Psycho-T's J delivers W for Final Four-bound UNC

Hansbrough made 12-of-17 field goal attempts in the game to finish with 28 points and 13 rebounds in 38 minutes. He was tremendous early and tremendous late and tremendous at all points in between, simply the best player on the court outworking and outperforming everybody else while the partisan crowd clapped and yelled and chanted to create a home-court advantage that mattered.

And the home-court advantage did matter.

Do you mind if I make that clear once and for all?

Louisville went on a run early in the second half to cut a 12-point deficit to 50-43 heading into a media timeout at the 16-minute mark, and the Louisville band broke into the school's fight song, its team in possession of momentum. But the North Carolina fans didn't care. By my estimation they outnumbered the Louisville fans by a 17,000-to-2,000 margin. So when they started a "Tar Heels" chant, it completely drowned out any Louisville chants or songs, and this is how it went pretty much all night long, Cardinals fans outnumbered and marginalized like adults at a Hannah Montana concert.

Still, that's not why UNC won.

Do you mind if I also make that clear?

Yes, the crowd helped. That's undeniable. But UNC won because Hansbrough was spectacular while leading a spectacular team effort, one that featured the Tar Heels shooting 53.4 percent from the field. They also out-rebounded Louisville by a 33-27 margin and shot 85.7 percent from the free throw line, and that's why they avoided another collapse in the Elite Eight like last year's collapse in the Elite Eight and cut the nets here in Charlotte.

It was quite a scene afterward, too.

Most of the crowd stuck around, watched Danny Green dance and Ty Lawson jump after an 11-point, nine-assist effort. They climbed the ladder under one goal, snipped away all the nylon, then climbed the ladder under the other goal and did the exact same thing. It was a celebration complete with T-shirts and hats, a celebration with lots of hugs and high-fives and waves. But when the atmosphere calmed, so too did the North Carolina players. And that's when they addressed the larger picture and goals yet to be achieved.

"It feels like we did something big," Hansbrough said. "But we can also do something bigger."