One mistake that we all make every year before tournament time is that we underestimate teams who recently put on a poor performance, or we judge them using the "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" mechanism.

We use phrases such as “No way they can...” or “It would be impossible if...". It’s a farce, isn’t it?

The 2008-09 North Carolina Tar Heels are a scary bunch of underachievers. I call them "underachievers" because the media rode them for the majority of the first half of the season.

Tyler Hansbrough was touted to be a two-time (back-to-back) player of the year. Hell, the entire team was touted to go undefeated and relish in a clean sweep in the tournament en route to the NCAA championship game in Detroit, Mich.

“Not happening,” is coming out of a lot of mouths these days regarding that previous train of thought. Losses to Boston College, Wake Forest, and Maryland have helped to change the early thought process and transform it into one of uncertainty.

With three games left in the regular season (vs. Georgia Tech, @ Virginia Tech, vs. Duke), tournament time is right around the corner.

The problem with listening to these analysts run their mouths about how Carolina played subordinate offense and paltry defense on Saturday against Maryland is almost as annoying as listening to the Alex Rodriguez story.

Look, the Tar Heels aren’t going to keep playing this way—the way I’m talking about, in simple terms, "bad"—for the rest of the season. They’re going to get it in gear.

Hansbrough is going to put on a show and Ty Lawson is going to be Ty Lawson, racking up assists and scoring baskets like a Midwestern lady running a flee market in the middle of June.

Wayne Ellington is going to drill treys like fat guys ordering three different sandwiches off of the Wendy’s dollar menu. Danny Green is going to be the usual pest that he is, and Deon Thompson is going to be the usual menace that he is, etc.

This is the time of year where some teams face down periods and then go into an invincible zone during the tournament. It’s all about getting hot at the right time and the Tar Heels are poised to do it.

They have everybody where they want him. You see, if the Tar Heels would have been waltzing into the tournament with a flashy record, being No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation, other teams in the tournament would seem them coming and think to themselves, “We gotta gameplan for these guys.”

Instead, it’s not going to be so much of that. The pressure is currently off. Carolina can take a breather and relax, for now anyway.

Unfortunately, the rest of the teams fighting for a spot in the tournament don't have that luxury.

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