CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Big players know how to step up in big games.

But you don't need to tell Tyler Hansbrough that -- not after the way he played Saturday night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

So with hopes of avenging last season's disappointing loss to Georgetown in the Elite Eight, the junior forward put No. 1 seed North Carolina on his back and carried his team past No. 3 seed Louisville with a game-high 28 points and 13 rebounds to secure a convincing 83-73 victory and a trip next week to San Antonio for the Final Four.

"My feelings right now are great," Hansbrough said afterward. "It takes all of those past experiences away. But also, at the same time, I feel like we want to accomplish more. It feels like we did something big, but we can also do something bigger."

The Tar Heels will have more work to do next Saturday against either No. 1 seed Kansas or No. 10 seed Davidson out of the Midwest Region, but for now they can enjoy the fact that they're two steps closer to a national championship.

"They are focused young men," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of his players. "They have dreams and hopes. I've said many times this year, we don't deal in other's people's expectations...They are focused, they're tough kids."

While Hansbrough certainly was much of the show for North Carolina (36-2), Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson did the job in the backcourt throughout the game, combining for 24 points and seven rebounds. Lawson, meanwhile, dished out a game-high nine assists and knocked down all six of his free throw attempts in showing that he's back to full strength after missing time during the regular season with a sprained ankle.

"It feels good to get the weight lifted off us from last year," Lawson said. "We had that tough loss to Georgetown and it fueled us throughout the whole year. So it feels good to this win and head on to San Antonio next weekend."

Louisville, in the meantime, fell short of a goal that many pundits at the beginning of the season thought would be attainable, yet it was mistakes -- 19 turnovers to be exact -- down the stretch that hurt the Cardinals' chances of moving on to college basketball's biggest stage next weekend.

"I'm real proud of our guys," Louisville coach Rick Pitino offered after coming a win short of the Final Four. "They had a few turnovers down the stretch that really shots us in the foot. Some guys were giving everything they had, giving their hearts and souls, trying to get a victory."

The Cardinals showed that fight to the bitter end before finally surrendering defeat, and while Louisville didn't have been enough to topple the might giant that UNC has consistently been this season, it has nothing to be ashamed of after hitting 52.7 percent of their field goals (29-for-55 for the game) and forcing UNC to commit 14 turnovers and shoot just 27. 3 percent (3-for-11) from three.

Of course, it wasn't enough to stop Hansbrough, who showed the entire country watching on national television that he's worthy of winning this year's Naismith Player of the Year award.

"He is a heck of a basketball player," Pitino said of Hansbrough. "I've coached against Michael [Jordan] in his prime, [Charles] Barkley in his prime, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] when he left, Magic [Johnson] and all the great ones. I've been fortunate enough to watch and observe all those guys...Every NBA coach woul love to have a player not only that works hard but has a lot of talent. The shots he made were unbelievable because they were under duress and he had very little time to get it off. He came up big and you got to give credit to a great basketball player."

A classy thing to say from a classy coach, something that Pitino has always been no matter what the result may be.

But that wasn't the only praise Hansbrough received from his opponents after his stellar, all-tournament team performance.

"I've never seen a player like that," confessed Louisville forward Terrence Williams, who dropped in 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting in addition to four rebounds and three assists. "He deserves everything he gets."

"He deserves all the success he gets," repeated senior center David Padgett after battling with Hansbrough for much of the night and finishing his collegiate career with six points, eight rebounds and six assists. "Like coach said, I've never played against someone that hard. Big-time players make big-time players and he made two big-time plays at the end."

One of those plays came with the shot clock running down and North Carolina needing a basket to put the final dagger in Louisville (27-9), leaving the stage wide open for Hansbrough to bail out the Tar Heels with a 18-foot jumper from the left wing that was heavily contested.

"They were unbelievable," Juan Palacios said of Hansbrough's two final field goals. "We played great defense and he still made the shots."

"The young man is the most driven, most focused youngster I've ever seen in my life," Williams admitted about his All-American forward. "He's not a rah-rah individual. When he says something, [his teammates] listen to him. Last week week he was in the gym two and a half hours on an off-day...But that's Tyler Hansbrough. And that's Tyler Hansbrough at practice every day. That's Tyler Hansbrough in the off-days. It's what he is."

And if Psycho T continues to make those kind of shots next weekend in San Antonio, you can bet he and his teammates will be cutting down the nets and celebrating with the Carolina faithful on hand, who at this point are quickly jumping on their computers and booking whatever airplane tickets are still available to Austin (there aren't any left for San Antonio).

"We know that this is not our last step," UNC forward Marcus Ginyard asserted following his six-point, seven-rebound effort. "We're very excited to get to this point but we continue to have that same attitude that we have more work to do.

"This team has continued to show that when we need to dig deeper and play better and play harder and play smarter, we do. And I think that just shows how good this team really is."

While they've managed to show that from November all the way to March now, the Tar Heels will have to do even more in April to ultimately capture what they've envisioned for the past five months.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With a little more than five minutes remaining in what's been an entertaining Elite Eight matchup here at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, North Carolina is holding onto a slim 68-64 lead thanks to the inside play of player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough and frontcourt mate Deon Thompson.

Hansbrough has already recorded his usual double-double, having done that by the 9:30 mark in the second half, and efficient shooting from long range (3-of-7 from three) by Louisville has Rick Pitino's team in the thick of things as we head into crunch time. UNC, on the other hand, has missed all four of its three-point attempts this half after making just 2-of-8 in the first 20 minutes of play.

But with the way Hansbrough has been playing this game, stepping up in crucial times after Louisville baskets, it's going to be hard for the Cardinals to overcome the junior forward's big play and upset the NCAA Tournament's overall No. 1 seed.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In what's been a turn of events of sorts, No. 3 seed Louisville is giving No. 1 seed North Carolina all it can handle by coming out strong in the second half after trailing by 12 at halftime.

The Cardinals now trail by just three, 58-55, with 11:13 left, and Jerry Smith seems to have the hot hand for Rick Pitino's ballclub, hitting seven of his 10 shots for a game-high 17 points. After really struggling before falling out against Tennessee, sophomore point man Edgar Sosa is having a much better game here tonight against the Tar Heels.

Tyler Hansbrough has nearly matched that effort with 16 points of his own, and Wayne Ellington has been stuck on 11 for what has seemed like a long time (since the first half).

Louisville has continued to be efficient shooting the ball from the perimeter, making now nine of its 15 shots this half and turning the ball over much less than it did in the first half. Carolina, meanwhile, has almost matched the Cards' mistakes with 11 turnovers.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Louisville is doing its best to make things interesting early in the second half at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, as the Cardinals have cut North Carolina's lead to 50-43 with 15:14 remaining.

Louisville guard Preston Knowles just got a nice look on a backcourt cut to the basket and laid one in as he was fouled in the process.

The Tar Heels, meanwhile, have two players in double figures now as Tyler Hansbrough has recorded 12 points to go along with Wayne Ellington's 11. Louisville has yet to have a player reach the double-digit mark, but three players -- Terrence Williams, Jerry Smith and Earl Clark -- each have nine for Rick Pitino's squad.

What's helped, however, get the Cardinals back in this one has been a 5-for-7 start (71.4 percent) from the field, as North Carolina has struggled in the opening minutes of this second half with a 3-for-9 shooting performance.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- We're at halftime here at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, where top-seeded North Carolina has jumped out to a sizable 44-32 lead through the first 20 minutes of play.

Wayne Ellington is pacing the Tar Heels with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting and Tyler Hansbrough has provided the spark down low with eight points and four rebounds. Marcus Ginyard is leading the effort on the glass for UNC with five boards.

But the Tar Heels are up big in part due to their 58.1-percent clip from the field along with Louisville's game-high 11 turnovers, something that needed to be a concern for seventh-year coach Rick Pitino after the way the Cardinals coughed up the ball on 20 occasions in Thursday night's Sweet 16 win over Tennessee.

Ty Lawson, on the other side, has been impressive in running the show for UNC so far, dishing out seven assists despite having only two points on a pair of free throws. Danny Green has continued to play off the bench for Roy Williams, hitting two of his first three shots and all four free throws for nine points.

For Louisville, Earl Clark has eight points on 4-for-4 shooting and Jerry Smith has dropped in seven in 14 minutes of action. David Padgett, in the meantime, has been extremely quiet with 0 points and just three attempts from the floor as well as Juan Palacios, who has yet to take a shot in his seven minutes of floor time.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 3:53 before halftime here at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, No. 1 seed and hometown favorite North Carolina is in control of things with a 31-24 lead.

Tyler Hansbrough is off to a good start for UNC with a team-high eight points, while shooting guard Wayne Ellington and forward Deon Thompson have each tallied six.

The Tar Heels have dominated the boards early on with a 15-7 edge and have gotten the turnover-happy Cardinals to already commit nine mistakes. If that continues, Louisville could well surpass its game-high 20 turnovers from Thursday night's Sweet 16 win over No. 2 seed Tennessee.

Both teams, meanwhile, are shooting it well from the perimeter, as North Carolina has hit 53.8 percent of its shots (10-for-19) and Louisville has come in at 52.6 percent (14-for-26). The Cards have hit two threes -- one from Terrence Williams and one from Jerry Smith -- and Carolina has one from Danny Green, who got into a rhythm from beyond the arc in the first half against Tennessee.

And whether or not North Carolina coach Roy Williams wants to believe it, the crowd, dominated almost completely by Carolina powder blue, is certainly playing a factor through the first 16 minutes of this thrilling Elite Eight matchup.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 9:46 left to play in the first half, North Carolina has charged back to take a 21-14 lead on Big East regular season runner-up Louisville.

Rick Pitino's kids grabbed the early lead in this one, but Tyler Hansbrough and the Tar Heels have taken control on some nice drives to the basket.

And the tempo has started to pick up at both ends of the floor as both UNC and Louisville have been looking to get out and run in hopes of earning easy transition baskets.

UNC has hit half of its field goal attempts (9-for-18) while Louisville has hung tough with a 6-for-13 shooting performance so far, but the Tar Heels have been dominate on the glass with a 11-5 advantage, one particular aspect we mentioned in our pre-game post that would be critical to either teams' success tonight.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- At our first timeout with 15:05 remaining in the first half, third-seeded Louisville is out to a 9-8 lead on top-seeded North Carolina.

The Cardinals are shooting the ball well early on at a 66.7-percent clip -- on 4-of-6 shooting -- and getting some fine play early on from their backcourt in Jerry Smith and Terrence Williams, who swished a fade-away jumper in the opening moments to give Louisville a 4-2 lead.

North Carolina has burned Louisville's full-court press a couple times to start the game, getting an easy dunk by Marcus Ginyard, and a couple of buckets from First Team All-American and player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Good evening everyone as we make our return to Charlotte Bobcats Arena for our East Regional semifinal between No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 3 seed Louisville.

The Tar Heels, who earned the top overall seed coming into the NCAA Tournament, has cruised easily in their first three games, winning by at least 20 and putting up over triple digits in its first two games. On Thursday night here in the Sweet 16, Roy Williams' club ran past No. 4 seed Washington State and never was really challenged by the Cougars. Tyler Hansbrough led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds, but it was a balanced scoring attack that included three other double-digit scorers for UNC. Sixth-man Danny Green gave the Heels an early spark with 12 points at halftime before finishing with 15 on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point land.

Louisville, similarly, showed its own sort of scoring balance in its dominating win over No. 2 seed Tennessee in Thursday's Sweet 16 contest. Sophomore forward Earl Clark had a huge second half against Volunteers before ending up with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes. But four other Cardinals registered double figures as well, including 13 points from Andre McGee and Jerry Smith, and Louisville took care of things on the glass with a commanding 43-28 edge. And with the frontcourt powers that both North Carolina and Louisville possess, the battle on the glass will certainly be a crucial factor in tonight's Elite Eight matchup.

Turnovers will be just as important after the sloppiness that Louisville exhibited against Tennessee with a game-high 20 turnovers. North Carolina also had a few issues taking care of the ball against Wazzu with a game-high 13 turnovers, but the Heels didn't let that hurt them with a 46-32 rebounding advantage. If they do that tonight against the Cardinals, Williams and his players won't have any trouble getting past an experienced and talented Louisville squad that many predicted had enough power to reach the Final Four.

That prediction could still come true, but it will take a monumental effort from the Cardinals and every bit of support by the over-matched Louisville faithful to push Rick Pitino's team into that position next week.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When the 2007-08 season first commenced, Rick Pitino thought he had a Final Four caliber team on his hands coming into the year.

But injuries and off-the-court issues hurt Louisville as the Cardinals struggled in November and December and frustration began to kick in for Pitino and company with the Big East regular season about to start.

That's when things, however, started to turn around for Louisville, taking second in the conference standings behind Georgetown and earning a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Now the Cards are on to much bigger and better things after shutting down No. 2 seed Tennessee Thursday night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena to score a convincing 79-60 victory in the Sweet 16 and advance to Saturday night's Elite Eight matchup with top seed North Carolina.

"It's not easy to lose at this stage of the season, but they've got a lot to be proud of," Rick Pitino said of Tennessee. "They're a terrific basketball team. You've got to fight every possession to beat them."

After leading by seven at halftime, Louisville turned it on right after the break on the play of sophomore Earl Clark, who finished with game-highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds and ignited the Louisville faithful on hand with several highlight-reel dunks.

"Earl is very young," Pitino said. "Earl just turned 19. He's extremely young. When he first came to us, Earl did not have the ability to work very hard.

"He's always had great skills, now he's acquired a work ethic. He's really worked hard for the first time in his life up to not his potential but our potential, what we think of him. I'm real proud of him because he's come on. He's very young. Young, young man, but loaded with talent."

But the 6-foot-8 guard-forward combo wasn't the only one to play well for Louisville (27-8), as four other players registered double-digit points against the Volunteers. Two of those Cardinal players included backcourt mates Andre McGee and Jerry Smith, who both tallied 13 points and contributed on the glass with a combined seven rebounds (three for McGee and four for Smith).

"Coach has talked about denial, pressure, trying to force steals and turnovers," McGee said about his team's improvement on defense. "But today as far as offense we did a terrible job in the first half. We had a lot of turnovers. Their denial and pressure was pretty good, but we stepped it up in the second half...[our defense] has gotten better, but by no means is it the best."

Terrence Williams, meanwhile, also had a solid game in contributing 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and eight rebounds in 38 minutes. And afterward, you could hear the excitement in the 6-foot-6 junior's voice as he celebrated with his teammates on the sideline and repeatedly told them that they were headed to the "Sexy Eight," his own terminology for Saturday's East Regional final.

That's certainly what the Cardinals' matchup with No. 1 seed North Carolina could be, particularly with the way the Tar Heels have blown out all three of their NCAA Tournament opponents. Of course, Roy Williams' club didn't hit the century mark for a third straight game, but to beat a veteran Washington State team that's been through the trenches of the Pac-10 this season is certainly a testament to the way UNC is playing right now.

Louisville also seems to be playing on a high level, and the Cardinals showed that during the second half as Tennessee worked to get back in the thick of things. But every time the Volunteers would try to make a run, Clark or Williams was there to answer for Louisville.

"When we played on the road this year in the Big East it makes you really tough, and you can't give in," Pitino said. "But we developed a physical and mental toughness because of the type of teams we had to play. So it's made us tougher, and we knew this team will not go away...They've been down before, and they're not going to give up and our guys knew that."

The two forwards were just as impressive on the defensive end, too, blocking six shots combined and holding Tennessee senior Chris Lofton to a quiet 15 points, a team-high nevertheless.

"Their length bothered us on the perimeter, getting the ball to the post, as well as under the basket," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl explained. "The size bothered us when we got close to the basket. We probably didn't drive it as well as we could have, but that's what zones do."

"It was great to be here for the last four years," added Lofton. "I wish we could have gone farther, but I guess it's the way it goes sometimes."

JaJuan Smith and Tyler Smith were the other Volunteers to hit double-digit points, yet the two Tennessee natives seemed to be stuck on 12 and 11 points for much of the second half.

That seemed to the story most of the night for Tennessee, which shot just 33.9 percent from the field and only 25 percent from three. The Cardinals weren't much better from long range at 28.6 percent, but overall, Louisville shot the ball much better than Tennessee, connecting on 26 of its 50 field goal attempts (52 percent).

"Tonight's game doesn't take much away from the finest season in the history of Tennessee basketball," Pearl asserted. "No team has accomplished what this team accomplished this year. We struggled all night long and Louisville deserves a great deal of credit for that. We were in foul trouble all night long.

"The guys battled all night, but it wasn't enough against a team as talented and well-coached as Louisville."

That differential from the field can't get overshadowed by the dominance that Pitino's kids demonstrated on the glass, grabbing 15 more rebounds than Tennessee with a 43-28 advantage.

"The last three games our offense and defense have been all clicking," the seventh-year Pitino offered. "We told our guys this game is going to be won on the backboard. They had 19 offensive rebounds against Memphis, and I said whichever team outrebounds the other one is going to win this ballgame."

The Cardinals did, however, show that they can be careless at times with a game-high 20 turnovers, and that will need to change Saturday if they hope to reach San Antonio and the Final Four with a win over UNC.

"They had 14 turnovers at halftime and probably turned the ball over several more times early in the second half," Pearl recalled. "Then they didn't turn the ball over at all. It was a good adjustment that they made, and they got to the rim and got to the foul line."

And if Louisville does happen to pull off what would a big-time upset in a matter of 48 hours, Pitino will have every reason to smile after what he and his team has been through over the last five months.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 12:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With less than five minutes to go, Louisville is trying to move on to the Elite Eight with a win over No. 2 seed Tennessee, and the third-seeded Cardinals are inching closer with a 64-52 lead at the moment.

The story of the second half has really been the play of Terrence Williams and Earl Clark, who have both got active on the offensive end and carried the Cards with some big-time plays.

On one of the last possessions down the floor, Williams turned the corner on his defender and drew another one before finding David Padgett with a beautiful over-the-shoulder, no-look pass for an easy flush.

That play got the Louisville faithful up in a tizzy as they can start to sense a victory and a chance to face top seed North Carolina back here on Saturday in the East Regional final.

Chris Lofton has hit a couple of threes in this second half and now has 13 points, but it hasn't come without taking 10 shots from downtown, 13 total, and connecting on just three of them. The Vols, meanwhile, have surpassed Louisville in the turnover department, committing 19 to the Cardinals' 16.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 11:14 to go in the second half of our second game tonight, Louisville is still out in front of Tennessee by a 52-44 score.

The Cardinals have got a big boost after halftime from swingman Earl Clark, who now leads all scorers with 13 points, the last two coming on a jam and foul off a backdoor cut right to the rim. Tennessee seems to be having trouble slowing down the 6-foot-8 sophomore, who's shown a nice mix of length and quickness in getting by his defenders.

The Volunteers, on the other side, are getting a taste of their own medicine as Louisville continues to push the tempo and put pressure on the ball in the backcourt. There hasn't been a lot of ink to lay on sharpshooting senior Chris Lofton, as the 6-foot-2 guard has managed only seven points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field (and 0-for-5 from three) so far. If the Vols want to come back and win this game, though, they'll need Lofton to step up down the homestretch here.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 15:24 remaining in the second half, Tennessee has climbed back and trails Louisville by just two, 41-38, after a three-point play by Duke Crews.

The Volunteers are still shooting a miserable 20 percent from three-point range but have hit four of their first seven shots of the second half, recording a 57.1-percent clip after halftime.

JaJuan and Tyler Smith are the two Tennessee players in double figures at 12 and 10 points, respectively, and Andre McGee is pacing Louisville with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

The Cardinals, however, are still having issues taking care of the ball with 16 turnovers to this point, and you certainly have to wonder how much that will hurt Rick Pitino's club down the stretch here.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With one half left to play, No. 3 seed Louisville has run out to a 37-30 lead at halftime on No. 2 seed Tennessee with Andre McGee dropping in a running layup right before the horn sounded off.

While Tennessee has managed to make things close after going down by more than double digits, the Cardinals are getting it done with nine points each from Andre McGee and Jerry Smith. Louisville is also in charge of the rebounding battle with a 23-15 edge, and Rick Pitino's team has shot the ball at a decent 41.4 percent from the field, including a 4-for-12 mark from three-point range.

The Volunteers, in the meantime, have got a third of their points from Tyler Smith, who has 10 in 14 minutes of action, and another Smith, JaJuan, has dropped in eight to go along with three boards and three steals. Bruce Pearl's club, though, is shooting just 35.7 percent (10-of-28) for the game, and that will need to improve tremendously if it hopes to reach Saturday's regional final against top-seeded North Carolina.

On another note, both teams have played relatively sloppy, combining for 25 turnovers in the first half with 14 coming from Louisville. Eight of those have come as steals for Tennessee, which has tried to get the Cardinals out of rhythm by pressuring the backcourt and speeding up the game as much as possible.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With five minutes to go before halftime, Louisville is in control of things with a 28-19 lead on Tennessee.

Getting to sit behind the Louisville bench, we're getting to see how Rick Pitino operates on the sidelines in a game that will be sending one team home. Pitino is certainly hoping its not his team after all the adversity that its overcome at the beginning of the season, and the Cardinals have shown that they're a Top 10 team for much of the second half of the year.

But Louisville is having its own issues on offensive right now, as the former Kentucky coach just walked over to his players on the bench and complained about their lack of patience on the offensive end, telling them that they've been making one pass and shooting on possession after possession.

With 3:14 left to go before halftime, it's Louisville now leading Tennessee, 30-23.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Louisville is looking like the Final Four team that many projected it to be at the beginning of the season, beating Tennessee at both ends of the floor and running out to a 24-8 lead with nine minutes remaining before halftime.

The Cardinals are getting the Volunteers to force some bad shots on the offensive end, and it's created a lot of good scoring opportunities for David Padgett, Terrence Williams and the rest of the Louisville squad.

Tennessee, on the other side, has really struggled from the perimeter, hitting just three of its first 13 shots for a 23.1-percent clip. The Vols are also 0-for-5 from three, while Louisville has hit 3-of-6 from long range.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After getting to see North Carolina advance to the Elite Eight with a relatively easy win over Washington State, we what could and should be an even better Sweet 16 matchup as No. 2 seed Tennessee and No. 3 seed Louisville hit the floor for the second of our two contests tonight at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

The Volunteers are coming off a tough 77-72 overtime win over No. 7 seed Butler and Bruce Pearl's team will be looking to move on to Saturday's regional semifinal with a big-time win over the Cardinals. The Vols have done it all year along with their three Smiths -- Wayne, JaJuan and Ramar -- but Chris Lofton really remains the key for the SEC champs. The senior is the all-time three-point leader in the SEC and can put his team in the Elite Eight if he can get hot from the perimeter and open up things down low for his teammates.

Rick Pitino's team, however, has other plans in mind after dismantling No. 6 seed Oklahoma by 30 points last weekend. The Cards are led by senior center David Padgett, who has made a tremendous comeback during the second half of the season after fracturing his kneecap midway through the season, as well as junior forward Terrence Williams.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- No. 1 seed North Carolina wanted to get back to the Elite Eight after last year's disappointing loss to Georgetown, and the Tar Heels will now get that opportunity after taking care of business against No. 4 seed Washington State with a convincing 58-37 victory in the Sweet 16.

"We're ecstatic," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said afterward. "We played really, really well during stretches. You have to congratulate Washington State. When there are only 16 teams left, you have to feel really good about that."

So do the Tar Heels, who led from start to finish and never really looked threatened by the Cougars in their first trip to the Sweet 16 after wins over Winthrop and Notre Dame.

"That was not the way we wanted to go out," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said, "but I told the guys in the locker room, what a run for their careers...and I'm thankful for that."

For UNC, it all started with Danny Green shooting the ball well from long range. The junior finished with 15 points, making three of his five three-point attempts, and Tyler Hansbrough led all scorers with 18 in addition to his nine rebounds.

"Just making one basket really gets me going," Green said of overcoming his recent struggles from the perimeter. "One shot gives me confidence to make the next one. Once I got going things really went my way."

The North Carolina backcourt also had its way in getting 25 points from shooting guard Wayne Ellington (13) and point man Ty Lawson (12), as the Tar Heels took charge on the glass with a 46-32 advantage. And while UNC actually committed three more turnovers than Washington State, it was poor perimeter shooting that ultimately did the Cougars in.

"We were trying to contest everything," Williams asserted about his team's defense. "One of the things we wanted to be is tough enough, patient enough, poised enough. There was a huge emphasis for us to keep them off the backboard and not allow them to get second-chance opportunities. We tried to challenge everything."

Tony Bennett's team, in fact, hit just two out of 16 three-point attempts for a dismal 12.5-percent clip. Derrick Low and Aron Baynes both tallied a team-high 14 points for Wazzu, which finishes the season at 26-9, and Kyle Weaver was the third WSU player in double figures with 10 in what will be his final collegiate game.

"They're good," Bennett said of North Carolina. "We didn't represent the Pac-10 as well as we should. We did get shots. We did do things. They keep coming at you for 40 minutes. UNC is a special team. Their defense is better than people think."

"I thought I got all the looks I wanted, and it was just hard to get it to drop," added Low. "In most games, my team would be making shots. But tonight it just didn't fall. Sometimes you have those nights."

The Tar Heels, on the other hand, move to 35-2 on the season and are looking like they can get to San Antonio with the way their playing right now. It still won't be easy, as they'll have to win Saturday against either No. 2 seed Tennessee or No. 3 seed Louisville to advance to the season's final weekend.

"We have a good balance," Williams admitted. "We have to relax a bit more in the NCAA Tournament. We want to play aggressive and play the way we like to play. When we did attack, we sometimes didn't finish the play. Offensively, we have a chance at times to put pressure on people."

With the way the Tar Heels have blown out all three of its tournament opponents so far, that's certainly plenty of pressure for whomever they'll face next.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With five minutes remaining in the second half, North Carolina looks to be moving on to Saturday's Elite Eight matchup against either No. 2 seed Tennessee or No. 3 seed Louisville, a game that we'll see shortly after this one concludes.

The Tar Heels are very much in control with Danny Green continuing to shoot the ball well, leading UNC with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three. Ty Lawson has dropped in 12 points, and Wayne Ellington and Tyler Hansbrough have 11 and 10, respectively.

The Cougars, meanwhile, have already lost center Aron Baynes after the junior committed his fifth personal, though WSU has improved its three-point percentage slightly from our last post, thanks to a second three by Derrick Low.

But Wazzu is shooting just 2-for-13 from beyond the arc, something that certainly couldn't happen if Tony Bennett and his players expected to leave tonight with a win over what's been argued by some to be the best team in the country.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With 12 minutes remaining in the second half between North Carolina and Washington State, it's all Tar Heels, as they lead by a 46-27 margin.

UNC, the No. 1 overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament, has continued to score the ball at will against a scrappy WSU team after putting up over 100 points on both Mount St. Mary's and Arkansas in Raleigh, N.C., last weekend.

That could also be the case tonight against Washington State, as Roy Williams' club has now upped its lead all the way to 55-31, and there's little hope of a comeback from Tony Bennett's squad, which is making its first Sweet 16 appearance.

And if things progress the way they have for the first 30 minutes of this contest, the Cougars will be headed back to Pullman with a disappointing finish to their historic season.

One state to note: Washington State is shooting 8.3 percent (1-for-12) from three, while North Carolina has hit four of its nine attempts (44.4 percent) from long range.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With five minutes gone in the second half, No. 1 seed North Carolina is controlling things with a 41-25 lead on No. 4 seed Washington State.

The Tar Heels are continuing to attack the basket and the WSU defense, and it's helped extend the lead to 16 on the Cougars. Tyler Hansbrough got a tough transition basket over Aron Baynes, falling to the ground as his shot went in, and Derrick Low has also shown some spark after the break with a nifty left-handed layup on a drive to the basket.

The scoreboard monitor just showed an old highlight of the 1992 Duke team, and that got the North Carolina-based crowd booing throughout the stadium for a good 10 seconds. Even with the Blue Devils already out of the tournament, the Tobacco Road rivalry never dies, nor should it really.

But back to the action, where North Carolina is looking to reach the Elite Eight for a second straight year.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In what's been an exciting first half, North Carolina has extended its lead to nine points with 2:42 remaining before halftime and the scoreboard reading 27-18 in favor of the Tar Heels.

Danny Green seems to have his stroke tonight, as the junior guard-forward combo has already tallied 10 points after knocking down a three from the left wing to give UNC its biggest lead of the game.

But Derrick Low responded, draining a three of his own for his first three points of the game. Aron Baynes remains Wazzu's top scorer with six and Kyle Weaver has dropped in five in 15 minutes of action.

The Cougars have cut the deficit on the boards to just two at 16-14 but are still struggling from the field with a 33.3-percent clip on 8-of-24 shooting.

UNC, in the meantime, has hit 11 of its first 25 shots from the floor, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and that's certainly why the Tar Heels have been able to capture this early lead.

That, and of course, the hot shooting of Green, who is 4-for-6 from the field at the moment.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Riding six points from Aron Baynes, Washington State has managed to keep things close early, trailing only by a 17-14 margin, but North Carolina looks to be the quicker and more dynamic team right now, pushing its lead up to five with another hoop.

Both teams are shooting nearly exactly the same. At the 7:17 mark in the first half, both UNC and Wazzu were shooting 7-for-18 (38.9 percent) from the field. The Tar Heels, however, have hit one three -- from Danny Green -- while WSU has missed on both of its long-range attempts from senior sharpshooter Derrick Low.

North Carolina, meanwhile, is also controlling the rebounding battle with a 13-9 edge but has struggled taking care of the ball with seven turnovers already (Washington State has four). Tyler Hansbrough has accounted for three of those, something that you don't see too often from the two-time All-American.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In the early moments of our first Sweet 16 matchup between No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 4 seed Washington State, it's the Tar Heels holding a two-point advantage thanks to a couple of baskets by sophomore forward Deon Thompson.

Thompson has given UNC another frontcourt presence aside from player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough, and that's something that Roy Williams has been able to lean on throughout this season. And with Washington State having its own frontcourt power in Robbie Cowgill and Aron Baynes, Carolina will need to dominate the paint to ensure a win tonight. The Tar Heels' backcourt will also need to play well, though, as Wayne Ellington and Danny Green need to have strong shooting performances if they hope to reach Saturday's regional semifinal against either No. 2 seed Tennessee or No. 3 seed Louisville.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- We're live from the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, where tonight we'll see two fantastic Sweet 16 matchups in No. 1 seed North Carolina taking on No. 4 seed Washington State followed by No. 2 seed Tennessee meeting No. 3 seed Louisville.

Our first matchup features the overall top seeded Tar Heels, who won the ACC regular season and tournament title on the shoulders of point man Ty Lawson and power forward Tyler Hansbourgh.

Hansbrough, who is being considered the nation's player of the year by many pundits, is coming off two strong performances in tournament wins over No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's and No. 9 seed Arkansas. Lawson also got in the mix with 21 and 19 points, showing that he's back to full strength after spraining his ankle during the regular season against Florida State.

While UNC will be looking to speed the game up by creating turnovers and scoring in the 80s and 90s, Washington State is looking to slow things down with its half-court approach. That will be the job of Taylor Rochestie, the junior point who has done a fine job over the last couple weeks during the Pac-10 Tournament as well as in wins over No. 13 seed Winthrop and No. 5 seed Notre Dame.

Tony Bennett has to proud of the way his club has been playing after the Cougars missed the Sweet 16 last year with a second-round loss to Vanderbilt as the No. 3 seed. While Wazzu has already made giant leaps and bounds this year with a top five national ranking and now the school's first Sweet 16 appearance, Bennett and company would like to take things a step further tonight with a monumental win over the No. 1 overall seed and in front of a crowd that is looking mostly Carolina blue. Washington State does have its own section of fans in the house, but it's nothing compared to the Tar Heel faithful, which makes up about 80 percent of the fans in attendance.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After the first weekend of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, we're on to the Sweet 16, and it's the East Regional that has two must-see matchups for us to witness Thursday at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. In many ways, in fact, the four remaining teams -- the four highest seeds -- in the East Regional could provide the most intriguing regional semifinal action this March.

Sure, styles differ when you look at No. 1 seed North Carolina facing off against No. 4 seed Washington State, but you know the quality of competition that's going to be put forth in this one is going to be top-notch. At least from Tyler Hansbrough, who has been waiting for this moment again after missing out on the Final Four with a loss to Georgetown in the Elite Eight.

This year, however, the 6-foot-10 All-American doesn't want the Tar Heels' run to end there, as he and the rest of his teammates seem set on getting to San Antonio and giving head coach Roy Williams his second national championship at his alma mater.

Continue reading "East Regional: The Day Before Preview" »

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)