ACC Tournament 2012: Anything Less Than Title Is Embarrassment for UNC

The North Carolina Tar Heels haven't been a disappointment this season, but they do have an uncanny ability to make us question whether they're good enough to win it all this year.

The current No. 4 team in the land is easily the second-most talented team in the country behind Kentucky and they have the stats to prove it.

The Tar Heels are second in the nation in scoring, first in rebounding, fourth in assists and they beat teams by an average of 16.1 points per game.

They're not great defensively, but sometimes the best defense is a good offense and it obviously works for them most of the time.

UNC was blown out by 33 points at Florida State and suffered a disappointing 10-point loss in Las Vegas to UNLV in which they trailed the entire second half.

The one-point loss at Kentucky was about as close as it gets, but the meltdown against Duke at home was inexcusable.

It is hard to imagine a 27-4 team having this much skepticism surrounding them, but with UNC it is more than warranted.

The best way to end all that is to dominate the ACC tournament the way they dominated Duke in the season finale/regular season ACC championship game.

They beat up on the Blue Devils from start to finish and led by as many as 26 points, ultimately winning by 18. Duke never led and never had a chance to believe they'd pull off a miracle comeback the way they did in Chapel Hill earlier this season.

It was the type of performance the Tar Heels should bring to the court on a regular basis. The type of performance we should expect from a team considered for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The type of performance that highlights anything less than an ACC Tournament championship is a complete disappointment.

There isn't a single team in the ACC, including Duke, that belongs on the court with UNC on their best day.

If the Tar Heels return from Atlanta with anything less than a championship, it will be a disappointing embarrassment and one not worthy of No. 1 seeded team in the big dance.