland.

There was more riding this time on chilly night at WakeMed Soccer Park, where the Tar Heels won 3-0 in the final of four first round games in the ACC Women's Soccer Championship.

Staff video by Travis Long, Joe Giglio, Caulton Tudor

Topic: The big Duke-Carolina football game and Virginia Tech's trip to ECU.

The ACC has nine bowl tie-ins and three bowl-eligible teams (Georgia Tech, Miami, Boston College).

With a win this week, Clemson (5-3) and Virginia Tech (5-3) can push the total to five.

Maryland, Virginia and N.C. State are all but mathematically eliminated, leaving a group of four (UNC, Duke, Wake and FSU) for the final four spots.

BCS bowl projections:

National championship: Florida vs. Texas
Rose: Iowa vs. Oregon
Orange: Georgia Tech vs. Penn State
Sugar: Alabama vs. Cincinnati
Fiesta: USC vs. TCU

North Carolina's win, and USC's loss, cost the ACC a real shot at $4.5 million.

North Carolina's game time against Duke next Saturday has been changed to 3:30 p.m., so it can be televised on ESPNU, UNC announced.

N.C. State's game against Maryland at Carter-Finley Stadium was set for 1 p.m. on ESPN360.com and Wake Forest is at Georgia Tech at 3:30 p.m. on WTVD-11.