FSU Slams No. 1 Tar Heels

(NEWSER) - Now Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green can head to the NBA feeling good about their decision to return to school. The upperclassmen led North Carolina to its fifth national championship with an 89-72 blowout of Michigan State tonight in Detroit, reports the AP. "We've been working so hard since last year when we fell short," said Ellington, named most outstanding player. "I wanted to redeem myself. We worked so hard." More»

Popularity has sucked all the charm out of the tournament

(NEWSER) - In the '60s and '70s, the NCAA tournament was boring because UCLA seemingly always won. These days, "instead of UCLA winning it every year, there are now between five and nine UCLAs that can win it every year," Charles Pierce writes for Slate. "It's just as sterile and dynastic as it used to be." It’s oligarchy rather than monarchy, but it feels just as stale. More»

(AP) - Blake Griffin might be the nation's best player. North Carolina brushed him aside with a total team effort. Ty Lawson scored 19 points and Danny Green added 18 to lead the top-seeded Tar Heels to a 72-60 win over Griffin and Oklahoma today in the South Regional final. North Carolina (32-4) advanced to the Final Four for the second straight year and will play Villanova in the national semifinals. More»

North Carolina joins Louisville, Pitt, UConn at top of bracket heap

(AP) - Big East powers Louisville, Pittsburgh, and UConn helped the league that was created for hoops become the first conference to earn three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament in the field announced tonight. North Carolina, the regular-season ACC champ, was the other top seed. The coup comes 24 years after the Big East became the first league to get three teams in the Final Four (Georgetown, Villanova, and St. John's). More»

Elsewhere, Duke defeats Georgia Tech while Texas outlasts Oklahoma State

(NEWSER) - All-American Tyler Hansbrough scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half as North Carolina sent Florida State packing, 82-70, in the ACC quarterfinals. The Tar Heels got back to their game in the second half: working inside, drawing contact and attempting 21 free throws, reports the Charlotte Observer. FSU's NCAA tournament chances are now pretty slim. In other action: More»