No. 1 North Carolina lethargic in win

Tyler Hansbrough scored 27 points and showed no ill effects from a weekend concussion to help No. 1 North Carolina beat Nicholls State 88-78 on Wednesday night.

Wayne Ellington added 20 points for the Tar Heels (10-0), who played at home for the first time in a month after six straight games away from the Smith Center. But North Carolina looked lethargic against the determined Colonels (4-8), who hung around and never let the Tar Heels run away with it — but never seriously threatened, either.

Hansbrough's health was the biggest concern for the Tar Heels in recent days. The junior All-American was considered probable for the game following the concussion suffered in the second half of Sunday's 93-71 win at Rutgers. He was hurt when he tried to take a charge and, as he fell to the floor, hit his head on the knee of a cameraman as well as the padded basket support.

But Hansbrough played with his typical intensity against Nicholls State, going 8-for-13 from the field while pulling down 11 rebounds. He also drew two offensive fouls, including one in which he was inadvertently elbowed in the face by Anatoly Bose and knocked to the ground in front of the North Carolina bench.

But before coach Roy Williams or anyone else there had time to fret, Hansbrough got right back up.

Ryan Bathie scored 17 points to lead the Colonels.

Since beating South Carolina State here on Nov. 20, North Carolina won two games in the Las Vegas Invitational, then won at Ohio State, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Rutgers. It was the Tar Heels' longest stretch away from home in a decade.

But North Carolina didn't put on much of a crowd-pleasing show against a tenacious opponent. Nicholls State repeatedly spread the floor and patiently worked to get open perimeter shots off kickouts — and the Colonels made plenty. In fact, Nicholls State shot 14-for-28 from 3-point range while making just 12 field goals inside the arc.

The Colonels — who lost 81-58 on the road against another Atlantic Coast Conference team, Florida State, to open the season — trailed 48-37 at halftime. Then, after North Carolina built three separate leads of 20 or 21 points, Nicholls State kept hanging around and pulled as close as 10 on a layup by Michael Czepil with 1:41 left.

But that was as close as Nicholls State would get in its first-ever matchup with a No. 1-ranked team.