Before Anthony Davis's surreal swat of John Henson that sealed No. 1 Kentucky's 73-72 victory over No. 5 North Carolina on Saturday morning, there were several candidates to be the signature play of college hoops' best game so far this season.

After Tyler Zeller lost control of the ball in the paint on what would be his team's final possession, Henson found himself with what he thought to be a clean look at a 10-footer to give UNC the lead with seven seconds left. In one motion, Kentucky's 6-foot-10 freshman sensation extended, blocked the shot Inspector Gadget-style and corralled the ball in just 1.5 seconds.

But there was a lingering question after his heroics: Did North Carolina just give up at that point?

A quick recap from the video of what each of the five Tar Heels on the floor did in those final 5.5 seconds … {YSP:MORE}

• On Henson's way down from the shot attempt, Davis appeared to land on his lower right leg, which sent the Tar Heel forward's momentum backwards, but instead

BoeheimJardineFor the second time this week, as expected, the story at the Carrier Dome on a game night centered around Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim's postgame comments rather than the game itself.

On Friday night, following his team's 72-68 victory over No. 10 Florida, Boeheim apologized publicly for harshly questioning the motives of those who accused now-former Orange associate head coach Bernie Fine of molesting them as minors.

His vehement defense of Fine two weeks ago, in which he took charge at his longtime friend and co-worker's accusers. On Tuesday, two days after Fine was fired, he deviated from a prepared written statement and went on the defensive.

After those two highly criticized public appearances, Boeheim showed the sincerity and compassion on Friday that many had waited to see.

"I believe I misspoke very badly in my response to the allegations that have been made," a visibly emotional Boeheim said. "I shouldn't have questioned what the accusers expressed or their motives. I am really

UNCEach Friday this season, The Dagger will set the table for college basketball's busiest day of the week, giving you a look at the games worthy of your attention while flipping through the channels.

THE MAIN CARD

No. 5 North Carolina (6-1) at No. 1 Kentucky (7-0), 12:00 p.m. EST: This is the obvious main event, and as far as future NBA talent goes, these are the two most talented teams in the nation. Right now, Kentucky looks like the more confident of the two, though, as UNC not only got knocked around by UNLV in an upset defeat last Saturday, but then couldn't force Wisconsin to play at its pace on its own home floor on Wednesday. The Tar Heels have just as much weaponry as the Cats, but what makes UK more dangerous right now is that on top of the ridiculous amount of talent John Calipari stocks the roster with every year, it's clear that they have a stronger veteran presence than at this point in the last couple of years. Two things to watch: How dominant can UK freshman Anthony

MikeMoserIn the second half of his seven-year run as UNLV's head coach, Lon Kruger built up his roster with several transfers from high-profile programs such as UCLA, Kentucky, Memphis and Kansas.

Oddly enough, the one who has turned out to have the biggest impact on the program is one that Kruger never got the chance to coach.

Kruger left for Oklahoma after last season, and sophomore UCLA transfer Mike Moser has been the biggest driving force behind 18th-ranked UNLV's torrid 8-0 start under first-year coach Dave Rice.

In each of his first two weeks of eligibility, Moser has claimed Mountain West Player of the Week honors. Last week's résumé was capped with a 16-point, 18-rebound, 6-assist effort in the Rebels' 90-80 upset on Saturday night of then-No. 1 North Carolina.

He could be well on his way to taking the crown for a third week in a row. As UNLV out-lasted UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday night in their first road game of the season, he scored a career-high 34 points to go with 10 rebounds,

AtlantisLooking for the best place in late November to find both warm tropical weather and high-level college hoops?

Whether you're trying to actually pony up the bucks to travel there and watch your team play, or you just want to sit on the couch and live vicariously through teasing cutaway shots of beaches, bikinis and palm trees, Maui now has some serious competition for that honor.

As far as the product on the floor went, the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving weekend was a strong success.

The field for the second installment of the tournament was announced early this week, and its, um, well, good.

The eight-team field will included Duke, Memphis, Louisville, Stanford, Missouri, Minnesota, VCU and Northern Iowa. In other words, that's three legitimately 'elite' programs, three more very strong high-majors and two perennial mid-major powers.

That's a strong upgrade from top to bottom from last week's field, which behind name programs like UConn and Florida State included Harvard

StanbackLAS VEGAS — Welcome UNLV back under the microscope.

Under first-year coach Dave Rice, the Rebels improved to 7-0 on Saturday night by upsetting No. 1 North Carolina in the title game of the Las Vegas Invitational. The game was played just a couple of miles down the street from the UNLV campus in front of a crowd split almost dead even between the two sides.

UNLV had to play a near-perfect game and have a couple of other things go its way in order to pull off the upset, and that's just what happened. On a night where the Rebels out-hustled the Tar Heels to loose balls and simply looked like the hungrier team, they also canned 13 3-pointers and owned the defensive glass.

With what could arguably go down as the program's biggest win since claiming the 1990 NCAA crown under legendary former coach Jerry Tarkanian comes plenty of extras.

Of course, there was the court-rushing party that ensued at the Orleans Arena after the game, but UNLV will also now likely find itself back in both Top 25

TreyBurkeWhen Michigan nearly stunned Duke in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament, the buzz over the young Wolverines immediately began to swell, as they were set to return nearly everyone this season.

Not too long after that, when sophomore point guard Darius Morris declared for the NBA draft, then ultimately — and somewhat surprisingly — opted to remain in the draft pool, that train lost a bit of steam.

After losing Morris, who was a lynchpin for the fledgling Wolverines last year from his point guard post, that was the biggest area of concern for John Beilein's club entering the 2011-12 campaign.

Four games in, with the fourth being Monday's 73-61 upset of No. 8 Memphis at the Maui Invitational, the fact that 15th-ranked Michigan lost Morris is quickly being forgotten.

Enter Trey Burke.

The 6-foot-1 freshman from rival territory in Columbus, Ohio, got off to a rough start in Michigan's season-opening victory over Ferris State, but has consistently blossomed since then. Against

Hummel2If anyone deserved to deliver one of college basketball's most poignant early feel-good moments, it was Purdue's Robbie Hummel.

And, now, consider it delivered.

Hummel, whose last two years at Purdue were spent rehabbing from ACL tears, canned a game-winning 3-pointer for the Boilermakers with 22 seconds remaining in a wild 91-90 victory over Iona on Thursday afternoon at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic.

The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 19.5 points in Purdue's first two games of the season — victories over Northern Illinois and High Point. But in a neutral site contest against one of this year's most explosive, dangerous teams from the mid-major ranks, Hummel's late three provided a true 'welcome back' moment.

Hummel's bucket polished off a 24-point, 9-rebound performance. He was 10-of-21 from the floor and 4-of-9 from deep.

His injuries woes began as a sophomore during the 2008-09, when he was limited down the stretch run by back issues that forced him to wear a brace after missing five