Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 18, 1991 TAG: 9103180081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press and New York Times reports
DATELINE: SYRACUSE, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium
The top-seeded Tar Heels (27-5) kept some sanity in this regional, which saw the Nos. 12 and 13 seeds win first-round games, meaning North Carolina will next meet Eastern Michigan in Friday's regional semifinals at East Rutherford, N.J. In the other semifinal, also Friday at the Meadowlands Arena, Oklahoma State (24-7) meets Temple (23-9).
The Tar Heels used their superior height, speed and depth to outman the Wildcats.
On the strength of the two games that North Carolina has played, it would appear the Tar Heels have a clear path to the Final Four.
"I hate that everyone is saying that," said Rick Fox, the Tar Heels' 6-7 senior forward from Nassau, the Bahamas.
"It's like everyone is trying to jinx us. If you look at it on paper, we probably are the strongest team in this region. But we still have to play the other team from here. And we don't even know anything about Oklahoma State. They're supposed to be pretty good."
The Tar Heels made a believer out of Villanova coach Rollie Massimino.
"They're a terrific team," he said. "They're capable of winning it all. They've got great athletes, and they play good, aggressive defense."
Villanova (17-15) trailed 26-25 after a jumper by Greg Woodard with 6:19 left in the first half, but the Tar Heels, with Lynch scoring five of his team-high 19 points, went on an 11-0 tear over the next 2:52 to take control.
Fox said North Carolina's plan was to play an aggressive, pressure defense against Villanova and force the Wildcats into taking bad shots.
"Our defense was so aggressive and so tight that when they got the ball they thought they were taking good shots, but they weren't," he said. "We were right in their face."
Lance Miller broke the drought for Villanova with two free throws with 3:27 left, but Hubert Davis hit a 3-pointer to give the Tar Heels a 13-point lead with 3:03 left. North Carolina led 44-32 at halftime.
Villanova made several runs at the Tar Heels in the second half, but never seriously challenged. They started the second half with a 6-2 run to cut the margin to 46-38, but the Tar Heels scored the next seven points to stretch the advantage to 53-38 with 16:03 left.
The Wildcats trailed 66-59, with reserve point guard Lloyd Mumford hitting two 3-pointers in the run, and the Carrier Dome crowd sensed Carolina was in trouble. But Lynch led a 7-0 burst with four points and the Tar Heels were quickly back in command.
Massimino said his team was getting excellent shots, they just weren't falling.
"We hit on some 3-pointers to make it close, but we just couldn't get all the way back," he said.
In the Tar Heels' balanced attack, Davis added 18 points and Rick Fox 14. Miller led the Wildcats with 17 points and Woodard had 15.
The last time North Carolina beat Villanova in the NCAA tournament was 1982 - in the semifinals of the East Regional. That was the year Michael Jordan hit a national-title winning jumper against Georgetown in New Orleans. see
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