North Carolina and Wisconsin to Meet in Syracuse Regional Final
3/25/2005 9:36:35 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- No. 1 seed North Carolina (30-4) and No. 6 seed Wisconsin (25-8) will meet at 2:40 p.m. on Sunday, March 27 in the NCAA Men's Basketball Syracuse Regional Final at the Carrier Dome. The winner will advance to the Final Four in St. Louis on April 2-4. The Tar Heels advanced to the regional final with a 67-66 victory against No. 5 seed Villanova (24-8), while Wisconsin defeated No. 10 seed North Carolina State, 65-56.
Wisconsin overcame a 30-21 halftime deficit behind Alando Tucker's game-high 22 points as the Badgers defeated North Carolina State in front of 30,713 fans in the first game of the Syracuse Regional at the Carrier Dome. Wisconsin advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2000.
The Wolfpack, who were up by as many as 10 points in the first half, ended its season with a 21-14 record. Engin Atsur played all 40 minutes for North Carolina State and scored a team-high 16 points, including four three-pointers.
Cameron Bennerman gave NC State its first lead of the game (8-7) with a three-point shot at the 16:22 mark of the first half. From there, the Wolfpack increased its margin to seven points (16-9) when Atsur recorded his first three-pointer of the night at the 13:27 mark.
Mike Wilkinson kept Wisconsin with four (17-13) with an up-and-under move and two free throws with 11:08 remaining in the first half.
NC State responded with back-to-back three's by Atsur and Jordan Collins to push its lead to 23-13 by the 10:16 mark. The Wolfpack made 45.5 percent of its shots from the field in the first half and connected on six-of-nine three pointers in the opening 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Wisconsin shot 38.9 percent from the field and were held without a three-point basket in the first half. North Carolina State got eight points from its bench in the first half, while all 21 Wisconsin points came from starters.
It was a different story in the second half as Wisconsin came out hitting shots, and North Carolina State went cold. The Badgers outscored the Wolfpack 44-26, shooting 58.3 percent from the field, including four-of-seven from three-point range. The Wisconsin defense held NC State to just nine made field goals in the second half.
Tucker led the way for Wisconsin, attacking the basket for 14 second-half points.
In the second game, Villanova's Randy Foye came out firing and helped the Wildcats jump out to a 12-point lead (21-9) in the first half. Foye scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the first half. Carolina fought back to within four (33-29) at halftime. Sean May scored 12 first-half points.
Rashad McCants, who scored just two points in the opening 20 minutes for North Carolina, turned it up a notch in the second half, tallying 15 of his team-high 17 points, including a nine-for-10 performance from the free throw line. His three-pointer tied the game at 35-35 early in the second half.
The Heels took their first lead of the game (44-42) with 11:43 remaining after Marvin Williams hit two free throws. They went ahead by five (50-45) with two made free throws by McCants.
Villanova tied the score at 50-50 when freshman guard Kyle Lowry converted a three-point play after he was fouled on a drive to the basket. He made the shot and the ensuing free throw with 7:24 remaining.
North Carolina went on an 11-0 run, led by McCants' nine points. He hit a three and made four consecutive free throws to give Carolina a 57-50 lead with 5:31 remaining. Williams calmly sank two free throws at the 5:13 mark to up the Tar Heels' advantage to 59-50.
The 'Cats clawed back. Foye drove the lane and Lowry connected on two free throws to pull Villanova to within 61-54 with 4:14 remaining.
A big three-pointer by Williams pushed UNC's lead back to 10 points (64-54) with 3:45 remaining.
Raymond Felton collected 11 points and 11 rebounds for Carolina before fouling out with 2:11 left in the contest. After that, Mike Nardi came down and nailed a three to pull Villanova to within 64-59 with 2:01 remaining. Allan Ray made two free throws to cut UNC's margin to three points (64-61) with 1:21 left in the contest. Foye was sent to the line with 40 seconds remaining. He made the first shot, but missed the second to inch Villanova closer at 64-62.
Melvin Scott didn't blink an eye while draining two free throws with 28.9 seconds remaining. He upped Carolina's lead to 66-62. Foye went to the line again for Villanova with 17.5 seconds left. He sank his first shot, but missed the second. The Wildcats retained possession with an offensive rebound and took timeout with 11.6 seconds remaining.
Out of the break, Villanova was whistled for traveling and UNC called a timeout of its own with 7.6 ticks left on the clock. McCants missed his first free throw, but made the second to put the Tar Heels ahead 67-63.
Lowry gave Villanova one last hope with a leaning three-pointer that pulled the 'Cats to within 67-66 with three seconds remaining. Ray nearly picked off a Carolina inbounds pass, but the Heels maintained possession and called timeout with 1.8 seconds remaining. They held on for the victory.
Carolina had four players in double digits. In addition to McCants' 17 points and Felton's 11, Williams finished with 16 points. May had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Lowry capped off his rookie season with an 18-point, seven-rebound performance for Villanova.
