But as the 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward came barreling down the court with 0.8 seconds left - eyes popping, elbows flailing and knees pumping after his 12-foot jumper sealed the top-seeded Tar Heels' 68-66 victory over Virginia Tech -- "I just had to get out of his way," Ellington said, laughing.

If Hansbrough has his way, so will the rest of the competition. The ACC Player of the Year's latest mega-effort -- 26 points, nine rebounds and, capped by the first game-winning shot of his college career -- not only secured a berth in today's ACC Tournament final against No. 3 seed Clemson at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, it also kept Carolina (31-2) in the driver's seat for the top seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm pretty glad it went in," said Hansbrough, back to his understated ways after being so animated.

So were his teammates.

With wing forward Danny Green (2-for-4, eight points) struggling to score and forward Deon Thompson (0-for-5, 16 minutes) benched for much of the second half because he was struggling, Carolina had to play catch-up, trailing by as many as eight points as the clock wound down.

"We were kind of on cruise control a little bit," Green admitted.

Ellington upped the speedometer, however. After tying the score on a 3-pointer with 3:14 left, then giving the Tar Heels a 66-64 advantage by making two of three free throws with 1:28 left, he was one of the main options when UNC got the ball -- 21 seconds remaining, score tied, title-game berth on the line.

When Ellington didn't get open, point guard Ty Lawson tried to score. But after his running layup bounced of the rim, Green tipped the rebound to Hansbrough, who was on the right side. Hansbrough grabbed the ball off a bounce and launched a quick 12-footer from the baseline that swished through.

What followed was the sprinting celebration that Lawson laughingly called "awkward," and senior Quentin Thomas described as "just that Psycho-T thing."

After a timeout, Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg -- whose team appears to be on the NCAA Tournament bubble -- was still hoping for a miracle.

"I told our guys, 'Let's be Minnesota -- if they can do it, we can do it.' "

But Thompson deflected the Hokies' inbounds pass and time ran out on their ACC title hopes.

"Anyone watching that game, if you know anything about basketball, if you don't think this team is one of the top 65 teams in the country, you're certifiably insane," said Greenberg, whose team looked 180 degrees different than the one that lost at UNC by 39 points on Feb. 16. "Because I don't know anyone else [on the bubble] who can come into the environment, basically play a road game ... and play those guys the way that we just played them. ... The only thing we didn't do was win the game."

In the end, the aggressive Hokies (19-13) got 17 points from A.D. Vassallo, and held the Tar Heels to 40 percent shooting; it was only the second time this season UNC has failed to score at least 70 points.

But they couldn't make up for Hansbrough, who said his last-second jumper marked his first game-winner since high school. His clutch ability could come in handy today, as the Tar Heels needed a winning 3-pointer by Ellington to win at Clemson on January 6, then needed two overtimes to beat the Tigers in Chapel Hill on Feb. 10.

UNC will be vying for its 17th ACC Tournament title today, Clemson will be trying for its first. Tipoff is at 1 p.m.

Meanwhile, Hansbrough's shot will likely be replayed for months by his roommates -- not just because of the victory, but to razz him about his antics immediately afterwards.

"I probably went a little overboard,'' Hansbrough admitted.

If he gets this excited about making the ACC Tournament final, imagine what he might do if the Tar Heels win today. Or make the Final Four. Or attain Hansbrough's ultimate goal: a national championship.

"I can't imagine," said Ellington, who finished with 15 points and eventually did high-five his teammate. "But I'd like to see it."