NCAA Tournament recap & Elite 8 preview: #1 North Carolina vs #4 Gonzaga

No. 1 North Carolina (31-4) 98  No. 4 Gonzaga (28-60) 77

Key Moment: North Carolina led by double figures for the entire second half. That speaks to how well this team dominated.

High Point Scorers: North Carolina -- Tyler Hansbrough 24  Gonzaga -- Jeremy Pargo 16 

Analysis: The Tar Heel express was at it again as arguably the best team in college basketball trailed for a total of 40 seconds. That's how good they were. North Carolina looked so impressive that its transition game didn't lose a step. The Tar Heels shot 53 percent and 57.8 percent from 3-point range and had 23 assists. They just weren't very good on free throws at 15-27 (55.6). They also won their 99th NCAA tournament game. That is a record. Going into the evening, UNC and Kentucky were tied with 98 wins. Gonzaga had a great season as it reached the Sweet 16. But coach Mark Few's kids just didn't have any answers.

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South Regional Final

Sunday/5:05 EDT/CBS
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Oklahoma

Early Take: Arguably the best game of the Elite 8. This will be a matchup between the 2007-08 national player of the year in UNC's Hansbrough and the likely 2008-09 national player of the year in Oklahoma's Griffin. You can imagine that watching those two battle in the paint will be a classic struggle. However, the key will be UNC's Lawson and Ellington against Oklahoma's Willie Warren, Anthony Johnson and Tony Crocker who was 6-11 from 3-point range against Syracuse. Great leadership and great athleticism will be on display. But with a point guard like Lawson, the Tar Heels get the edge.

By: Kevin Lonnquist
DFN Sports Staff Writer

North Carolina Tar Heels NCAA Tournament Team Capsule