A couple of months ago, the University of North Carolina basketball team found itself 0-2 in ACC play. Fans and sports-show talking heads were jumping off the Tar Heels' bandwagon.

But this hard-driving team refused to drink all that negative Kool-Aid and kept its eyes on the prize. And on Monday night, the Tar Heels cruised to a second national championship in four years and the fifth in school history.

The Heels are arguably the most talented team in the country, and Monday's result could hardly have come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the gritty toughness and determination shown by this remarkable group of young men throughout the season.

It started when the indomitable Tyler Hansbrough, the team's leader, decided to come back for his senior year, spurning a chance for a lucrative NBA contract. That sense of commitment unquestionably rubbed off on his teammates -- especially Ty Lawson, who played with a painfully injured toe through the NCAA tournament and this week received the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard.

On Monday, the Heels found themselves playing at Ford Field in Detroit in front of a record crowd, an estimated 60,000 of which were Michigan State fans. Before the game, the CBS analysts had picked Michigan State to win on its home ground, calling it the "team of destiny" -- an inspiration to the whole state of Michigan, which is ravaged by difficulties facing the struggling auto industry.

Unwavering, Carolina convincingly smothered the Spartans from start to finish. Even those who love to hate UNC still have to feel a degree of grudging pride that these national winners wear "North Carolina" on their chests.