CHARLOTTE - North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough said he has tried to call his little brother, Mississippi State guard Ben, at least four times since a tornado disrupted the SEC Tournament in Atlanta, where Ben is playing this weekend.

Ben hadn't returned his brother's calls as of Saturday afternoon, but "I know he's all right," Tyler said. "I talked to my dad. He's in contact with Ben. He was at the arena at the time [of the storm] ... so I'm comfortable."

Mississippi State lost to Georgia 64-60 on Saturday night in the SEC semifinals, a game that was played at Georgia Tech because of damage to the Georgia Dome. Ben Hansbrough scored 12 points.

FEELING RIGHT AT HOME: UNC coach Roy Williams was still insisting that how the Tar Heels play, rather than where, is the most important aspect of his team's success in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

But the crowd's reaction to Wayne Ellington's clutch 3-pointers and Tyler Hansbrough's game-winning shot against Virginia Tech showed why getting the NCAA's top seed in the East -- and playing in Charlotte the second weekend -- couldn't hurt.

"There's no doubt about it, that we'd love to be back, this close to Chapel Hill, and have so many people be cheering us on," junior Marcus Ginyard said after helping the Heels defeat the Hokies 68-66.

HENDERSON IS FINE: The X-rays that Duke guard Gerald Henderson had taken on his right (shooting) wrist after the Blue Devils' 78-74 loss to Clemson in the ACC Tournament semifinal on Saturday were negative.

Henderson, who knows he will need surgery on the wrist at season's end, will continue to play with a brace. He injured the wrist in early February. Then hyperextended it while blocking out for a rebound sometime between the five- and four-minute mark of the second half of Saturday's game.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said that because Henderson and other Devils are either ailing or worn out, he wanted to make sure his team got in some practice time without contact next week as the it prepares for the NCAA Tournament.

LEAKY ROOF: The storm system that damaged the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and forced the Southeastern Conference to move its tournament caused a brief delay in the first half of the Duke-Clemson game.

Some water from the downpour outside leaked through the roof of the 3-year old arena, landing just off the court in front of the scorer's table. After a brief discussion between the officials and coaches, arena workers covered the area with about a half-dozen towels and resumed play.

With strong storms in the area and a tornado warning in a nearby county, an arena official said there was another leak in the upper deck of the arena that got some fans wet.

LAYUPS: With his 26 points Saturday, UNC's Tyler Hansbrough passed Lennie Rosenbluth for third on the school's career list with 2,049 points. He is 96 points behind Sam Perkins for second place.

* Until Saturday's tight semifinals, seven of the eight first-round and quarterfinal games were decided by double figures.

* The Tar Heels improved to 5-0 all-time in Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

* Who says Clemson can't beat North Carolina in this state? In 1996, Greg Buckner's last-second dunk gave Clemson a 75-73 tournament quarterfinal win over the Tar Heels in Greensboro.

(The Associated Press)

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