To win No. 16, the Tar Heels will have to beat undefeated and fourth-ranked Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Coliseum tonight at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports.

This is no easy task for Carolina (14-1). The Deacons snapped Brigham Young's 53-game home-court winning streak on Jan. 3 with a 94-87 victory in Provo, Utah. Wake Forest (13-0) has not played since, either. So, the Deacons have had more than a week to prepare for the team they love to beat most of all.

Playing Wake Forest is never easy for the Tar Heels. The last three NCAA championship teams for UNC (1982, 1993 and 2005) lost a total of 10 games. Three of those losses were to Wake Forest.

One thing is for sure: The arena in Winston-Salem will be rocking and loud tonight.

"It's great," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "God, I love those atmospheres. The wilder, wackier and the louder ... I still haven't figured out what that motorcycle has to do with anything.

"The shirts, the fans, it's noisy. It's a great atmosphere. In '05 may have been as loud as I have ever heard in an ACC arena. It's extremely difficult to have the focus you need in a place like that."

The motorcycle Williams spoke of is ridden onto the court before the game by the Demon Deacon mascot.

The Deacons can move back and forth across the court about as fast as the bike. Guard Jeff Teague is one of the finest players in this conference, as is James Johnson and freshman Al-Farouq Aminu.

Williams is impressed with Wake's entire lineup, including Chas McFarland, L.D. Williams, Harvey Hale, Ishmael Smith, Teague, Johnson and Aminu.

"I thought last year they had the makings of a big-time team with young kids like Teague and Johnson, who could really score," Williams said in a pre-game media meeting. "They had every piece of the puzzle, and they finished on a positive note last year.

"Now, you add Aminu to the crowd. I loved him. I wanted him badly. Teague is a guy who is playing as good as anyone in our league right now. And Johnson, I think he is a guy who is going to be playing for a lot of money one of these days. They have a tremendous amount of talent."

Carolina's defense will face a mighty challenge.

The young Deacons are gaining experience, rapidly, and yet they are still hungry for more. Meanwhile, UNC's defense has slacked off since putting in some major-league performances earlier in the season.

"I feel like we had a little lapse," junior guard Wayne Ellington said. "We didn't focus as much on the defensive end of the floor. The other night after the first half [against the College of Charleston], Coach said, 'Everybody just be accountable for your man.' And I think we came out with the mentality that we were going to stop our man. I think that worked for us."

Tonight's game may require some "help" defense. Charleston tried briefly to penetrate and then kicked out quickly for three-pointers. The Deacons will not stop unless someone gets in their way.

"Teague and Johnson and [Ishmael] and Aminu try to get that ball as close to the basket as they possibly can," Williams said.

The idea that this Carolina team, the overwhelming choice as the nation's No. 1 team before a stunning loss to Boston College, could begin Atlantic Coast Conference play 0-2 is beyond comprehension for the Tar Heels.

"It's going to be a big-time game, a lot of intensity," Ellington said. "We know they have a very good team this year. We're definitely looking forward to the challenge. When we're on the road, I think we're a lot more focused. We know everything is going to be against us.

"That helps us and gives us a lot more motivation. ... It's going to be a big-time matchup. It's going to be a battle."

Eddy Landreth can be reached at chnsports@nando.com or by calling (919) 932-8743.