PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- We're at halftime here at the RAC, and it right now it's No. 1 North Carolina with a commanding 47-26 lead over Rutgers before the second half starts in 15 minutes or so.

The Tar Heels ended the first half on a strong note, stringing baskets together on consecutive possessions to push its lead past 20, while the Scarlet Knights struggled to gain confidence in its offensive sets, often settling for tough shots from the perimeter.

And Fred Hill's team has caught a few bad breaks here and there, too, after a basket after the buzzer was called off by the officials.

I finally got my hands on a stat sheet from Rutgers media relations, and it's North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson leading all players with a dazzling 19 points. The sophomore Clinton, Md., native has also collected five rebounds and dished out two dimes. Wayne Ellington is the other Tar Heel to hit double-digit points in the first half, as the 6-foot-4 sophomore has 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field. Tyler Hansbrough surprisingly only has eight points, but don't be surprised when the junior power forward collects his regular 20 and 10 by the end of the night. Half of those eight points came at the free throw line for Hansbrough, who also grabbed five rebounds in his first 18 minutes of action.

For Rutgers, freshman guard Corey Chandler is pacing the Scarlet Knights with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting in addition to five rebounds, and Anthony Farmer has tallied six points in his 17 minutes on the floor.

With both teams back in their layup lines, we get ready for the second half.