NCAA Tournament Recap: #1 North Carolina vs #8 LSU

No. 1 North Carolina (30-4) 84, No. 8 LSU (27-8) 70

Key Moment: A 10-0 run by the Tar Heels late in the second half enabled them to prevail.

High Point Scorers: North Carolina -- Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington 23  LSU -- Marcus Thornton 25

Analysis: Ty Lawson's return to the Tar Heel lineup is so important to this team winning a national title. The offense flows better. The defense is also a little more intense. He is the engine. And he looked pretty good after coming back from the right toe injury that kept him out of last week's ACC tournament and Thursday's first-round game. Lawson's big 3-point play fueled that 10-0 run that gave the UNC the lift it needed. LSU was really tough, especially with Thornton. To be sure, the Tigers weren't intimidated. They just weren't as deep.

What's Next: The Tar Heels advance to the Sweet 16 in Memphis and will face No. 4 Gonzaga survived off No. 12 Western Kentucky 83-81 in the second round. Demetri Goodson's banker with 0.9 seconds left pulled out the win. Gonzaga can play with the big boys but has lost to them including Connecticut, Arizona and Memphis. Consider that UNC shot 54 percent against LSU and has a physicality edge over the Bulldogs who are led by guard Matt Bouldin and lean forward Austin Daye.