Marcus Ginyard, Will Graves Out for Remainder of Season

North Carolina rolled over Maryland tonight, and the Tar Heels appeared, for much of the evening, to be rounding back into championship form after two early season ACC losses.

But just when Carolina appeared to be bouncing back, their 2009 title hopes took a serious shot when Roy Williams announced that Marcus Ginyard, the team's best defensive stopper on the perimeter, will miss the remainder of the season.

Ginyard has only played in three games this season, and his presence was sorely missed against Boston College and Wake Forest. North Carolina's only two losses saw them torched by Jeff Teague and Tyreese Rice, two players that Ginyard would have defended were he healthy.

The school expects Ginyard to seek a medical redshirt, which seems likely considering the minimal time that he was able to play following preseason foot surgery.

Will Graves, a sophomore forward for the Heels, has been suspended by the team for the remainder of the season for failing to "maintain the standards we expect of a Carolina basketball player."

It's a bizarre suspension -- surely we'll find out more in the coming days -- and, while not as painful a loss as Ginyard, hurt Carolina's depth.

The Tar Heels have a pretty easy schedule heading down the stretch outside of a pair of games against Duke. A home-and-home with the Blue Devils in the next month will absolutely give us an idea as to whether or not they will legitimately compete for a national title once the tournament starts.