Tar Heels breeze by Huskies to return to Sweet 16

MIDWEST REGIONAL

NORTH CAROLINA 81, WASHINGTON 59

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After making an early exit from the NCAA Tournament last season, North Carolina breezed into the Sweet 16.

Luke Maye and Nassir Little each scored 20 points and the top-seeded Tar Heels beat Washington 81-59 on Sunday. They never trailed and moved on to face fifth-seeded Auburn on Friday in a Midwest Regional semifinal.

Last year, one season removed from its national championship, North Carolina was routed by Texas A&M in the second round. The Tar Heels (29-6) were determined it wasn't going to happen again.

"We talked about it all summer," said Maye, who had 14 rebounds and his 15th double-double of the season. "I feel like it's just a testament to how hard we worked to get back to the spot. And I think it's been great to see how many guys have grown this season and really stepped up."

The Tar Heels, a No. 1 seed for a record 17th time, committed 10 turnovers in the first half and led by eight points at the break. They bolted out in the second half, put together a 13-0 run over 5 minutes, played great defense and pulled away.

"The key today was getting the ball to the middle," said Tar Heels guard Cameron Johnson, who finished with 13 points. "The middle was a soft spot. They were covering the wings and the perimeter pretty well. And once we got it inside, it was basically a 2-and-1 for an easy jump shot or a dump down. And I think we exploited that a lot more in the second half than we did the first half."

Pac-12 player of the year Jaylen Nowell paced Washington (28-8) with 12 points. Noah Dickerson and Nahziah Carter each had 10.

Washington was outrebounded 48-24.

"I thought they got us everywhere," Huskies Coach Mike Hopkins said. "They got us in the high post. They got us on the three. They got to the foul line. And, unfortunately, I thought we got some good looks. We just had one of those shooting nights. When you play against a team like this, almost everything has to go right. You don't have a large margin for error. And we just didn't have enough."

The Huskies have come a long way after going 9-22 two years ago before longtime Syracuse assistant Hopkins took over. They beat No. 9 seed Utah State in the first round but were never seriously in the game against North Carolina.

Little turned in a second consecutive impressive performance for the Tar Heels in the tournament. The 6-foot-6 freshman was 8 of 11 shooting with seven rebounds after chipping in 19 points in 17 minutes in the win over Iona on Friday night. He averaged nearly 10 points per game throughout the season.

North Carolina forward Garrison Brooks took an elbow to the mouth in the first half that knocked out one tooth, chipped another and required stitches to close his cut lip. He returned to start the second half. Guard Kenny Williams left the game early in the second half holding his left hamstring, but he returned later in the half and seemed OK.

The Tar Heels rolled to a 41-33 lead at halftime behind the three-point shooting of freshman Coby White -- he was 4 for 5 from beyond the arc in the half -- and kept the pressure on.

"They were trying to have somebody in front of him the whole game," North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said. "And he picked his spots. And I thought he really did a nice job for us. He didn't have many opportunities the second half because they tried to cover him more, but he was good."

HOUSTON 74, OHIO STATE 59

TULSA — Corey Davis scored 21 points to help Houston roll over Ohio State in a second-round NCAA Tournament game.

It marked the Cougars’ 33rd victory of the season — breaking the record set by the 1983-84 team for the most victories in a season.

Ohio State started off hot from threepoint range, hitting seven of its first 12. But Houston burned the Buckeyes in transition to go on a 14-6 run to close the half with a 39-31 lead.

A dunk by Chris Harris put the Cougars up 52-44 with just over 10 minutes remaining. A floater in the lane by Armoni Brooks pushed Houston’s lead to nine and led to a timeout by Ohio State. A transition layup by Davis pushed the advantage to 11 and the Cougars maintained control for good.

Galen Robinson added 13 points for Houston (33-3), which will face Kentucky. C.J. Jackson scored 18 points and Kaleb Wesson added 15 for Ohio State (20-15).

Sports on 03/25/2019

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