Coach Roy Williams, center, celebrates with his players after UNC defeated Clemson for the ACC title. With the 86-81 victory on Sunday in Charlotte, N.C., the Tar Heels received a No. 1 seed in the East region of the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Roy Williams, center, celebrates with his players after UNC defeated Clemson for the ACC title. With the 86-81 victory on Sunday in Charlotte, N.C., the Tar Heels received a No. 1 seed in the East region of the NCAA Tournament.

Charlotte, N.C. ? One by one, North Carolina’s players climbed onto the platform to snip a piece of the net to celebrate their Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship. There were plenty of smiles and laughter, yet the victory party seemed somehow subdued.

After all, the top-ranked Tar Heels figure they have bigger dreams still to chase.

“We just go to the point where we realized we reached a goal,” junior Marcus Ginyard said. “But at the same time, we know there is more for us.”

That attitude hovered over their 86-81 victory over Clemson in Sunday’s tournament final, a victory that locked up the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA field of 65 while giving the program a record 17th ACC title. The Tar Heels got another strong-willed performance inside from All-America Tyler Hansbrough and a stellar outing on the perimeter from Wayne Ellington to outlast the Tigers for a third time this season and close a tough tournament run in which North Carolina didn’t win a game by more than 12 points.

Now North Carolina (32-2) can turn its attention to living up to the lofty expectations that have followed the Tar Heels all season, even as they allowed themselves the small indulgence of a businesslike celebration.

“We didn’t dance around and climb on top of backboards and things like that,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “It was a great feeling and a very satisfying feeling for us.”

UNC opens the NCAA Tournament against the winner of Coppin State and Mount St. Mary’s.

No. 8 Wisconsin 61, Illinois 48

Indianapolis – Wisconsin won the Big Ten tournament with stout defense, and coach Bo Ryan said that’s what will carry the Badgers if they make a deep run in the NCAAs.

Brian Butch scored 12 points, and Wisconsin swept the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles for the first time.

The Badgers held Penn State, Michigan State and Illinois below 43 percent shooting during the tournament.

“The rules we have, this team has adhered to better in the past 21â2 months probably better than any team I’ve coached,” he said. “If we can keep doing that, we can keep playing.”

The Badgers earned a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region. They will play Cal State Fullerton in a first-round game Thursday in Omaha.

Ryan said his Badgers (29-4) could have been a No. 2 seed, but they don’t mind where they are slotted because they’ve already accomplished more than most expected. The media didn’t even pick Wisconsin to finish in the top three in the conference in the preseason poll.

“After the way we started and what was predicted and all that other stuff, for this team to be in the top 12 teams in the nation, I think people would have said, ‘OK, we’ll take it.”‘

Butch said the seed wasn’t important.

“You just play who they put in front of you,” he said. “I thought we did a good job of putting our resume out there, doing the things that we’ve done and winning the way we’ve won and beating the teams we’ve beat.”

Georgia 66, Arkansas 57

Atlanta – Georgia completed its remarkable run through the Southeastern Conference tournament on Sunday, building a big lead in the first half and holding on to beat Arkansas in the championship game, earning its first trip to the NCAAs since 2002.

The Bulldogs became just the third team in the tournament’s history to win four games in four days – actually, two came on the same day after a tornado slammed into the Georgia Dome.