A crazy evening for 'Psycho T,' Tar Heels

"Psycho T" went crazy Wednesday. He went off for 40 points. Beat Georgia Tech by himself. Set a record for freshmen in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Set a scoring high for Carolina players in the Smith Center. Set a record for anyone who ever put a ball through a hoop in a place of basketball legend.

By the end, it wasn't just the big, bug-eyed kid from Poplar Bluff, Mo., who was playing out of his mind. The whole Smith Center was bonkers.

Tyler Hansbrough carried the Tar Heels back from 20 points down to win 82-75. He accounted for almost half the points and all of the victory.

The 6-foot-9 forward earned his "Psycho T" nickname from his strength coach who saw him attack the iron in the weight room. On Wednesday, he earned it again for the way he attacked the iron on the court.

He scored inside. He scored from the foul line. He scored on dunks. He scored by leading the fast break at a full sprint.

Afterward, the red-cheeked Hansbrough sat down looking like a choir boy with a buzz cut. A scrape glowed on his right arm, a lasting image of Georgia Tech defenders' futile efforts to hold him down. He was calm, but a little stunned. He didn't realize that he had set a record until someone told him in the locker room.

"I expected to play well," said the seven-time ACC rookie of the week who is on pace to lead Carolina in points and rebounds, another thing a freshman has never done, "but it is kind of shocking I'm playing this well ... I never expected to drop 40."

Hansbrough is enjoying leading the Heels (16-6, 7-4 ACC) to surprising success.

"A lot of people didn't think we were going to go very far, but every time we step on the court, we're confident that we're going to win," he said. "It's nice proving people wrong."

Georgia Tech never expected the surprise of a Smith Center scoring record from the Carolina big man. They've got big, tough players under the basket. There are no freebies there.

One of those defenders, 6-6 forward Jeremis Smith, said Hansbrough benefited by a tightly officiated game.

"It's hard to play defense when you have two or three fouls on you in the first half," he said.

But there was more to it than that. When he got to the line, Hansbrough made most of his free throws, hitting 14 of 19. In the first half, he hit 11 of 13, staving off a blowout by a Georgia Tech team that hit 9 of 10 3-pointers in the first half.

From the field, Hansbrough hit 13 of 17 attempts while pulling down 10 rebounds. Who knows what he would have done had he not taken eight minutes off for breaks.

Georgia Tech players didn't like the way the game was called, but they respected the way Hansbrough played.

"He's tough guy. You've got to give him credit for that," Smith said.

Georgia Tech 6-9 sophomore center Ra'Sean Dickey played well, but his performance was lost beside Hansbrough's outburst. He said of Hansbrough, "He just goes at you the whole game."

When he took a break, Hansbrough sat on the bench gulping air and water. The balance tilted to Georgia Tech while he sat. When he went back in, it became a one-man show again.

Hansbrough said he wasn't in any position to judge the officials.

"I never refed a game in my life," he said.

But he rejected the idea that Georgia Tech players backed off for fear of whistles.

"It was a physical game both ways," said Hansbrough, who finished with four fouls.

But not so physical it hurt him or even wearied him.

"I feel like I can go out and play another game," he said.

On Sunday, he will. It will be against Wake Forest. It's unlikely to be a game like Wednesday's. But with Hansbrough, crazy things happen.