AP Photo/Phil Coale

The indefinite loss of point guard Ty Lawson, who hurt his ankle on Sunday, is a big concern for UNC.

Key Shot

By Andy Glockner
ESPN.com

This is why losing Bobby Frasor for the season was a meaningful blow to North Carolina.

Less than four minutes into the Tar Heels' eventual 84-73 overtime win at Florida State on Sunday, point guard Ty Lawson got his left leg twisted under him as he was dragged down during a loose-ball scrum. His subsequent scream, removal from the game and ice-pack-to-upper-ankle treatment for the remainder of the afternoon is the stuff of potential nightmares for the Heels, who have been thin at the 1 since Frasor tore his ACL against Nevada in December.

Without Lawson, North Carolina looked rudderless for much of the afternoon, finishing with a galling combo of nine assists and 21 turnovers. Fill-in Quentin Thomas had a serviceable nine points, six assists and five boards, but the Heels aren't winning the national title with Thomas playing 36 minutes.

They almost didn't even win on Sunday. Carolina survived thanks to muscle (a 54-26 rebounding edge), masonry (FSU went 6-for-31 from 3-point range and Toney Douglas shot 3-for-20 overall) and its main man (Tyler Hansbrough, who went for 22 points and 21 rebounds despite not making a field goal for the game's first 30 minutes). And don't think the result wasn't important. A loss would have pushed Carolina two games behind Duke in the ACC standings, meaning a split of their season series likely would lead to a Blue Devils regular-season crown and a leg up for the coveted Raleigh/Charlotte path in the NCAA Tournament.

Still, Lawson's health is more critical than this one game. Or the Duke game Wednesday, if he's even able to play. Lawson's status for Wednesday's game against Duke won't be known until Tuesday, the next time the Tar Heels are scheduled to practice, a North Carolina spokesperson told ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Sunday night.

Simply put, Lawson is probably the least dispensable player on any of the national title contenders. He makes the Carolina fast break go, makes great decisions with the ball (6.0 assists and 2.5 turnovers a game) and is an efficient scorer, too (14.1 points per game; 1.51 points per shot). He's also averaging more than 31 minutes in ACC play, and the Heels don't have anyone capable of carrying that nightly load at anywhere near his level of effectiveness.

Earlier this season Lawson missed all but two minutes against BYU in Las Vegas and then sat out the subsequent game at Ohio State. Yes, North Carolina won both games, but they were two of the Heels' three lowest-scoring games of the season.

On Sunday, Carolina showed again that it can survive a game without Lawson. But given the growing body of evidence, the Tar Heels don't want to have to prove that any more than necessary.

Key Notes

By Jason McCallum
ESPN Research

• Tyler Hansbrough had 22 points and 21 rebounds in North Carolina's 84-73 overtime win at Florida State. It was his first career 20-20 game, and he is the seventh player to record a 20-20 game this season. The last North Carolina player with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game was Sean May, who had 26 points and 24 rebounds in a 75-73 win over Duke on March 6, 2005, his final game in the Dean Dome.

• Florida State's Ryan Reid hit a 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds remaining in the second half to force overtime against North Carolina. In 48 career games, the 6-foot-9 forward had never attempted a shot from beyond the arc.

• Since the creation of the ACC in 1953-54, this is only the second time North Carolina has won two conference road games in overtime in the same season. The first season was the 1956-57 season, when the Tar Heels won in overtime at South Carolina and at Maryland. They finished 32-0 and won the national championship.

• Senior point guard Quentin Thomas, playing a career-high 36 minutes for the injured Ty Lawson, scored a career-high nine points and had six assists for only the sixth time in his career.

• Freshman J.J. Hickson of North Carolina State posted his eighth career double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds in the Wolfpack's 67-65 win over Wake Forest. The Wolfpack are 4-4 in those games -- though this was the first time Hickson has had more rebounds than points in a double-double.

• NC State has played three conference home games this season, and the Wolfpack are 2-1 in those games. All three of the games were decided by one possession, and the combined score in the three games is Wolfpack 220, Opponents 219.

• NC State's Ben McCauley (11 points) dunked home the winning bucket at the buzzer in the Wolfpack's 67-65 win over the Demon Deacons. The Wolfpack are 5-0 this season when he scores in double-digits and 9-7 when he doesn't.

• There were 12 games on Super Sunday, and the home teams went 6-6. While only four of the 12 games were decided by single digits, home teams outscored their opponents 823-815.

• George Washington's Noel Wilmore made 6 of 7 shots from 3-point range and scored a career-high 18 points at Temple on Sunday. His previous career high for 3-pointers in a game was three.

• D.J. White of Indiana had 26 points and 13 rebounds for his 24th career double-double in the Hoosiers' 75-63 win over Northwestern. In addition, he was 9-for-11 from the floor (81.8 percent). He has shot better than 80 percent from the floor in six career games, and the Hoosiers are 6-0 in those games. All six of those games were at home.

• Wisconsin's Trevon Hughes had 20 points and six steals in the Badgers' 63-47 win at Minnesota. The six thefts ties a career high -- accomplished on two previous occasions. The Badgers are 3-0 when he scores 20 points and gets six steals.

• The Eastern Washington Eagles cannot be big fans of the state of Montana. In the past 11 days, the Eagles have played four games: losing 80-61 at Montana, 74-69 at Montana State, 64-57 to Montana State and finally 59-57 to Montana on Sunday. In the past four seasons, the Eagles are a combined 3-13 against Montana State and Montana.