''It was like a little bee flying around your face that you try to slap away,'' he said. ''And it won't go away.''

So North Carolina's big man tossed it off, then helped the Tar Heels dispose of the determined Spartans.

The sophomore finished with 33 points and nine rebounds to help the Tar Heels hold off Michigan State 81-67 today, giving the East Regional's top seed a record 27th trip to the NCAA tournament's round of 16.

Hansbrough's 33 points were the most by a Tar Heels player in the tournament since Al Wood had 39 against Ralph Sampson and Virginia in the 1981 Final Four. And the Tar Heels (30-6) needed every one of them to outlast ninth-seeded Michigan State and continue their long-running NCAA success in their home state.

The Tar Heels had to withstand Drew Neitzel's 3-point shooting barrage. They had to scrap on the boards with one of the nation's top rebounding teams. And they had to stay composed as the Spartans (23-12) pushed ahead midway through the second half.

''Our kids showed a tremendous amount of toughness today,'' North Carolina coach Roy Williams said.

Reyshawn Terry added 12 of his 14 points in the final seven minutes despite battling an illness for North Carolina, which will face the winner of Sunday's Texas-Southern California game next week in East Rutherford, N.J. Freshman point guard Ty Lawson added 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

North Carolina improved to 21-1 in instate tournament games, including 6-0 in games played here — home to Atlantic Coast Conference rival Wake Forest.

Hansbrough finished 10-for-17 from the field and 13-for-17 from the line in a career-high 38 minutes. He started the game wearing the mask to protect the injury he suffered when he was hit with an elbow on a flagrant foul by Duke's Gerald Henderson on March 4, but took it off on the sidelines and re-entered the game to loud cheers with 12:33 left in the first half.

''I felt comfortable taking it off,'' he said. ''It was one of those things where I was trying to wear it this game, and if we win and advance to the next game, I would've taken it off anyway. But I felt more comfortable with it off.''

Hansbrough went on to score 15 of his 19 first-half points, forcing the Spartans into foul trouble on a team missing reserve 6-11 forward Idong Ibok — who suffered a dislocated left elbow in the first round against Marquette.