Does everybody get tournament biscuits tomorrow?
There's not much to say about a game went the talent differential is this large. Everybody played well; Danny Green recovered from his recent slump to nab 15 points and 10 rebounds, Wayne Ellington was a scoring machine (25 pts, 11-16 and 3-5 from behind the arc) and Tyler Hansbrough captured yet another record, bumping J.J. Redick down to second on the ACC all-time scoring list. The interior defense was strong (Parakhouski was limited to 3-15 shooting but got 10 rebounds) and the mistakes were few. All in all, as good as can be expected with Lawson still out.
UNC gets the better option for Saturday's games as well, facing an undersized LSU team with one real shotblocker, as opposed to a the hotter shooting, more swarming defensive style of Butler. The Tigers had more talent than Butler, but the not the focus to pull away from the more experienced mid-major. That bodes well for the experienced, more talented Heels, though I'd like to see Lawson back for the game.
For the record, here are the rest of the of 1-16 matchups for the Heels:
- North Carolina 113, Mt. St. Mary's 74 (2008, Final Four)
- North Carolina 86, Eastern Kentucky 65 (2007, Elite Eight)
- North Carolina 96, Oakland 68 (2005, National Champions)
- North Carolina 88, Navy 52 (1998, Final Four)
- North Carolina 82, Farfield 74 (1997, Final Four)
- North Carolina 71, Liberty 51 (1994, Final Four)
- North Carolina 85, East Carolina 65 (1993, Final Four)
- North Carolina 101, Northeastern 66 (1991, Final Four)
- North Carolina 113, Pennsylvania 82 (1987, Elite Eight)