Anything less than a title equals disappointment for UNC

South Regional | UNC's return | Hansbrough | Frontcourt | Backcourt

DETROIT -- They all say the same stuff -- that they're taking it one game at a time, that they don't worry about the pressure, that last season doesn't matter, nor does the history or expectations.

But who are they kidding?

Not me.

Because the truth is this: North Carolina has to win.

Both games.

Or else North Carolina is a disappointment.

•  Final Four predictions

"We don't mind being the favorites," said UNC guard Wayne Ellington. "We don't mind people saying we're supposed to be here, because this is what we worked so hard for."

No, Wayne.

You've got it slightly wrong.

People aren't just saying you're supposed to be here; they're saying you're supposed to win it all here, cut the nets here, bounce Villanova on Saturday and Michigan State or Connecticut on Monday, then roll out of here with UNC's fifth national title. There is no in between. Nothing less will do. It's all or nothing, championship or bust. And let's not even debate whether this is fair, because fairness has nothing to do with it.

Was it fair that Michael Phelps had to win eight gold medals to not disappoint? Was it fair that the The Dark Knight had to smash box office records to not disappoint? Was it fair that the Patriots had to finish undefeated two seasons ago to not disappoint?

Answers: No, no and probably not.

'We don't mind being the favorites,' Wayne Ellington says. (US Presswire)

But predetermined greatness comes with great expectations, and you can either live up to them and get a Wheaties box or fall short and face the criticism. I'd like to tell you there's some middle ground, but there isn't. At Villanova, Michigan State and Connecticut, this will forever be viewed as a "Final Four" year regardless of what happens next. But at North Carolina, this will either be the year Tyler Hansbrough got his title, or the year Hansbrough closed his career without ever getting a title.

"I don't really know if [being] the favorites ... is really going to change the way we play," said Hansbrough, to which I say, good for them, because the way North Carolina has been playing should be plenty good enough. The Tar Heels have won their four NCAA tournament games by an average of 22.5 points, each of them coming by at least 12. They've disposed of the SEC champions (LSU), WCC champions (Gonzaga) and highest-seeded Big 12 team (Oklahoma), and they've done it with ease while Ty Lawson established a 10-to-1 assist to turnover ratio, which is way more impressive (and noteworthy) than the $250 he won playing craps the other night here at a local casino.

Translation: North Carolina is great.

And it has been playing extremely well.

So the overwhelming preseason No. 1 team now sits here as the clear favorite to be the postseason No. 1 team, and they'd better do it, too. Otherwise, nobody will remember or care about the ACC title, the No. 1 ranking, the No. 1 seed or all the other great things that came UNC's way this season. The only thing people will remember is what the Tar Heels didn't do, and that's no way to go down in history.