(1) North Carolina 83, (3) Villanova 69
Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Tyler Hansbrough started this season on a mission to win the national championship for North Carolina. The Tar Heels are now a game away from completing that goal after dispatching Villanova 83-69. The three stars led the Tar Heels again, posting 60 points.
North Carolina came out strong to open the game, a noteworthy difference compared to last season when Kansas jumped all over the Tar Heels, 40-12, in the Final Four. The Tar Heels cut that deficit to four before the Jayhawks pulled away. In this game, North Carolina got to defend a lead. Like Kansas did last year, the Tar Heels were successful despite several comeback attempts.
Hansbrough and Ellington had 11 points in the opening seven minutes to help North Carolina build a 19-8 lead. The Tar Heels extended that to 40-23 as Villanova struggled to make shots. The Wildcats’ cold shooting turned contagious in the second half as both teams made only one field goal during a three-minute stretch early in the second half. After Corey Fisher cut the lead to eight with 13 minutes to go, freshman forward Ed Davis made a three-point play to reclaim a double-digit lead for North Carolina, and Villanova never pulled closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Villanova’s shooting woes produced a 33 percent shooting night from the field and 19 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Junior guard Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcats with 17 points. The Wildcats proved they could compete with the bigger Tar Heels, out-rebounding them 50-46. They just couldn’t hit enough shots to upset a second consecutive No. 1 seed after taking out Pittsburgh in the regional finals.
