Off the cuff: After Carolina lost to Gonzaga 82-74 two years ago, the guy that played Hansbrough, Josh Heytvelt, said Hansbrough was rather passive. What? Was that guy on drugs? As a matter of fact, he was. A couple of months later he was busted for hallucinogenic mushrooms. Heytvelt did outplay Hansbrough in that game as he scored 19 points compared to just nine for Hansbrough. But that comment helped inspire Hansbrough this time around. Hansbrough scored 24 compared to Heytvelt's 14. But the real difference came on the boards as Hansbrough had 10 rebounds and the 6-foot-11 Heytvelt, get this, had none - zero. The only real negative in this game was the free throw shooting as the Heels were just 15 of 27 from the line. Deon Thompson and Ed Davis were each just one of four. Lawson had another big game as he hit seven of nine field goals and dished out nine assists. Green, who did take a few suspect shots and make a few suspect passes, nonetheless had seven assists, four steals and two blocked shots. Hansbrough scored 20 or more points for the 78th time in his career. Carolina has now won more NCAA tourney games than any school in history, passing Kentucky, which happened to fire its coach on the same day. The Heels now play Oklahoma for the right to go to the Final Four. One of Carolina's shining NCAA tournament moments came against the Sooners in 1990 when an underdog UNC team upset top-ranked Oklahoma on a last-second short bank shot by Rick Fox, which sent the Heels to the Sweet 16. If you'd like to sponsor this award-winning site, or agree or disagree with something written, please let me know by emailing me. |
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