Better strap it on, Villanova.

If anything is certain about Saturday's semifinals, it's this: North Carolina will be fully engaged from the minute the Tar Heels step onto the Ford Field floor. From coach Roy Williams to Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and every other returnee, the memory of last year's Final Four -- the Heels' stunning descent into a 40-12 first-half hole and ultimate 84-66 loss to Kansas -- still burns.

They are properly motivated. And they're extraordinarily talented, boasting a senior class than has averaged better than 30 wins a season and at least five NBA prospects, the best of whom might be 6-10 freshman Ed Davis off the bench.

It's a powerful, championship-foreshadowing combination.

When Hansbrough and every other non-senior on that 2007-08 team elected to put off NBA careers for at least another year, expectations reach ridiculous heights. No matter that the Atlantic Coast Conference is a daunting, three-month gauntlet or that nobody in major college basketball, regardless of league affiliation, goes undefeated these days. There was talk of Carolina sweeping through the season unblemished.

But given its level of play at this late point, the suggestion might not have been so outlandish. The Heels lost Marcus Ginyard, their best defender and most versatile player, for virtually the entire season to an injured left foot. Seven-foot freshman Tyler Zeller broke his wrist in November, stunting his development. Williams ended sophomore forward Will Graves' season in February because of unspecified violations of team rules.

And still, they're dominant. The Tar Heels worked through those complications, plus the absence of stellar point guard Lawson for three late games with a bad toe. They stumbled a time or two. But they've made it apparent in this tournament that they're the force they were projected to be.

Only LSU, in the second round, has posed a threat, and North Carolina ultimately pulled away to win by 14. Nobody else has come within 12.

Lawson's toe is no longer an issue; he has 20 assists and just two turnovers in his three NCAA games. There isn't a faster, better operator at the point in the Final Four. Lawson, Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Davis all have had 15-points-or-better games in the tournament.

None of the other three teams in Detroit has a player with Final Four experience. Carolina has five who combined for 66 points and 27 rebounds against Kansas last April.

To a man, they say getting back isn't enough. "They did collectively embrace the idea of: 'Hey, we've gotten to the Final Four and didn't play very well last year, let's see if we can do better this year,' " Williams says.

It figures they will.