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North Carolina hopes to keep winning despite injuries

Nov 21, 2008 - 11:23 AM No. 1 North Carolina (2-0) at UC Santa Barbara (1-1), 10:00 p.m. EST

SANTA BARBARA, California (Ticker) -- The injuries keep piling up for North Carolina. However, it has yet to prove costly.

The top-ranked Tar Heels go for their third straight win when they visit California Santa Barbara on Friday.

Already without All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough and forward Marcus Ginyard, North Carolina lost forward Tyler Zeller most likely for the season after the freshman fractured his left wrist on Tuesday.

North Carolina (2-0) posted a 77-58 victory over Kentucky but Zeller, who started the first two games in place of Hansbrough, missed a dunk and came down hard on the wrist after he was fouled by Kentucky forward Ramon Harris with under two minutes remaining.

Hansbrough, last season's consensus National Player of the Year, remains sidelined due to a stress reaction in his right shin, and the team is not sure when he will get him back on the court.

Deon Thompson has picked up the slack, averaging 18.5 points and 8.0 rebounds over the first two games, while juniors Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson are also averaging in double figures.

The Gauchos (1-1) are coming off a 61-59 setback to Utah State on Monday and should not be much of a threat.

Chris Devine is averaging 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game to lead UC Santa Barbara, which lost to the Tar Heels, 105-70, at Chapel Hill last season.