North Carolina took care of its end of the bargain with a victory over Virginia.

My gut feeling was that Virginia would win this game. Maybe I was just having a case of indigestion because the final score was 103-74.

Rashanda McCants, a former AAU teammate of UConn's Kalana Greene, had 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead five North Carolina players in double figures. Perhaps the most impressive stat of the night is the Tar Heels' 26 for 29 performance at the free-throw line.

The only thing that stands between the much-anticipated No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown is a UConn win over Syracuse on Saturday. Obviously Syracuse gained a lot of confidence from its near upset of UConn last year in Syracuse and believe they can play with the Huskies.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said he admires that attitude and doesn't think the shadow of Monday's game at North Carolina will lead to his team underestimating a Syracuse team coming off a loss at home to Seton Hall.

"I haven't believed in them and I don't want to start believing in them now,'' Auriemma said. "If your team is any good and if you're doing the right things then you prepare for each game. Each game's supposed to be as important as the next game. I don't know why the North Carolina game would be more important to our players than the Syracuse game if we're trying to win the Big East championship."

The last item for the evening or early morning is that Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis' trip to UConn's campus on Friday didn't seem to take too much out of her as the highly-touted 6-foot- sophomore from Matei Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif. had 33 points, 12rebounds and five assists, four steals and two blocks in a 74-46 win over defending Massachusetts Division I state champion Northampton Friday night in Springfield, Mass. It was her third 30-point game of the season.