ASSOCIATED PRESS
North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough made his presence felt against Derrick Low and Washington State with a game-high nine rebounds as well as leading both teams with 18 points.
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Low point for WSU
Former Iolani standout scores 14 points, but Cougars are ground under by the Tar Heels
STORY SUMMARY »
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Tyler Hansbrough scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and the top-seeded Tar Heels, not known for their defense, held Washington State to 32-percent shooting in a 68-47 win last night.
THE LOW-DOWN
How Derrick Low fared against North Carolina yesterday:
» Minutes: 37
» Points: 14
» FG made-attempted: 6-16
» 3FG made-attempted: 2-9
» FT made-attempted: 0-0
» Assists: 1
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North Carolina is back to the NCAA round of eight for the second straight season.
Danny Green had 15 points to help the Tar Heels (35-2) set a school record for victories in a season while continuing their dominant tournament run. The No. 1 overall seed will play Louisville tomorrow with a clear home-court advantage, playing in an arena located about 2 hours from its Chapel Hill campus.
North Carolina improved to 24-1 in NCAA games played in its home state, and for the first time in this tournament, the Tar Heels didn't crack 100 points. It didn't matter.
Washington State's perimeter scorers, Iolani's Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver and Taylor Rochestie, couldn't get their shots to fall. They combined for 26 points on 10-for-37 shooting for the Cougars (26-9).
FULL STORY »
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Iolani graduate Derrick Low of Washington State looked to an official for a call while walking past the North Carolina bench.
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Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Roy Williams has never stopped pushing his North Carolina team to play better defense, not even as it piled up lopsided wins and crowd-pleasing offensive displays that few teams can match.
The Tar Heels gave their Hall of Fame coach what he's been asking for in the East Regional semifinal against Washington State -- and it has them a game away from the Final Four again.
Tyler Hansbrough scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and the top-seeded Tar Heels held Washington State to 32 percent shooting in a 68-47 victory last night, sending North Carolina back to the NCAA Tournament's round of eight for the second straight season.
Danny Green had 15 points to help the Tar Heels (35-2) set a school record for victories while continuing their dominant tournament run. The No. 1 overall seed has won its first three NCAA games by 20 or more points for the first time in program history as it chases a record 17th trip to the Final Four.
North Carolina will play third-seeded Louisville, which beat Tennessee, tomorrow with a clear home-court advantage, playing in an arena located about 2 hours from its Chapel Hill campus.
On this night -- facing a team that had completely shut down its first two tournament foes -- everything started with a defensive performance that was the school's best in the tournament since before Williams was born.
"We continued to talk about this throughout the year, the fact that we're tired of hearing that North Carolina can't play defense and that's going to be our weak link," junior Marcus Ginyard said. "But tonight, I think you see that this team has the capability of buckling down and being that great defensive team."
There was no room to argue with the Tar Heels' vocal leader. Fourth-seeded Washington State (26-9) managed just 18 field goals for the game while scoring 20 points below its average. The Cougars also went 2-for-16 from 3-point range as the Tar Heels pulled away.
The 47 points were the fewest allowed by the Tar Heels in an NCAA game since 1946.
"Defensively we thought we were really good," Williams said, "but yet let's be honest: They missed some open shots."
North Carolina improved to 24-1 in NCAA games played in its home state and is 7-0 all-time in Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Now the Tar Heels can focus on erasing the lingering memories from last year's final game: a blown double-digit lead late in the second half of an overtime loss to Georgetown in the regional finals.
"We know what happened. We know that feeling," Hansbrough said. "We don't want to have it again. That's kind of our attitude, and that's the mentality we have."
Iolani alumnus Derrick Low and Aron Baynes scored 14 points to lead the Cougars.