Coach: Roy Williams, five years at North Carolina, five years in NCAA Tournament.
How they got here: Automatic bid (ACC tournament champion); East first round: pounded No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's 113-74;
East second round: routed
No. 9 seed Arkansas 108-77; East semifinals: crushed No. 4 seed
Washington State 68-47; East semifinals: battled past No. 3 seed
Louisville 83-73.
They'll keep winning if: The Jayhawks have several similarities to this edition of the Tar Heels. With energy
inside and polished perimeter players, neither club carries a decided advantage on paper. Tyler Hansbrough is having an
MVP-worthy tournament, averaging 21 points and 9.5 rebounds to carry North Carolina to double-digit wins in all four "tune-ups"
entering the Final Four. Give a major assist to point guard Ty Lawson. He's back at full strength and has 20 assists and just six
turnovers in the NCAA Tournament, showing no ill effects from the ankle injury that dogged him during ACC play. The 1-2 punch is the
Tar Heels' ticket to Monday's title game. Hansbrough will have his hands full against Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun
and KU brings an assortment of talented guards to challenge Lawson and Wayne Ellington. Both teams had moments of vulnerability
in the regional finals. Carolina couldn't put away a Louisville team that forced the Tar Heels to shift to a half-court pace consistently.
Kansas had problems with No. 10 seed Davidson and didn't get a big night from its offensive catalysts, including Brandon Rush. Still,
the Heels and 'Hawks survived. Kansas is unlikely to slow the pace and has the personnel to run with North Carolina, but guard
penetration has bothered the Jayhawks at times this season, and containing Lawson might include shading a help defender to his
area. North Carolina's Danny Green is one of the premier sixth men in the country and has back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts
entering Saturday's national semifinal.
Memorable moment: The Tar Heels trailed by three points at halftime at Clemson in their conference opener
and were down by seven with just 2:41 left in the second half. But the Heels outscored the Tigers 9-2 in the remaining time to send
the game to overtime. In the extra period, Clemson took an 88-87 lead when Demontez Stitt hit two free throws with 13.9 seconds left,
but Wayne Ellington answered with a 3-pointer with less than a second left to give the Heels a 90-88 victory. It was the first of two
overtime wins for Carolina over Clemson, the second coming in Chapel Hill 103-93 in a game that went two extra periods.
Tyler Hansbrough |
Go-to guys: Tyler Hansbrough is a national Player of the Year candidate and averages a double-double -- 23
points, 10.5 rebounds in
the regular season -- in leading the Tar Heels in scoring and rebounding for a third consecutive season. Ty Lawson, either off the
bench or in a starting
role, is a rocket at point guard with his speed and quickness. Wayne Ellington hit a bit of a slump in early February but provides the
Heels with an
outside shooting threat. Marcus Ginyard is a shut-down defender, and Danny Green is a solid contributor off the bench.
Strengths: North Carolina isn't quite as deep as it was a year ago because of the departure of Brandan Wright
and Reyshawn
Terry and the loss of Bobby Frasor to a season-ending knee injury. But depth still is a major asset, especially since Quentin Thomas
has had exposure
at point guard when Lawson was hobbled. Hansbrough stepped up his game even more when Lawson was hurt, and few teams
have the strength to
slow him down inside. Opponents can't foul him and send him to the free-throw line or he'll kill them there -- 81.3 percent in the
regular season. The
Heels also are the best rebounding team in the ACC, owning the boards by about 11 rebounds a game over conference foes.
Weaknesses: The Tar Heels really don't have any particular weakness an opponent can exploit. They beat
themselves with poor
shooting in the home loss to Maryland and were without Lawson in the loss to Duke. Turnovers can be a problem and nearly cost
them in both of their
overtime wins over Clemson and in a one-point win at Virginia. A team that can control the tempo could have some success against
the Heels, but the
only team that kept the Heels under 70 points in a game this season (Ohio State) still lost by 11 on its own court. Look for opponents
to gang up on
Hansbrough inside and hope for the best on the perimeter.
Coach: Tony Bennett, two years at Washington State, two years in NCAA Tournament.
How they got here: At-large berth; East first round: crushe
d No. 13 seed Winthrop 71-40; East second round: handled No. 5 seed Notre Dame
61-41.
They'll keep winning if: Kyle Weaver is Wazzu's second-leading scorer, but he and Robbie
Cowgill have been most valuable because of their ability to slow down talented scorers. North Carolina has many
options inside. Weaver has a long reach and the agility to stick to perimeter shooters. Taylor Rochestie controls the
offense, which looks plodding at times, but Washington State thrives at the slow-down pace by getting
high-percentage looks. In a battle of tempo, rebounding is critical. Washington State has to hold North Carolina,
playing in front of a partisan crowd in Charlotte, to one shot per possession. The Cougars are not the most talented
team left in the tournament field and playing catch-up isn't Wazzu's game. They are not especially athletic, have only
moderate depth and just decent size. But they play with offensive precision and defensive ferocity.
Memorable moment: Before they could challenge the best in the Pac-10, the Cougars felt as if
they needed to
establish themselves in their own back yard. They did that with an emotion-charged 51-47 road victory over nearby
rival
Gonzaga, the state's glamour team in recent years. WSU squelched a high-scoring Gonzaga team to win its second
straight
high-profile road game, five days after winning at Baylor.
Derrick Low |
Go-to guys: Balance is the byword in WSU's offensive attack, but guards Derrick Low and Taylor
Rochestie
most often take the big shots in close games. Rochestie, a junior, has ratcheted up the level of his game in recent
weeks.
Meanwhile, versatile guard Kyle Weaver remains a dangerous player, able to hurt opponents in a variety of ways on
offense
and defense.
Strengths: WSU's ability to dictate tempo with its offense and defense is difficult for first-time
opponents
to grasp. Everyone on the floor passes the ball well and the Cougars work the ball patiently for the shot they want.
They also
slow the tempo with their defense, making it tough for opponents to get the ball inside. What's left is a seemingly
inviting
perimeter shot that may not quite what the other team really wants.
Weaknesses: The Cougars can't afford foul trouble and can't afford to get involved in an
up-and-down
game. They don't have the athletic interior player who can easily match up with a quick and strong big man, so they
must rely
on their defensive team concept to compensate.
