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WINSTON-SALEM -- North Carolina solidified its strange hold on last place in the ACC, and Wake Forest made its case as the best team in the land on a rollicking Sunday night in the Twin City.

In the 251st meeting of the rivals, Wake took down its old nemesis 92-89 in jumping Joel Coliseum and uncorked a celebration four years in the making. If there had been any doubt before this one, we now know the former top-ranked Tar Heels are in some trouble. They've lost two ACC games to open the season, and they've met their match in a team that is just as fast, just as deep and just as big.

Wake Forest.

Playing according to a game plan developed three months ago and following a player Carolina didn't even know the Deacons had, Wake stunned the Heels early then held them off late for a win in front of the largest crowd ever to see a basketball game in Winston-Salem.

Asked what was the difference in the game, Carolina coach Roy Williams didn't hesitate.

"Jeff Teague," he said.

The sophomore shooting guard for Wake Forest scored a career-high 34 points, driving at will against the UNC inside men and shooting over the UNC wings. Without defensive specialist Marcus Ginyard, who missed the game and is now out indefinitely, Carolina looked slow to respond to the vastly improved Teague and slow to realize just how good he has become.

Dino Gaudio, Wake's coach, said the preparation for the game started with a film session on Oct. 17, and the transformation of Teague began with an injury to point guard Ish Smith in the preseason. Smith taught Teague how to play the point, and Teague improvised the rest. The slashing 6-2 guard that played Sunday night didn't exist a year ago when Carolina beat Wake 89-73 even without its point guard Ty Lawson.

Williams said Teague was the best player on the floor in a scrambling game of emotions and huge momentum swings, and he told him so.

"I told Jeff Teague that was as good a performance as I've ever seen against a team I coached," Williams said.

He also said the best team won the game.

Wake Forest forced Carolina to work in the early minutes, and the Tar Heels weren't willing. They came out flat and more than a little annoyed at the histrionics of Deacon basketball.

These days, that includes the noisy motorcycle and the swaying tie-dyed students and the lights and the music and then the one thing Carolina can't overcome: a roster every bit as impressive North Carolina's and probably more diverse.

When the Deacs took away UNC's offensive options in the opening minutes, working hard on Lawson at the top of the offense and doubling down on Tyler Hansbrough inside, Carolina was forced to look for other ways to score. That meant the perplexing Deion Thompson going against Wake's freshman phenom Al-Farouq Aminu and Carolina's wing men going against the teeth of Wake's long defense.

James Johnson and L.D. Williams frustrated Carolina's slashers, and Wake's transition offense matched and then outran UNC's.

For a moment, with the Deacs up midway through the first half and Carolina showing no willingness to work through its options and Williams nearly passing out on the sideline with one of his spells, things looked tenuous for Carolina.

That they stayed in the game said as much for the Heels' tenacity on defense as anything. The offense was never in sync.

As fouls piled up and the noise inside Joel Coliseum reached deafening levels, Williams and Gaudio sat back and watched the teams themselves decide things. This was the only scheduled meeting of the season between the schools, making it the game of the year in Winston-Salem. They came together at a strange time with Carolina reeling from the loss of Ginyard and Wake rolling in after a road win over BYU, a top-five national ranking and the best start since 1926.

Wake threw down thunderous dunks and stopped Carolina's fast break. Carolina fought the Deacons and their fans and the gnawing suspicion that things are going suddenly wrong for the Heels, and still they stayed in the game. Not until Will Graves fired long on the final shot of the game did Carolina fall.

UNC's schedule softens considerably now, and Wake's will become harder. Carolina will play from behind now, and the Deacons will play in the bright lights. Two teams collided Sunday night in the game of the year in Winston-Salem.

Now the fun starts.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com