What a weekend; didn’t go quite as expected.

How many of you had Carolina losing to Florida State and Duke beating Louisville for its fifth-straight win? I did, and imagined that light at the end of the regular-season tunnel was a freight train ready to run over the Tar Heels’ intended trip to the NCAA tournament.

But, as they say, that’s why they play the games.

UNC took what Roy Williams called a punch from the Seminoles, and needed most of the first half to hit back or at least defend itself against the No. 11 team in the country. The Heels trailed by 16 and avoided a blowout while cutting the halftime deficit to 12.

Duke also trailed Louisville at the half over in Cameron, which was a surprise considering how hot the Blue Devils had been the last two weeks and the expectation that the Cardinals would not be back in game shape following their 45-point trouncing at UNC a week ago; thus, putting the focus on the Duke-Carolina rematch for an NCAA bid.

But behind The Four Freshman (namesake of the crooners who rose to fame around the time Roy Williams was born), the Heels improved a defense that Ol’ Roy called “so ugly it was ridiculous” after the game, instead turned FSU over and began battling on the boards and making shots to post their biggest win of the season to date.

In Durham, Duke rallied in the second half to force overtime, but fell to a durable Louisville team that had lost its second-best player in the first half and survived Matthew Hurt’s 37 points by holding him to only two 3-pointers. Duke finishes up the schedule on the road at Georgia Tech and Carolina this Saturday at 6 on ESPN.

The ACC should offer AARP discounts to anyone who wants to attend UNC-Syracuse tonight and the UNC-Duke game, teams directed by three of the oldest coaches in college basketball. Williams, 70, Mike Krzyzewski, 74, and Jim Boeheim, 76, are all hearing whispers from their respective fan bases for uneven play this season. As of Tuesday, they will have 3,147 total career victories.

They are really good at their jobs but suffer the consequence of keeping them this long. Most people who are still working when they reach 70 are subject to jokes and snickers from some of the younger set. A good retort for the three Hall of Famers, if of course they give a damn, would be all their “Ws” stand for Wins and Wisdom.

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