There is no sugar-coating the shocking nature of the final game in North Carolina's 2007-08 basketball season, an 84-66 loss at the hands of eventual national champion Kansas in the Final Four.

The Tar Heels were the preseason favorite to win the national championship, and they entered this year's NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. They had the consensus national player of the year in big man Tyler Hansbrough, and plenty of other talent, on their side. Their coach, Roy Williams, already had one NCAA title under his belt, along with one of the highest winning percentages in the history of college basketball.

But the Heels had their heads handed to them by the Jayhawks, falling behind 40-12 in one of the most surprising first halves in Final Four history.

Point guard Ty Lawson looked the most out of sorts, failing to initiate the fastbreak baskets that had become UNC's trademark and repeatedly losing one-on-one battles at both ends of the floor. Wing players Wayne Ellington and Danny Green made some big shots during the Tar Heels' comeback, but they also gave up easy baskets at the other end, and they finished with a combined zero assists and eight turnovers against KU's ferocious defense. Marcus Ginyard, the team leader, was completely ineffective offensively and unable to pull his teammates out of their first-half mental funk. Big men Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson were mostly non-factors, as the Heels were dominated on the boards for the first and only time this season.

Those are ugly, undeniable facts that are likely to leave UNC with some painful memories in the offseason.

At the same time, the suggestion (particularly popular right now in the Anybody But Carolina crowd) that the 2007-08 Tar Heels are alone in their misery, or isolated in the depth of their disappointment, can survive only on message boards and other places where people are loose with the facts and selective with their memories.

Pick any of the superlatives. UNC was a No. 1 seed? The ACC has had 27 No. 1 seeds since the NCAA Tournament began seeding the field in 1979, and only six of those teams (1982 UNC, 1992 Duke, 1993 UNC, 2001 Duke, 2002 Maryland, 2005 UNC) captured the national championship. Obviously, this NCAA title stuff ain't easy.

Here's another favorite: "How in the world could the 'world's greatest coach' (insert sarcasm here), with the national player of the year on his side, NOT win the national championship?"

Again, it's not that easy.

Since the creation of the ACC in 1953, 26 conference teams have been led into the NCAA Tournament by someone who earned national player of the year honors by at least one major media outlet for the same season. Only five of those teams won the national championship: 1957 UNC (Len Rosenbluth), 1974 NCSU (David Thompson), 1982 UNC (James Worthy), 1992 Duke (Christian Laettner) and 2001 Duke (Shane Battier and Jason Williams earned POY honors from different outlets).

Hansbrough became the ACC's 17th consensus national player of the year this season, in the 55-year history of the league. Below is a list of the NCAA Tournament performances of all 17 teams. Only two captured the national championship.

Yes, Tar Heel Nation is a place of misery this week, and the pain likely will linger for some time. But if UNC is looking for company, the pages of ACC history are overflowing with appropriate candidates.

Year — Player, School — Coach — NCAA Tournament Result

1963 — Art Heyman, Duke — Vic Bubas — Final Four
1975 — David Thompson, NCSU — Norm Sloan — none
1978 — Phil Ford, UNC — Dean Smith — Round of 32
1981 — Ralph Sampson, Virginia — Terry Holland — Final Four
1982 — Ralph Sampson, Virginia — Terry Holland — Sweet 16
1983 — Ralph Sampson, Virginia — Terry Holland — Elite Eight
1984 — Michael Jordan, UNC — Dean Smith — Sweet 16
1989 — Danny Ferry, Duke — Mike Krzyzewski — Final Four
1992 — Christian Laettner, Duke — Mike Krzyzewski — NCAA CHAMPS
1995 — Joe Smith, Maryland — Gary Williams — Sweet 16
1997 — Tim Duncan, Wake Forest — Dave Odom — Round of 32
1998 — Antawn Jamison, UNC — Bill Guthridge — Final Four
1999 — Elton Brand, Duke — Mike Krzyzewski — Title Game
2001 — Shane Battier, Duke — Mike Krzyzewski — NCAA CHAMPS
2002 — Jason Williams, Duke — Mike Krzyzewski — Sweet 16
2006 — J.J. Redick, Duke — Mike Krzyzewski — Sweet 16
2008 — Tyler Hansbrough, UNC — Roy Williams — Final Four