RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina sure seems to like being close to home. For the second straight game here -- just a short way down I-40 from Chapel Hill -- the top-seeded Tar Heels enjoyed a mammoth blowout.
This time the victim was ninth-seeded Arkansas, who fell to Carolina 108-77.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Tar Heels just hit the 100-point mark, going up 101-67 ... with four minutes left. Something tells me this will be the last post necessary until post game.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Might be time for North Carolina to rest the starters. Once again they hit the 90-point mark quite fast, and they have a 33-point lead with 6:31 to go. Carolina's walk-ons are going to remember these two games for a long time. Assuming Roy gets them in the game soon, which he would be a little crazy not to.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Again, not much has changed here with the Tar Heels up 74-51 now. It's incredible how easily the Tar Heels can score. Each time Arkansas manages to work for a bucket, UNC just speeds down the court and quickly answers it. Even when Arkansas went to the full-court press a moment ago, it was three passes and a Deon Thompson jump shot for Carolina as they added some more points to their ever-growing total. Keep in mind, they have 74 points and there are still more than 11 minutes to go.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Arkansas has knocked down a couple of jumpers early in the second half to cut North Carolina's lead to 21. Not that the Tar Heels look worried. But Roy Williams would probably prefer if his team didn't get lackadaisical here with the big cushion, since that has been a problem for the Heels all year.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Friday night's 19-point halftime lead for North Carolina pales in comparison to this one. Against Arkansas, the Tar Heels are up 25 points at the half, and are running the Razorbacks off the floor with its offense. Wayne Ellington has 13 to lead the Tar Heels at the break, and they are shooting better than 60 percent.
Arkansas on the other hand, is shooting just 35.7 percent and getting beat bad on the glass. Looks like Carolina is well on its way to another blowout win.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Not much has changed here, other than the fact that Arkansas coach John Pelphrey's facial expressions have gone from angry to somewhat bemused. But it's not because his team is doing any better. North Carolina now has a 42-18 lead with under five minutes to go.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Wow. The North Carolina offense is clicking on all cylinders. Danny Green just had a great dish inside to Deon Thompson, who jammed the ball down to give the Tar Heels a 33-11 lead, and we're not even 10 minutes into the game yet. Nobody in the nation can keep up with Carolina offensively.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Ty Lawson is on fire, and Tyler Hansbrough is in his usual bruising mode to help the Tar Heels to open up an 18-4 lead here six minutes in. Arkansas coach John Pelphrey was furious at his squad for not boxing Hansbrough out a minute ago, allowing UNC's big man to rebound his own miss, score and draw a foul.
RALEIGH, N.C. - After that great upset to start the day, we're ready to tip off the second game here, between the top-seeded Tar Heels and No. 9 seed Razorbacks. This game will be all about Arkansas throwing a ton of big bodies at Tyler Hansbrough to try to slow him down.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Even as his star was being newly minted by virtue of leading Davidson to its second-straight NCAA Tournament upset, Stephen Curry was calm.
He urged his teammates to settle down and avoid premature celebration before he went to the line to knock down the free throws that would help seal Davidson's 74-70 win against No. 2 seed Georgetown.
RALEIGH, N.C. - After a ridiculous layup, Stephen Curry banged down another 3-pointer to put Davidson up 65-60 with less than three minutes to go. He now has 25, and the crowd is in a frenzy.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Max Paulhus Gosselin just tied the game at 57 with a pair of free throws for Davidson with a little more than five minutes to go.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry just had a steal and then buried a 3-pointer at the other end to pull Davidson within four, 50-46, with nine minutes to go. Georgetown called timeout in hopes of settling back down and regaining control of a game that looked like theirs only minutes ago.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry got a four-point play in transition, and the Wildcats fans here are hyped up again, as Davidson trails 48-37. Georgetown has turned the ball over two straight possessions, and Davidson is doing work on the offensive glass after misses. John Thompson III meanwhile is working on the refs during the timeout, which has led virtually the entire building to shout for JTIII to get a technical. No dice.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Hoyas hit a couple of threes in the early minutes of the second half to give them some real breathing room against Davidson. The Wildcats aren't going away, but now that it's a 46-32 game, it's a lot harder to see them overtaking the Hoyas.
RALEIGH, N.C. - It's starting to look like a 1990s Knicks reunion at the RBC Center. In addition to having Patrick Ewing and Doc Rivers on hand, Pat Riley is also in the stands, currently having a halftime chat with Ewing.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry, coming off a 40-point game in round one, has just five points at the half against Georgetown. In fact, none of the Wildcats are doing much on offense, with the team shooting under 30 percent for the half. Georgetown on the other hand, has hit better than 65 percent of its shots and leads 38-27 at the half.
The Hoyas are killing Davidson from outside, knocking down 5 of 6 3-point attempts. In the second half, when Roy Hibbert returns from foul troubles, Georgetown could quickly salt this one away.
Then again, Davidson made a mini-run near the end of the half to prevent things from getting ugly before the teams hit the locker room, so they could bring that back out with them for the second half.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry just returned to the game after spending quite a few minutes on the bench, and this game is starting to look like not even his shooting can bail out Davidson. It's far from a blowout yet, but the Hoyas are starting to score at will and now hold an 11-point lead with less than four to play in the half.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry finally scored his first points of the game on a baseline floater with 9:30 to go in the half, but Georgetown has gotten hot in the meantime. A 3-pointer just put the Hoyas up 22-15 with less than eight minutes to go in the half.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Georgetown fans are a little upset with the officiating, and there have been a few calls where that anger was justified. But what the Hoyas can be happy about is that Stephen Curry still doesn't have a basket for Davidson, having a pair of 3-point attempts go halfway down before rimming out.
The troubling thing for the Hoyas is that big man Roy Hibbert already has two fouls, and if he is not in the game, it significantly evens out the whole size problem that Davidson was no doubt worried about. Right now, it's 14-13 Georgetown with 11:32 to go in the first half.
RALEIGH, N.C. - So far Davidson is only down two (and about to go to the line) against Georgetown in the opening minutes. And the Wildcats have the crowd on their side, since all the Carolina fans here are rooting against the Hoyas, who knocked the Tar Heels out last year.
Speaking of the fans, there's quite a former-NBA contingent here. Obviously, proud dads Dell Curry, Patrick Ewing and Doc Rivers are here to watch their sons' teams square off, with Pat Ewing, Jr., and Jeremiah Rivers playing for Georgetown and Stephen Curry a Wildcat.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry was a monster for Davidson in the team's first-round game, pouring in 40 points to lead the Wildcats past Gonzaga.
But now he's got to try to work his magic against a Georgetown team that leads the nation in field-goal percentage. The Hoyas are more athletic and tenacious on defense than Gonzaga, so guys other than Curry might have to step up if Davidson wants to stay in the game.
The other big issue for Davidson is whether or not it will be able to handle Georgetown's size, most notably 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert.
We'll see if the Wildcats have the magic to make it 24 wins in a row. The game tips off in about four minutes.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Indiana's season, with all of its turmoil that followed the Kelvin Sampson situation, is over. Arkansas, the No. 9 seed, knocked the eighth-seeded Hoosiers out with an 86-72 win to close out the first-round games at the RBC Center.
RALEIGH, N.C. - It's another 3-pointer for Sonny Weems, who looks like cannot miss. He's got 29 points now. Indiana's offense on the other hand looks like it was installed yesterday. Dan Dakich keeps yelling instructions and his players are looking at him like he's speaking Swahili. It's Razorbacks by 10, and I can't see Indiana coming back in these last four minutes.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Hoosiers had a chance to tie the game on a runner by Jordan Crawford, but it came off the rim and went out of bounds to Arkansas. It will be interesting to see Indiana's response, now that it has gotten so close to the Razorbacks on the scoreboard. There are still guys struggling to hit shots, but tying the game or taking the lead could set this game up for a momentum swing.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Indiana offense -- formerly known as "D.J. White and only D.J. White" just got a boost from Armon Bassett, who hit back-to-back threes. Now the Hoosiers are within three points, 45-42 with 15 minutes to go. Indiana needs more of this, which is to say diversified offense, to combat the Razorbacks.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Arkansas went into the locker room leading by seven, 37-30, thanks in large part to holding Indiana under 40 percent shooting.
D.J. White is the only offense the Hoosiers can seem to muster, and he has 11 points. Indiana's star freshman Eric Gordon is 1 for 7 from the field, and lots of the Hoosiers' outside shots seem to not only miss but miss ugly. Sonny Weems and Darian Townes have 13 and 10, respectively, for the Razorbacks.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Arkansas seems to be relying a bit heavily on the outside shot, but if it's working, hey, why not? Back-to-back threes to get a 10-point lead, 35-25, over the Hoosiers says might as well keep putting them up.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Arkansas seems to be finding its shooting touch a bit here midway through the first half, while Indiana seems to be forcing things a bit. Not that any of that has accounted for any separation between the two teams. Right now the Razorbacks are up 23-19.
RALEIGH, N.C. - It's a 10-9 Indiana lead right now, a little less than five minutes into the second half, but honestly that's not the only way the teams are close together. It's these colors. Look into the stands and it's really hard to tell who is here pulling for the Razorbacks and who is here for the Hoosiers.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The last game of the day here is underway, and Arkansas has a 5-3 lead. Hopefully this one's a little closer than the North Carolina-Mount St. Mary's game.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The free throw swished, the crowd cheered, and the bench emptied. And that probably best sums up No. 1 seed North Carolina's 113-74 win against Mount St. Mary's.
After a pair of Alex Stepheson free throws put the Tar Heels over the 100-point mark, UNC coach Roy Williams emptied his bench to give his walk-ons some burn and put an official stamp on this first-round victory.
RALEIGH, N.C. - With an Alex Stepheson free throw, North Carolina has hit the 100-point mark and now leads the Mount 101-58 with 4:39 to go.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Tar Heels already have 86 points, and there's still more than 10 minutes to go. They have a 34 point lead as well. Other than that, there really is absolutely nothing to report from the RBC Center. Now it's just a game of wait-and-see (how fast they get to triple digits).
RALEIGH, N.C. - Cue up the extended garbage time. Carolina is now up 29 points, and there are still 15 minutes to go. But that doesn't mean we won't get highlight moments, like when UNC's Marcus Ginyard attempted an uncontested dunk and front-rimmed it. Ouch. Roy Williams has already given Ginyard grief over his horrendous layup percentage. This is way worse.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Think the Tar Heels are dictating the pace much? They've got 60 points at the half and lead by 19. Tyler Hansbrough already has 17, and Mount St. Mary's is living off of 3-pointers and 3-point plays.
Expect Roy Williams to have a word or two with his troops about defense in the locker room after they allowed Mount St. Mary's to shoot 49 percent in the half. Of course, on the flip side, the Tar Heels shot 58 percent and had just two turnovers. I bet if you told the Mount's players that they'd have 41 at halftime, they wouldn't have guessed they'd be down almost a 20-spot.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Mount St. Mary's briefly cut the UNC lead to eight points, but a Wayne Ellington 3-pointer pushed the advantage back to 15, 48-33, with 3:43 remaining in the half. And Tyler Hansbrough just got fouled on the ground while getting a loose ball, so the lead could grow bigger.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Despite North Carolina getting hot a few minutes ago, they aren't putting any real distance between themselves and the Mount. Sure, it's a 12-point game, but the teams are just trading baskets now, and the crowd sounds more like it's interested in personal conversation rather than intense March basketball excitement.
RALEIGH, N.C. - After allowing the Mount to come back from an early deficit to get within three points, North Carolina has turned up its defense and scored seven in a row to make it 22-12 with 11:28 to go. Mount St. Mary's just doesn't have an answer for any of Carolina's inside players. Even with Hansbrough on the bench, Roy Williams must be happy watching late-season underachievers Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson flourish against the shorter competition.
RALEIGH, N.C. - So much for the crowd having a big impact. So far the Mount St. Mary's contingent is far louder than the many Tar Heel fans here. And despite the fact that Carolina jumped out to a 7-0 lead 80 seconds into the game, the Mount is hanging around, trailing 15-10.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Mount St. Mary's leading scorer Jeremy Goode is no doubt happy to be playing an NCAA Tournament game in his home state. But that's probably about all of the fun the Charlotte, N.C., native is going to have tonight as his team takes on top-seeded North Carolina.
The Tar Heels are led by Tyler Hansbrough, who will no doubt cause big problems for The Mount's forwards, the tallest of whom is 6-foot-7. Then of course there's the matter of the 20,000-odd folks in this building, most of whom will be wearing Carolina blue. Odds are this game gets ugly -- and fast. We'll know for sure when it tips around 7:10 p.m.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Georgetown got 13 points apiece from Jonathan Wallace and Roy Hibbert but relied on its defense to get a 66-47 win against UMBC in the first-round of NCAA Tournament play.
RALEIGH, N.C. - UMBC certainly didn't make things easy on Georgetown, but it looks like the Hoyas have taken firm control of this one, building a 19-point lead with less than five minutes to go. The life has been pretty well sucked out of the UMBC fan section by now, with everyone sitting down and merely watching the finish.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Wow! A UMBC player just got absolutely yanked down on a rebound attempt near the sideline, and there was no call whatsoever, leading to a chorus of boos from the section of Retrievers fans. But they're not giving up hope yet, with UMBC trailing by just 13 now with under eight to go.
RALEIGH, N.C. - After Roy Hibbert grabbed a rebound and was fouled by UMBC's Darryl Proctor, Hibbert swung his elbows around to shake loose and then stepped menacingly toward Proctor before being restrained by teammates. Retrievers' fans in the stands almost immediately started a chant of "Let's Go Proctor!" With all due respect to Proctor, it wouldn't be much of a fight, with UMBC's forward giving up 10 inches and 45 pounds to Hibbert.
RALEIGH, N.C. - UMBC kept scrapping -- to the point that neither team had a field goal for the first three minutes of the second half -- but eventually, Georgetown was going to use its talent advantage to build on its lead. Finally a three dropped for the Hoyas, and they opened up a 15-point advantage. Shots just keep falling for Georgetown, while UMBC is having to work for every bucket. And there's still 15 minutes to go.
RALEIGH, N.C. - It looks like UMBC is already tired from trying to keep up with Georgetown. All of those defensive rotations and knocked down shots seem like a distant memory at halftime, with the Hoyas leading 34-22 after Chris Wright buried a three at the buzzer.
The Retrievers are by no means done -- they even knocked down another trifecta in the final minute of the half -- but ever since about the five-minute mark of the half, the Hoyas have looked like they're starting to get their act together. Jonathan Wallace leads Georgetown with 11 points, and he's more and more open each time he shoots it. Roy Hibbert has eight, and you know he'll get plenty more looks in the second half.
RALEIGH, N.C. - UMBC coach Randy Monroe just had a tremendous flip-out, stalking down the sideline in exaggerated fashion, with arms and legs flailing, after his team threw the ball away. It was sort of like the Carlton Banks dance from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" but without as much precision and slightly less dance-y. If that helps you picture it. Things got worse when G'town buried a three to make it 26-17 with four minutes to go in the first half.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Retrievers hit a three again moments ago to cut Georgetown's lead to one, though it is now back to four points, which is about as healthy an advantage as the Hoyas have had. They really need to just get the ball into Hibbert's hands every time down the floor. Even if he misses some, the fouls are bound to start piling up for UMBC. Also, UMBC's mascot, "True Grit K 9" is flipping out at every opportunity. Right now, he's dancing with pom poms in a way that can only be described as "seizure-like." Someone get this guy a milk bone.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Man, Georgetown can not seem to shake UMBC. The Retrievers are playing great defense right now -- staying in front of guys, rotating over on switches and screens -- and generally making things very difficult for the Hoyas. Granted, it's going to take a lot more of that to keep it up, but right now, with 11:25 to go in the first half, it's a tie game at 12.
RALEIGH, N.C. - When Matt Spadafora hit a three to put UMBC up 7-5, the crowd here went wild. Not only are the fans keen on an upset, the many North Carolina fans here remember Georgetown knocking the Heels out in last year's Elite Eight. They certainly wouldn't mind seeing the Hoyas go down. But UMBC still has to stop Roy Hibbert, which it doesn't look like they can. For now, it's a 7-7 tie.
RALEIGH, N.C. - The second game of the day here should be decidedly less competitive, with No. 2 seed Georgetown taking on No. 15 seed UMBC. Then again, the 15 seeds (notably Belmont and American) have been less than pushovers so far in this tournament. We'll find out in about four minutes when this game tips off.
RALEIGH, N.C. - My buddy sitting next to me on press row -- who also happens to be a Davidson alum -- told me earlier in the second half that the Wildcats would need 40 points from Stephen Curry to beat Gonzaga.
My friend was dead on. Tenth-seeded Davidson got exactly 40 points from Curry, who scored his final points after splitting a Gonzaga trap and getting fouled, and upset seventh-seeded Gonzaga 82-76 at the RBC Center in a first-round game.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Thanks to a 3-pointer by Max Paulhus Gosselin -- whose name, I'm not going to lie, always makes me think of "Saved By the Bell" star Mark-Paul Gosselar -- the Wildcats are up 73-72 and heading to the line for free throws with 3:03 to go in the game. It was just a shock to see someone other than Stepehen Curry hit a three for Davidson. But if it was going to be someone, I'm glad it was the guy who played Zack Morris. Or something like that.
RALEIGH, N.C. - It's again a tie game, but this time it was Gonzaga that needed a 3-pointer to even the score. We're knotted at 70 with 6:07 to go, but can Davidson get stops down the stretch?
RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Curry just bagged yet another 3-pointer -- giving him six in the game -- to get to 29 points and pull his Davidson Wildcats into a 62-62 tie with Gonzaga. The pro-Davidson crowd here is loving it.
RALEIGH, N.C. - If you'll forgive the accidental rhyming, it is abundantly clear that Stephen Curry can score in a hurry. In the first eight minutes of the second half, Curry already has 14 points, giving him a total of 24. He is the entire Wildcat offense. And yet they still trail by five to Gonzaga. Why? Because Davidson has forgotten about a little thing called defense. Right now they couldn't stop the Zags if they had a man stationed under the basket with a bayonet. so it's 62-57 with 10:53 to go.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Gonzaga went up by double digits when a 3-pointer from Steven Gray swished in, but Stephen Curry answered at the other end with a tough layup and foul. Basically, Davidson's offense is Curry right now, with most of the other Wildcats looking unwilling to shoot. It's going to be hard to make up ground that way, especially when the Zags show no signs of slowing down here early in the second half.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Gonzaga is up 41-36 at the break and has its work on the offensive glass to thank. The Bulldogs pulled down eight offensive rebounds, leading to 11 second-chance points. Also, Gonzaga's bench is outscoring Davidson's 15-2.
In fact, most of Davidson's scoring came from its starting backcourt. Jason Richards had 14 points, and Stephen Curry had 10, with the pair combining to shoot 8 for 15. The Wildcats also took advantage of 12 first-half turnovers by the Zags but didn't play much defense otherwise, letting them shoot 53 percent.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Well, looks like Davidson isn't dead just yet. The Wildcats turned on some defense, much to the delight of the partisan crowd here at the RBC Center, and cut Gonzaga's lead to four a moment ago. The thing Davidson hasn't been able to do is keep the Zags off the offensive glass to limit their scoring opportunities. With four minutes to go in the first half, it's 33-27 Gonzaga.
RALEIGH, N.C. - So much for the back and forth. Gonzaga's Steven Gray just hit a 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs up 28-17, and Davidson is having all kinds of problems trying to get a bucket in its last several attempts. The frustration was apparent in Stephen Curry's last attempt, a baseline runner that was hardly what you would call a good shot. The Cats are forcing it a bit, and this game could quickly get away from them.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Davidson is having to play catchup repeatedly so far in this game. Right now, it's 20-15 Gonzaga, just as a minute ago it was 15-10 before the Wildcats tied the game at 15. So it's back and forth in that regard. But Stephen Curry, son of former NBA player Dell Curry (who almost cut in front of me in the security line coming into the arena), looked to be heating up before taking a brief trip to the bench to rest. Davidson will need him red hot to keep pace, it looks like.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Gonzaga scored the first five points of the game, but Davidson quickly bounced back and now trails 10-8 four minutes in. Davidson point guard Jason Richards, who leads the nation in assists, is taking it on himself to do some scoring, twice blowing by his defender to put in layups.
RALEIGH, N.C. - This is the matchup that might just be the best one on the first day at the RBC Center, No. 10 Davidson vs. No. 7 Gonzaga. It's a mid-major party, though neither the Wildcats nor Bulldogs look like very mid-majorish teams. Davidson is on a 22-game win streak and is feeling quite at home here in N.C. State's usual home digs, with the arena being full of red seats, red banners and red, well, everything. But Gonzaga is a great team, too, and if the cross-country travel didn't leave them exhausted, will give Davidson quite a game. The tip is coming at 12:25 p.m.
The RBC Center in Raleigh -- regular season home to N.C. State -- will host the NCAA Tournament's top overall seed, North Carolina, as well as a No. 2 seed that knocked the Tar Heels out of last year's tourney, Georgetown. It also might feature one of the best first-round matchups the tournament has to offer. Here's a breakdown of Friday's games:
