MVN - Most Valuable Network

Hansbrough wills North Carolina to San Antonio

An eerily familiar scene was playing out in Charlotte on Saturday night. The University of North Carolina had just watched a double-digit lead melt away in the Regional Final to a quick, hustling Big East opponent seemingly getting and hitting any shot it wanted.

This time, however, Tyler Hansbrough had had enough. 

Carolina’s sensational junior forward simply willed North Carolina to victory in Charlotte’s East Regional Final on Saturday. His 28-point, 13-rebound effort punched the ‘Heels a ticket to the 2008 Final Four in San Antonio. It was a tremendous big-game performance by a tremendous big-game performer.

Carolina coasted to a 44-32 halftime lead primarily on the scoring of Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, who combined for 20 points in the first half.

However, the second half belonged to Hansbrough, who poured in 20 points after the break and notched 11 straight Carolina points during a crucial stretch midway through the second half as Louisville furiously rallied to tie the game at 59-59. But North Carolina, led by the 6′9″ All-American, outscored the Cardinals 24-14 the rest of the way and used clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to seal the victory.

Louisville spent most of the first half chasing the Tar Heels in transition. However, the Cardinals’ defensive balance was much better after halftime and Louisville forced Carolina to execute in the half court, which was a problem for the ‘Heels early in the second half.

Both teams shot the ball well, as North Carolina hit on 53.4% of its field goal attempts while Louisville made 52.7%.

Carolina placed four other players in double figures. Ellington netted 13 points, Green 11 and Ty Lawson had 11 points and 9 important assists. Deon Thompson also chipped in 10 points.

Jerry Smith and Terrence Williams led Louisville in scoring with 17 points and 14 points, respectively.

Louisville never did find a suitable match-up for Hansbrough. When he wasn’t shooting his nearly automatic 17-foot jumper, he was slamming home offensive rebounds or muscling into the lane for layups. Throughout the second half, he was completely unstoppable.

With the win, North Carolina extended its single-season victory record to 36.

More importantly, a trip to San Antonio awaits. Courtesy of Tyler Hansbrough.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 12:25 am and is filed under Tar Heels, No. 1 Seed, Jerry Smith, Terrence Williams, David Padgett, OVerall No. 1 Seed, 2008 NCAA Tournament, No. 3 Seed, East Regional Final, Elite Eight, NC, East Region, Game Day Review (Basketball), Louisville Cardinals, Team News (Basketball), Post Game (Basketball), Roy Williams, San Antonio, Rick Pitino, Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Charlotte, Final Four, Danny Green, Deon Thompson, Ty Lawson, NCAA Tournament. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.