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Bill Simmons, the ESPN Sports Guy, has his review of the hoops movie Glory Road up today.

Sadly, Simmons confirms many of the fears I had about the movie when I first saw the trailers. Since then, many people, including even my sportsphobic wife, have asked me if I want to see the movie. I've hemmed and hawed and stalled for time on it because of this problem:

I know what really happened in history, so I think I'm going to have a problem when I realize that the true story is being warped for Hollywood's purposes. And I knew, just knew, that Hollywood wouldn't be able to leave the real story alone. Simmons confirms this in his review.

It's ironic that in Hollywood's quest to make the story of Texas Western and its historic NCAA title in 1966 over the all-white Kentucky Wildcats more enjoyable to the wider audience the producers, directors, et al, alienate the hard core sports fans. Maybe they figure we're so desparate for a sports flick that we'll watch anything. In fact, it's just the opposite. We've got plenty of sports shows already. They're called games. And if I want to go back and watch Texas Westen, I'll just tune in to ESPN Classic.

The bravest young man in the building was easy to spot: He's the guy smack dab in the middle of the all-red Maryland student section wearing a UNC #32 Rashad McCants jersey (and Carolina-blue wrist bands).

As for the action on the court, just about to get started. And, quite frankly, I confess I have no idea how this game's going to go. The Heels won a huge late-season game here last year but obviously aren't the same team. Really, they've been a different team from game to game lately, so which team shows up tonight? And will David Noel break out after a five-game shooting slump?

On the other side of the equation, Maryland has been all over the map too. They've won 3 of 4 since losing Chris McCray, and Mike Jones has filled in well at guard. But their defense has been pretty atrocious without McCray and they lost at Temple -- not a good way to impress the committee.

So, I'll just sit back and watch now.

... into what exactly is going on with Engin Atsur's hair. It's getting dangerously closely to afro status. Rest assured that if Atsur's available after the game - and in a good mood - I'll be asking him about this.

Possible nicknames right now -- Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Guard and Spongehead Square Guard.

... apparently many out there - including some folks at ESPN - want to once again look into the theory that "Duke gets all the calls." Certainly the suspension of the officiating crew that did the Duke-FSU game will fuel that fire.

Gregg Doyel at CBS Sportsline weighs in with his opinion - K's intimidating officials. (sixth item down).

Meanwhile, Al Featherson, formerly of the Durham Herald-Sun, provides a lengthy counter-argument to the "refs favor Duke" folks. Featherson says his research shows that in the ACC, home teams get the calls and good teams get the calls. No conspiracies here.

Full disclosure (not that it necessarily affects either man's point of view). Doyel once wrote a book on Duke which K did not cooperate on and which K allegedly discouraged others from cooperating with Doyel. Featherston is a Duke grad.

Just so you know all the background.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski meant this as a compliment to Wes Miller, UNC's 5-11, former walk-on guard. But I suspect it will be used as bulletin-board material in the Dean Dome's home dressing room -- if the rivalry is in need of such things:

"I wondered how they won the game, and there's this little kid who hit six 3's, every time it looked like they were going to get blown out."

That from Monday's afternoon press conference at Duke.

Miller has already gone on record, in the Tar Heels' media guide, as calling his dream SportsCenter highlight a "Buzzer-beater from half court to beat Duke."

But isn't that every little kid's dream?

So the season's first Duke-UNC showdown is quickly approaching, and the Herald-Sun's Frank Dascenzo just pointed out to me that the latest line in Vegas is Duke by 5. We, of course, boldly predicted an 82-80 upset in today's News & Record. I should amend that to Rob Daniels picked the Heels by that score. I don't totally disavow it, but I give UNC about 40% odds on winning this one. So, when Rob's proven right, I'll take the abuse due me. Or vice versa.

A big question, obviously, will be how "on" J.J. Redick is. And, if he is in that shooter's zone where few dare go, can UNC put together a fourth straight impressive offensive showing to keep pace? If Georgetown can do that, then I suspect the Heels can, too.

Keep an eye on the defensive assignments. Who will get the bulk of J.J. duty for the Heels? Bobby Frasor? Marcus Ginyard? Roy Williams mentioned those two Monday, along with Wes Miller and Reyshawn Terry, in what could be a defense-by-committee sort of thing. But you figure Roy will go with the hot hand, so to speak.

Forget ACC for a moment. How about the CAA? As VCU alum/N&R reporter Robert Bell gets all fired up for tonight's VCU-George Mason showdown, it should be noted that the Colonial Athletic Association has five teams in the RPI's top 63 -- the same number as the ACC -- according to collegeRPI.com. The CAA's conference RPI, good for 10th, is its highest in at least 10 years.

If UNC Wilmington (10-3 CAA, 17-7 overall) is going to make the NCAA's, the Seahawks will have to get through first-place George Mason (11-2, 17-5, #32 RPI), as well as Hofstra, VCU, Old Dominion and Northeastern. They're all within two games of GMU in the league standings.

ODU has junior Drew Williamson, the former two-sport star at Cummings High, running the show at point guard, by the way.

And somehow, I'm not sure "Thriller" is really an accurate description today. Maybe we should go back to Alexander Memorial Coliseum instead.

I'm sure plenty of State fans are viewing this game as one that the Wolfpack "should" win. State's 8-2 in the conference, while Tech is 2-8, in the throes of an eight-game losing streak.

But - and I don't want to sound too much like I'm parroting Herb here - those records can be deceiving. What if Bennerman doesn't hit that 3 at Clemson? What if Va Tech's tip-in doesn't go in against the Yellow Jackets.

During the ACC season there are any number of tiny events that have an enormous impact on the bottom lines of each team in the league. Imagine if Sean Dockery's 40-footer hadn't gone in against the Hokies. Would Duke be seen as clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the league? Would the Hokies be struggling along at 3-7 in the conference?

All of which is a very roundabout way of saying I wouldn't be stunned if Tech pulls the upset today.

Then again, I wouldn't be suprised if State jumps out to an early double-digit lead and cruises the rest of the way. Tech's confidence is that fragile. And State's is that strong.

So there you have it. I've said alot without really giving you anything to hold on to. Maybe these coaches are starting to rub off on me.

Remember those times when you're watching an ACC game, when the home crowd is going crazy, both teams are playing at a super high level and the broadcasters will invariably say "This is what ACC basketball is all about!"

This isn't one of those times.

There are a ton of empty seats at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, as well as a lot of fans doing an impersonation of empty seats. Strangely, State seems to be the team adversely affected by this morgue-like environment. Everyone on the Wolfpack - with the exception of Ilian Evtimov and Ben McCauley - looks very, very flat. State's committed 15 first-half turnovers. Yikes.

Tech looks good by comparison, if you can call 10 first half turnovers good.

Sendek seemed to spend much of the first half looking at the clock, wondering when he could get into the locker room and give his team a one-sided motivational talk to get things turned around in the second half.

We'll see if that works.

News and Record reporters Jeff Carlton, Rob Daniels and Jim Young convene a session of Radio Free Sports to discuss Monday's big local news – Dudley High's Joey Cheek claimed Olympic gold in the 500 meters short-track speedskating event in Turin, Italy – and the big games on tap along Tobacco Road this week.

If you're seeking an extra year from the NCAA because of an early-season injury, it's probably best not to come running on the floor to chest bump a teammate when you're supposedly recovering from a stress fracture in your leg.

That's what State forward Brandon Costner did to Engin Atsur at the end of the first half after Atsur hit a 3 at the end of the first half.

I know he's excited, but remember, Big Brother is watching.

For those who thought UNC freshman Tyler Hansbrough might be a Vegan, he set the record straight Friday. He'd eat steak and salmon all day long if it were socially acceptable. Hansbrough, generally pretty strait-laced and serious with the media, added this during a gathering with reporters:

"I can eat probably three or four steaks. I can tear some steaks up. If I haven't eaten in a while, I can throw some down. It would probably take a whole cow."

With sweet potatoes on the side.

Hansbrough hasn't eaten as heartily since leaving Mom's cooking back in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and has maintained his playing weight of 235 pounds throughout the season. The fact that he was in the weight room working out alone the day after dropping 40 points on Georgia Tech gives some idea of how dedicated Hansbrough is to staying in shape.

While we're reporting news of the weird from Chapel Hill, it's worth noting that UNC coach Roy Williams planned to attend Friday night's Keith Urban concert at the Smith Center. "Evidently, he's pretty doggone good," he said.

Williams isn't exactly a huge country-music fan, though he might listen to some country-Western or soul music (but no rap) on the car radio when driving. Actually, he heard a rumor Shania Twain would be coming and said that he might get to the Dome early. Rumor wasn't true, apparently.

Speaking of rumors, one's been out there about Williams having back surgery. He's getting treatments on a painful sciatic-nerve injury 2-3 times a day but no surgery. As long as he's able to "tee it up" by May 1, Williams will be happy.

Following Jeff Carlton's Mike Wallace-like lead, I've got the latest on another hard-hitting news topic:

Engin Atsur's hair.

On Friday, he finally broke under intense scrutiny from the media and revealed the reason why his once close-cropped hair is now resembling afro status.

Apparently Atsur continue to let his hair grow out because it pleases N.C. State SID Annabelle Vaughan, who thinks Atsur looks - and I'm quoting accurately here - "cute" with long, curly hair.

Also, Atsur - ever the college student - pointed out that not getting a regular haircut helps him save money.

We now return you to your regularly schedule fluff...

Cheerleaders at the Olympics.

I'd heard about this phenomenon in Turin, but I still hadn't seen it on television.

According to this article, the whole idea has gone over about as well as Cop Rock and the Edsel.

And so is his wife, apparently.

I've been meaning to do an alumni report on former UNCG coaches, like Fran McCaffery, Ken Dempsey and Billy Taylor, and this is as good a time as any to update you McCaffery's whereabouts.

An alert reader emailed me the links to these two stories in the Albany Times-Union.

The first describes what happened in Siena's loss to Hofstra in which both McCaffery and his wife, Margaret, were ejected. The second interviews them in the aftermath.

A coach's wife getting ejected is certainly a story, but not necessarily that stunning if you knew Margaret McCaffery at all. Unlike some coach's wives, McCaffery knew the game very well, having played it in college. So from the start, she was always into game. And with her family's livelihood on the line, no other fan had as much at stake. Add in a fiery temper - which runs maybe neck and neck with Fran's - and you've got the recipe for something like this.

Needless to say, she was the most entertaining basketball spouse I've ever covered.

Siena, by the way, has won four of its last five conference games to reach 8-8 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and 13-12 overall. That's an impressive improvement over last year's 6-24, 4-14 record.

Curse the refs here at the RBC Center, who whistled three quick fouls on Boston College center John Oates, thus neutralizing my ability to spend the entire first half making Hall & Oates jokes.

I mean c'mon, all the guy wants to do is play a little "One on One" out there.

Okay, I'll stop now.

What's more fun this time of year than playing the Bracketology game -- to borrow a term from ESPN, meaning I probably owe somebody a lot of money now for using it. At least it's fun if your college of choice is in the NCAA tournament picture, which probably excludes Maryland, UNC's opponent here at the Dean Dome today.

It's certainly a nerve-racking game if you're a beat writer covering, say, the Tar Heels. One day, Jerry Palm has the Heels going to San Diego as a 6 seed at collegerpi.com. Then, after a big win at N.C. State, he has the Heels in Jacksonville as a 3 seed, in the Oakland regional. And now it's State that's going to San Diego, having clearly played its way out of a trip to Greensboro for the first round. Jay Lunardi of ESPN has the Heels and Wolfpack both in Jacksonville. We've already asked State beat writer Jim Young to bring the poker chips, just in case.

More likely, though, this game that only Craig Littlepage's NCAA tournament selection committee plays for real will bounce schools all over the place for two more weeks. Except Duke. We're pretty sure they'll be in Greensboro as a No.1 seed.

I figured Tennessee for a 2 or 3 seed at the coliseum because, after Duke, it was the next closest school deserving of a top-4 seed. Now I can't be so confident after the Vols' home loss to Arkansas yesterday. My fear, as I do like to travel during tournament time: an all expenses-paid trip to ... Greensboro.

Truly, the Heels have played their way into solid position with a nice stretch run. I could see them suffering a post-State letdown today. But I can't see them losing at home to the slumping Terps.

The more Mike Krzyzewski wins, the more heat he seems to take for ref abuse, or at the least, "working the refs." Gregg Doyel of cbs.sportsline.com went over the top in his criticism of K a few week ago. (Sorry, the link is no longer up. But, trust me, he was rough). Last week, Rob Daniels gave us Coach K's top 5 reasons why this reputation is ill-founded.

But they keep asking him. Here's what Krzyzewski had to say on Monday's ACC teleconference (sorry I'm late posting it, I was really busy yesterday):

"I never look at talking to a referee as 'working a ref.' What I'm trying to do is find out why something is being done or trying to explain your situation. It's not a matter of working; it's a matter of explanation. I don't think a ref -- a really good official, which is what we have and are going to have in the NCAA tournament -– can be worked. That’s just not part of it."

So the occasional expletive is thrown in. Having heard Gary Williams and others on the sideline, I've always considered that criticism overrated. But what about the "double standard"? When he was new to the ACC, K did of course accuse officials of having one of those for Dean Smith vs. other coaches.

"The night I said it, there was one as far as technical fouls were concerned. ... I was angry, I said it and I'll live with that. And I’m fine with it."

Happy 75th to Dean, by the way.