Tar Heels' dreadful season exhausting Williams

North Carolina coach Roy Williams says he can't eat or sleep.

Less than a year after winning his second national title at UNC, Williams heard Maryland fans direct "NIT … NIT" chants at the Tar Heels during a 21-point rout Sunday.

Those chants might have been generous.

The loss dropped UNC to 2-6 in the ACC, just a half-game above the conference's cellar door. For the freshman-laden Tar Heels, it would take an incredible turnaround to creep back into the NCAA picture.

"To say that we are struggling would be the biggest understatement of my entire life," Williams said afterward. "But it makes no difference. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us, that's for sure, and they shouldn't."

So much for reloading instead of rebuilding in Chapel Hill.

Last season in ACC play, North Carolina led the conference with a plus-10.9 scoring margin. This season UNC is next-to-last in margin, at minus 5.9 points per game.

UNC is last in scoring defense and turnover margin.

Thumbs up

Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons (6-3 ACC) are coming off an overtime road win at Virginia, and have won four of their last five conference games.

Just a game behind Duke and a half-game behind Maryland, Wake has the most athleticism of the top-tier ACC teams and could be poised to make a run at the regular season title thanks to a favorable schedule the rest of the way.

Wake's remaining opponents have combined for a 26-36 ACC mark, and four of the Deacons' final seven games are at home.

Greivis Vasquez

If you disregard Vasquez's first four games -- when Maryland coach Gary Williams said Vasquez was still bummed by not being considered a sure-fire, first-round NBA draft pick and thus having to return for his senior year -- the do-it-all guard would be leading the ACC in scoring (20.4 ppg).

He's scored in double-figures in 18 straight games, including a combined 49 points and 18 assists in back to back wins against North Carolina and at Florida State.

Duke

While many remain bearish on Duke's ability to make a drive deep into the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils are in first place in the ACC and remain the most consistent team in the conference having won four straight league games.

Thumbs down

Clemson's NCAA hopes

The Tigers have fallen bellow .500 in league play and are slipping in bracket projections. Clemson has dropped from a No. 8 to No. 10 seed in Bracketology101's latest NCAA projection, and been downgraded to a No. 11 seed according to ESPN's projection.

With three difficult road tests remaining (at Wake, at Florida State and at Maryland) the Tigers are in jeopardy of not making the tournament at all, snapping a run of back-to-back appearances.

North Carolina's freshmen

In UNC's loss to Maryland, the Tar Heels' bench produced 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting. All five reserves to play for UNC were freshmen, including four McDonald's All-Americans, who have been slow to live up to the hype.

Sidney Lowe

The Wolfpack made five straight NCAA appearances (2002-06) under former coach Herb Sendek. At 2-7, N.C. State looks to be out of the tournament for a fourth time in four years under Lowe.

By the numbers

8.2 -- Free throw attempts per game by Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney, leading the ACC, thanks to his crafty slashing ability.

20 -- Free throws Delaney made against Clemson on Saturday. Delaney, a proficient foul shooter, needed just 23 attempts.

21 -- Points Delaney is averaging per game in the ACC the best in conference.

He said it

"In 21 years as a head coach I've never been in this spot," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "Somewhere, somehow, I've got to help the kids get out of it. But 2-6 is not comfortable. It's not good."

Trav's take

--Not only does Florida State wing Chris Singleton present problems with his length (6-9) on the perimeter, he also has the quickness to lead the ACC with 2.2 steals per game. He'll be a matchup nightmare for Clemson on Wednesday at Littlejohn.

--Malcolm Delaney is a sleeper for ACC Player of Year honors. He's leading the league in scoring and is a threat in transition, off the dribble, from beyond the arc and even has a competent mid-range game.

-- Folks talk about ACC football being down, but what about basketball? Only Duke (10th) and Georgia Tech (21st) are ranked in the top 25.

Reach Travis Sawchik at tsawchik@postandcourier.com.