It was hard for fans to imagine that North Carolina would finish the season undefeated. It was even harder picturing them lose to the Maryland Terrapins.

The Terrapins put up one of the biggest upsets in recent NCAA history when they served the Tar Heels their first loss of the season.

"It didn't feel real, man," senior forward Bambale Osby said. "It was like, 'Did this really just happen?'

A final score of 82-80, North Carolina fell to 18-1 while Maryland improved to 12-7. Probably the most disappointing game all season, what’s even more puzzling is the fact that the Tar Heels managed to suffer their first loss on their own turf.

Osby hit a lay up with just 21 seconds left in regulation to give Maryland an 82-80 lead. James Gist also finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds. It was the first time that Maryland had beaten the Tar Heels on their home court in roughly five years.

"I think our players really believed that if we could execute really good on offense, we had a chance to win the game," Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

What’s interesting is the fact that the Tar Heels are coming off of two close games that they managed to come out on top. Just two weeks ago, Wayne Ellington hit a three-pointer with just seconds left to defeat Clemson 90-88. Last week, they battled it out against Georgia Tech and managed to win by just one point. This time, the Tar Heels weren’t so lucky.

At the end of the game, Ellington missed a three-pointer and Tyler Hansbrough threw up a prayer with seconds remaining. After that, the Terrapins stormed the court in excitement. The Tar Heels finished shooting just 38% from the field, an atrocious figure in Coach Roy Williams’ mind.

"I haven't done a very good job with this basketball team the last couple of weeks," Williams said. "We've been living on the edge, and it caught up with us today."

Maryland had three players with double figures in scoring, while Tyler Hansbrough led the Tar Heels with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Hansbrough did get knocked around a bit and went just 6-15 from the field. While the game went back and forth towards the end, Maryland managed to secure the victory.

With the loss, the rankings have no doubt been shuffled a bit. North Carolina fell to #5 in the AP Top 25 and #4 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Kansas and Memphis are the two only undefeated teams remaining. The Tar Heels can look forward to their rival match up against the Duke Blue Devils, which takes place on February 6.