That was a horse race.

ESPN flashed a graphic up near the end of the first half saying eighteen players had taken the floor, and sixteen of them had scored. It was meant as a testament of the depth of both teams, but Ohio State only put eight out there of which the least played 18 minutes and six put in more than 20. Carolina played eleven - and that level of depth will wear down the best of teams.

The defense has been getting some criticism of late. I'm not particularly concerned about three point defense - it's still a low percentage shot, as the absolutely definition-of-on-fire Buckeyes still only hit half their shots from behind the arc. As long as you can stop the offensive rebounds (OSU only grabbed 7) it won't be a big concern. Penetration off the dribble is a bit more disconcerting, but the Heels managed 10 steals (from 7 players) and 7 blocks (!) so you can't find too much fault there.

Offensively, well, ninety-eight points pretty much says it all. Eleven turnovers - it felt like more watching it - isn't that great, but the emergence of an outside shooting presence bodes well. Last year at this time it was the Kentucky game where the team first put together a complete game against a major opponent, and convinced the country the team would actually be a threat. This year, no such convincing was needed, but this is the first game it really showed. You can't ask for much more in November play.