Jackie Manuel remembers almost everything from North Carolina's one-point victory against Villanova in the Sweet 16 in 2005. The former UNC guard remembers the intensity between the two teams that duked it out in Syracuse N.Y.
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""If you want your careers to end tonight" like this" keep playing this way."" So said North Carolina coach Roy Williams during a tense timeout in the second half of Tar Heels' second-round matchup with LSU in Greensboro. That night" the team took his message to heart spurred by Ty Lawson in obliterating the Tigers' five-point lead and continuing to a romp of the team" 84-70.
Read More »When Wayne Ellington's mother Elaine first met Villanova coach Jay Wright Ellington was just a high school freshman living outside of Philadelphia. The conversation between the elder Ellington and Wright had little to do with hoops.
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If asked Michigan State coach Tom Izzo might say the story of the Spartans' run to the Final Four would best be classified as a romance. The protagonists? Spartans center Goran Suton and basketball.
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With less than five seconds remaining in a tied East Regional Championship Villanova's Scottie Reynolds scampered across halfcourt. Instead of settling for a pull-up from outside he ducked through the lane — easily crossing over Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair in the process.
Read More »It's known in some circles as the league where only men survive. A place where boys just can't cut it — the physical play is just too rough too barbaric for any unaccustomed squad to succeed against those teams from the northeast.
Read More »MARCH 21 GREENSBORO — Less than 10 minutes had passed in North Carolina's second-round game against eighth-seeded LSU and coach Roy Williams already was concerned.
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Coach Roy Williams said it at the team's first practice of the year. He said it the first time he met with the media. And he'll say it to his team just before it opens play against Villanova on Saturday.
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Nearly two months ago Connecticut's Jerome Dyson suffered a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee in a game against Syracuse. The injury required surgery and ended Dyson's season — and it could have stopped UConn.'s chances of winning a title as well.
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MARCH 29 MEMPHIS Tenn. — It wasn't the picturesque offensive performance that defines many North Carolina games. Not even close actually. But at this point in March aesthetic value means little. All that mattered to the Tar Heels on Sunday was the scoreboard and the gritty 72-60 win against Oklahoma gives them their much-desired Final Four date with Villanova on Saturday in Detroit.
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When the Tar Heels take the court at Ford Field on Saturday there won't be a whole lot Marcus Ginyard can do to help their cause. But that doesn't mean he won't do everything in his power to get his team ready before tipoff.
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If there's one thing that stands out about this year's Final Four it is sheer size. With the court set in the center of monstrous Ford Field Detroit could be the biggest Final Four ever in terms of attendance.
Read More »When Roy Williams and the No. 1 North Carolina men's basketball team travels to Detroit for the Final Four they won't be going to a basketball arena. Instead they'll be at Ford Field normally the home of the NFL's Detroit Lions.
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There's been plenty of talk about how this North Carolina basketball team has been to the Final Four before and how its experience will help its players this time around. But for one senior this weekend in Detroit will be a first in many ways.
Read More »MEMPHIS Tenn. — North Carolina coach Roy Williams has a well-documented history of picking something to harp on during the NCAA Tournament. Two years ago he complained about having to pour his drink into an NCAA-sponsored Dasani drinking cup. Last year he had a beef with the giant NCAA logo stickers plastered on the courts.
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MEMPHIS Tenn. — It wasn't the picturesque offensive performance that defines many North Carolina games. Not even close actually. But at this point in March aesthetic value means little. All that mattered to the Tar Heels on Sunday was the scoreboard and the gritty 72-60 win against Oklahoma gives them their much-desired Final Four date with Villanova on Saturday in Detroit.
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MEMPHIS Tenn. — Tyler Hansbrough was mired in foul trouble and played just nine minutes in the first half. Wayne Ellington North Carolina's tournament sharpshooter couldn't get to his shot to fall.
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MEMPHIS Tenn. — The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Gonzaga Bulldogs certainly aren't lacking in offensive weapons. UNC's offensive threats got more than their share of exposure during the season and Roy Williams' lightning-fast pace of play allowed that talent to put up an average of 90.3 points a game — the second-highest in the country.
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North Carolina last played Gonzaga more than two years ago losing in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals 82-74. The tape of that game sat on coach Roy Williams' desk Tuesday afternoon unwatched.
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