The North Carolina Tar Heels own their first four-game winning streak of the season after holding off Tulsa 59-55 on Sunday afternoon at the Erwin Center. The eighth-seeded, 1,000-to-1, tradition-laden Tar Heels head for their 15th Final Four after denying Tulsa its maiden voyage in a scratch-and-claw South Region final.

“Every trip to the Final Four is special,” said Guthridge. “But especially this one, because this was so unexpected. But this team believed in itself. That’s why we’re going.”

Tulsa coach Bill Self said his seventh-seeded Hurricane (32-5), the best team in school history, lost not because Carolina played superb defense, but because his team missed an inordinate amount of shots.

“Our inability to make shots we usually make beat us,” said Self. “You hold a team to 59 and you’re supposed to win.”

But that’s the way it’s been lately. It’s not coincidence. A Carolina team which spent four months getting defensive about comments from fans and media off the court has now gotten mighty defensive on the court.

“They played with a passion I didn’t see in them before this tournament,” admitted Self.

“Our defense,” said Guthridge, who left for his mother’s funeral right after the game, “was the best it’s been all season. It was tremendous.”

The Heels held Tulsa to 37.3 percent from the floor (5-for-20 on 3s) with a mixture of man-to-man and zone schemes. And that was the difference.

That and freshman guard Joseph Forte, who scored a career-high 28 points.

“Hey, I was taking all the shots, so I felt like I needed to hit them,” said Forte.

“We came in here focused on Carolina’s size,” said Tulsa senior Eric Coley. “We shoulda focused on Forte. Even when we were all over him, he made shots.”

Forte often toted the Tar Heels on his shoulders, because no one else reached double figures. Forte shot 10-for-17, while his teammates were a dismal 12-for-33. Big guys Brendan Haywood and Kris Lang, who had concerned undersized Tulsa, teamed for only a dozen points.

“But when you try to take away what they did, you sacrifice some defense on the outside,” said Guthridge. “Joseph had his chances and certainly responded.”

“Forte showed he’s the best freshman in the land,” said Self. “He makes hard shots very easily. We did a good job on everyone else. We did not do a good job on him.”

Tulsa got off to an 8-2 start, its quickness giving Carolina (22-13)) fits, just as most had predicted.

But Tulsa’s intensity led to foul trouble. Leading scorer David Shelton got three early ones. Coley, heart and soul of the Hurricane, got two, and 6-10 Brandon Kurtz, who whipped Haywood early, picked up a pair.

The Tar Heels ventured ahead for the first time at 12-11 on Jason Capel’s jumper at 13:45.

But tenacious Tulsa hung tough. There were 10 lead changes in a physical first half, which ended with the Tar Heels trailing 31-30. UNC guard Ed Cota was keeping the game at a pace that favored his team, but Tulsa was ahead by a point even with its trio of stars idled by fouls.

UNC’s burst of energy at the start of the second half was critical.

Capel lobbed to Haywood for a dunk to open the half, then Haywood blocked a shot. Forte fed Lang for a jump hook and the Tar Heels had matched their biggest lead of the game — three points. Forte then stuck back a missed jumper by Capel. The Tar Heel lead was 36-31 and Self was screaming for a timeout.

Over the next 11 minutes, the Tar Heels would score all of two field goals — both by Forte. Somehow, though, their defense, anchored by reserve Julius Peppers, kept them in front, 45-41. In that interval, on 17 possessions, the high-powered Hurricane scored 10 points. Haywood altered shots, Cota made swipes and Capel got loose balls.

Then Forte took over, dropping two free throws and two contested baseline jumpers. Haywood added a jump hook and the Heels led by 10 at 53-43 with 4:44 to go.

Tar Heel fans were shrieking confidently then, as Cota, who will play in his third Final Four, dribbled down the shot clock on every possession. It was 55-46 with only 2:12 left.

Then came near disaster. Cota, who had played every second, was exhausted and had the ball taken away twice in a row. When Dante Swanson finished a steal with a dunk, the Heels led only 55-52 as the clock went under a minute.

“We lost some points there, but fortunately, we didn’t lose our poise,” said Guthridge.

A break helped the Heels. A kick was called on Tulsa with 29 seconds left when the Heels were going to have a tough time getting off a decent shot. That gave Carolina the ball with the shot clock turned off. Tulsa had to foul.

The Hurricane fouled Forte with 26.5 seconds left. Mistake. He canned two for a 57-52 lead.

But Swanson came right back for a 3-pointer to make it 57-55 with 20.7 seconds remaining.

Then Cota was fouled. He made one for a 58-55 lead.

Needing a 3-pointer to tie, Tulsa went to Shelton, who set a pick down low, then popped out to the 3-point line to shoot. But Capel was right there in his face. Shelton leaned in, trying to draw the foul. There was no whistle and his shot wasn’t close, caroming wildly off the rim into the arms of Capel.

“To be totally honest, we panicked a little,” said Self. “We got the ball to whom we wanted, but the shot wasn’t there.”

“I thought he drew the foul,” said Kurtz.

“No way did I foul him,” responded Capel. “He took a tough shot and he missed it.’’

Cota and Capel were dancing by then, but it still wasn’t over.

Forte had to step to the line with 4.1 seconds left. He missed his first shot, but swished the second to seal the victory.

“It’s a free throw,” he shrugged. “I’m supposed to make those.”

Tulsa missed a desperation shot at the buzzer and fittingly the ball bounced directly to Forte. He heaved it into the stands in the direction of the people shaking light blue and white streamers.

“Texas is a long way from Chapel Hill,” he said. “I wanted our fans to know I appreciated them making the trip.”

It’s a trip as strange as any in ACC history. No ACC team seeded this low has has ever made the Final Four. (Seventh-seeded Virginia made it in 1984.)

And it’s a journey that may not be over yet.