March 23, 2008

• 2008 Postseason ACCtion Central
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Carolina Rolls Past Arkansas, 108-77

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- North Carolina put on a show for its home-state fans in its first two NCAA tournament games. Now the overall No. 1 seed is off and running to the round of 16, where another comfortable setting awaits.

Wayne Ellington scored 20 points and the Tar Heels raced to a double-digit lead in the first 5 minutes of a 108-77 second-round win over Arkansas on Sunday, sending North Carolina to Charlotte for the East Regional semifinals.

Ty Lawson had 19 points and seven assists for the Tar Heels (34-2), who followed their first-round rout of Mount St. Mary's with another impressive offensive display. North Carolina will face fourth-seeded Washington State on Thursday night in the same arena where they won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament last weekend.

The Tar Heels scored the first nine points, led 51-26 at halftime and shot 68 percent for the game. They became the first team to score 100 points in their first two NCAA games since Loyola Marymount did it against New Mexico State and Michigan in 1990.

It marked only the third time in the past 25 years that the Tar Heels won both of their first two NCAA games by 20 or more points. The only other teams to do it--1993 and 2005--went on to win the national championship. The Tar Heels also tied the school's single-season record for victories, matching the `93 team and the 1998 squad that reached the Final Four in San Antonio.

Miami Falls To No. 7 Texas, 75-72

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - After 35 minutes of smooth shooting, poised ball-handling and a quiet crowd of Longhorn-haters in Arkansas, Texas nearly let its entire season slip away.

A.J. Abrams made two free throws with 9.5 seconds remaining, giving the second-seeded Longhorns just enough margin to hold off seventh-seeded Miami 75-72 in the second round of the South Regional on Sunday. Texas led by as many as 17 and was ahead 66-50 with 4:15 remaining before a dramatic rally by the Hurricanes.

Texas (30-6) led 74-69 after Abrams' final free throws, but the Longhorns weren't quite safe yet. Miami's Raymond Hicks made consecutive 3-pointers, and D.J. Augustin then shot an air ball on his first of two free throws with 1.8 seconds to play.

James added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Longhorns, and Augustin contributed 12 points and eight assists.

Jack McClinton scored 18 points for Miami after a 38-point effort in the first round against Saint Mary's. McClinton made a 3-pointer late in the second half to cut the lead to 10, then dove to knock a pass off a Texas player out of bounds with 2:22 to play.