March 19, 2009

Tar Heels Roll Past Radford, 101-58

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -Tyler Hansbrough heard the roar of the crowd and knew he had just become the leading scorer in Atlantic Coast Conference history.

His response? Just run down court and get back on defense. "I thought about waving," he said, "but I just wanted to stay focused on the game."

Whether he liked it or not, Hansbrough's latest record overshadowed North Carolina's 101-58 win over Radford to open the NCAA tournament on Thursday. He finished with 22 points despite a bad shooting day, part of an overwhelming performance by the top-seeded Tar Heels in the first step in what they hope will be a return to the Final Four.

Wayne Ellington had 25 points for the Tar Heels (29-4), who led the entire way and had no trouble beating the 16th-seeded Highlanders even with point guard Ty Lawson, who missed his third straight game with a toe injury.

It was another easy tournament opener for the Tar Heels in their home state, where they are 26-1 in NCAA games with the past 11 victories coming by double-digit margins. They next face LSU on Saturday in the South Region.

Playing about an hour drive from its Chapel Hill campus, North Carolina enjoyed a huge home-crowd advantage and built a 19-point halftime lead against Radford (21-12). The Tar Heels steadily increased the margin from there, cracking the 100-point mark in their NCAA opener for the second straight season.

There were plenty of positives, from a strong bounceback performance for Danny Green to the solid play of senior Bobby Frasor in Lawson's absence. But on this day, the focus came back to Hansbrough, who has made breaking records seem commonplace in his final college season.

Maryland Bests Cal, 84-71, to Advance in NCAA Tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Maryland never let California get going from long range. Now the Terps are back in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Grievis Vasquez had 27 points and Maryland shut down the nation's best 3-point shooting team in an 84-71 victory over Cal in the first round of the West Regional on Thursday.

Tenth-seeded Maryland (21-13) disrupted Cal with its pressure defense, rarely giving the Bears a good look from the perimeter. Vasquez controlled the offense and Dave Neal chipped in 15 points, helping the Terps advance past the first round in their ninth straight NCAA appearance.

Cal (22-11), which shot a nation-best 43 percent from 3-point range during the regular season, was 7-for-24 in this one. Theo Robertson led the Bears with 22 points and Jerome Randle had 14, but took just three shots in the second half after scoring 11 points in the first.

Maryland figured to be a good matchup for the Bears. The Terps, like Cal, are undersized and like to get out in the open floor when they can. The problem for Cal was Maryland's pressure defense.

The Terps like to run a full-court press off made shots and Cal was shaky against it early. But turnovers weren't what hurt the Bears - they had just 14. Cal's trouble was getting good looks from the perimeter.

Duke Uses Balance Against Binghamton, 86-62

Jon Scheyer and Duke weren't about to let another one of college basketball's little guys scare them again.

Scheyer scored 15 points to lead six players in double figures, and the Blue Devils made Binghamton's first appearance in the NCAA tournament a quick one by routing the Bearcats 86-62 Thursday night in the first round of the East Regional.

Lance Thomas added 14 points and Gerald Henderson and Nolan Smith added 13 apiece for the Blue Devils (29-6), the No. 2 seed. They shot 49 percent, put the game away with a huge run to open the second half and advanced to a second-round matchup with seventh-seeded Texas on Saturday.

Clemson Rally Falls Short Against Michigan

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Shot after shot clanged off the rim, if they hit anything at all. Jumpers, 3-pointers, layups--didn't matter. Clemson just couldn't figure out Michigan's zone defense.

Michigan stymied Clemson with its 1-3-1 defense and survived a late scare in its first NCAA tournament game in 11 years, beating the Tigers 62-59 in the first round of South Regional Thursday night.

The Wolverines (21-13) showed little sign of nerves in their first NCAA game since a booster scandal rocked the program in the 1990s, handling--for the most part--Clemson's frenetic press to move onto the second round. Manny Harris scored 21 points and Stu Douglass added 12 for the Wolverines, who will face Oklahoma or Morgan State on Saturday.