While UNC, coached by a guy is his 60s is all about tradition, TV games, high profile and big men, Tulsa is coached by a guys in his 30s and is all about the new kid on the block, no TV, limited exposure and little, quick guys.

The Tar Heels will play for their 15th Final Four berth. Tulsa has never been to the Final Four. But don’t be deceived. It’s Tulsa, which should be the favorite when the ball is thrown up at the Erwin Center this afternoon.

“We’re the ones who will be wearing the blue jerseys (as the lower seed),” says UNC forward Jason Capel. “We’re blue the rest of the way.”

And the eighth-seeded Tar Heels may really be blue on Sunday afternoon unless they play one of their best games of the season.

Tulsa is very good. It deserved better than a No. 7 seed with its sparkling 32-4 record. It’s 167-60 over the last seven seasons.

“We’ll have our hands full,” says North Carolina guard Ed Cota. “We know Tulsa’s a great team. They’re quick and playing against quickness has been our deficiency. They’re like Duke or Virginia, teams that beat us twice.”

Well, not exactly like Duke and Virginia. The Golden Hurricane is still blowing by people. Duke and Virginia are watching.

Tulsa’s coach Bill Self, though, does point at Duke for an assist that helped his team’s run in this tournament. Duke beat the daylights out of Tulsa 97-56 in Charlotte in the second round of last season’s tourney.

“Duke didn’t intimidate us, they were just a lot better than us,” said Self. “But that game was a blessing. We went into it thinking we were close to competing at the top level. We found out otherwise. We found out we had work to do.”

The Hurricane did the work, and now it’s advanced two steps further this season. Tulsa still carries a sort of mid-major image, but in reality, it’s big-time.

“We’re in the hunt,” said Self, whose players come almost exclusively from Oklahoma and Texas. “We’ve got as good a chance as anyone to win this whole thing.”

Tulsa has an oil-field full of balance. The leading scorer actually comes off the bench and it boasts no fewer than six players who average double figures. Its leader is Eric Coley, whom Self refers to as a “four-guard.” Coley’s a tough kid who has lost all kinds of family to tragedies in the past few years. Guthridge compares Coley, Tulsa’s all-time steals leader, to former Heel hero George Lynch.

Guthridge has a world of respect for Tulsa, which wiped out Tennessee by 20 earlier this year, and for its young coach, who learned at the knee of former Tar Heel Larry Brown and Oklahoma State’s Eddie Sutton.

Self shook his head in amazement when told his team had been compared to Duke and Virginia. Then he almost giggled when someone wanted to know if any team from Tulsa’s Western Athletic Conference reminded him of the Tar Heels.

“Only team that reminds me of Carolina is the L.A. Lakers,” he said. “No one else has that kind of size. Look, we come from a league of 6-5 power forwards.”

He’s not kidding. Self will employ only one player taller than 6-6 on Sunday.

That could mean a field day for Tar Heel 7-footer Brendan Haywood and 6-11 Kris Lang inside, if — and it’s a rather large if — the Tar Heels can beat Tulsa’s Duke-like defensive pressure on the perimeter.

“Obviously if we let Carolina set up and play a half-court power game, it’ll be a long day,” said Self. “We have to put so much pressure on the ball that they don’t have time to think.”

Self also says his team has a motivational advantage that will be matter more than size.

“I’m not saying Carolina is spoiled,” he said. “But our kids want what they have. We’re hungry. We’d like the TV time, the recognition that their great program has earned over the years.”

It shapes up as a good one.