Playing in his first home game of the season, the All-American scored 26 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the Tar Heels' 100-84 victory over Oral Roberts -- all with a cut on his left knee that required two stitches after the game.

That leaves him nine points away from breaking Ford's school mark of 2,290 points, set in 1978. He'll likely move atop the list Thursday against Evansville.

"It's hard not to think about it," Hansbrough said of the looming record, "but I wasn't thinking about, 'How many points away am I?' or anything like that.

"It is a big deal to me, but I think it will mean more to me when the season's over, and I can look back. I'm more concentrating on this year, as a team thing."

As far as the "team thing," against Oral Roberts (2-7), UNC coach Roy Williams said the top-ranked Tar Heels' performance "was probably the least efficient we have been all year."

The 10-day, final-exam break helps explains a bit why Carolina (9-0) was outrebounded by seven, outscored by four in the second half and allowed a 24-point lead to be whittled to as little as 14 with about 10 minutes left.

"We were not sharp at all; we were not very good defensively at all," said Williams, who plans to practice the kinks out of his players early this week.

UNC was never really in jeopardy, though, particularly because of the play of Hansbrough, who had sat out four games this season (including three at home) because of injuries to his shin and ankle.

He said his conditioning still leaves a lot to be desired, but it didn't look it as he walked onto the court, needing 35 points to break Ford's record.

The big man didn't even attempt a shot during his first 3 1/2-minute stretch, but after going to the bench to have his left knee bandaged because of a superficial cut sustained when he ran into the broadcast table, he checked back in and scored nine points in a 1:49 span.

That gave the Tar Heels a 27-14 advantage, and the Golden Eagles (2-7) never really stood a chance after that.

"When he started off, hitting 5-for-5, I thought he might go for 35 tonight," Frasor said.

And he might have, Williams said, if he had made more than nine of his 18 shots.

As it was, he scored in familiar Hansbrough fashion -- putbacks and free throws -- and continued to showcase his extended range via jump shots and a 3-pointer.

And when he wasn't scoring, forward Deon Thompson (career-high 22 points, eight rebounds) and point guard Ty Lawson (18 points, seven assists) took up the slack. Wing Danny Green also chipped in 12 points before he had to leave the game to get five stitches above his right eye.

Robert Jarvis led the Golden Eagles with 26, matching Hansbrough's for the game high

"Tonight he had 26 points and nine rebounds, and to think that he didn't play that well," Williams said of his big man. "He has set such a high standard; he is such a consistent performer -- night in and night out, every practice and every game."

Which explains why he's only a handful of shots from making history.

OBSERVATIONS

FORD UNABLE TO ATTEND GAME

UNC legend Phil Ford was not at the game because the Charlotte Bobcats , for whom he is an assistant coach, were playing the Detroit Pistons. But Carolina officials are hopeful he will be able to attend the Tar Heels' game against Evansville on Thursday, when forward Tyler Hansbrough is likely to break Ford's three-decades-old career scoring record. The Bobcats play at Memphis the following night.

GINYARD DRESSES

Wing forward Marcus Ginyard was back in uniform and went through pregame warmups for the first time since having surgery in October to repair a stress fracture in his foot. He did not play and is still limited in drills in practice, but coach Roy Williams is hopeful he might be able to return after Christmas.

ROBBI PICKERAL