DavidPadgett Posts -- FanHouse

Hansbrough Sends Tar Heels to the Final Four

Tyler Hansbrough helped fend off a Louisville rally by scoring 28 points and grabbing 13 boards in North Carolina's win over Louisville, 83-73.

The East Regional Final matchup was like watching two games in one.

In the first half, Louisville pressed the Tar Heels which led to a ton of easy baskets. UNC simply threw over the press and beat the defense back for layups. When they did have to play a halfcourt game, Carolina could shoot anything they wanted because they dominated the offensive glass. Danny Green and Wayne Ellington were awesome, scoring a combined 20 points.

UNC went into the break up 44-32.

The second half was much different. The Cards made a great adjustment of having David Padgett (who Roy Williams successfully recruited to Kansas) at the high post and running screens off him. He found cutters open for layups and/or created a foul on the Heels. It also kept Carolina's big men away from the basket and Louisville found some offensive boards.

Dayton Upsets Rick Pitino's Big Day

At the top of the Atlantic 10 sit the very good Xavier Musketeers. They are better than the other clubs in the conference which means that the battle for second, third and so forth will be spirited and leave several clubs with a handful of losses. That means nonconference wins against elite competition will go a long way toward deciding how many A-10 clubs go dancing in March. Thanks to Dayton, things are looking up. The Flyers spoiled Rick Pitino's shot at career win 500 by beating 11th-ranked Louisville 70-65 at Freedom Hall this afternoon.

That's twice in two years for Dayton against the Cardinals and, for the second time, Brian Roberts was the upset catalyst. Dayton's senior guard had 28 points, eight of them during a key 14-5 second half stretch that opened the lead to seven points with seven minutes to play. Roberts also got the Flyers off to a good start, scoring 14 of their first 19 as Louisville fell behind by 12 in the first half. They struggled to get back into the proceedings but took a two-point lead just before Roberts' second scoring outburst.

The win was Dayton's sixth in a row and the only blemish on their record is a loss at George Mason. While Louisville was missing David Padgett and Juan Palacios in this game, that won't be reflected in the year-end RPI rankings making this a key win for both Dayton and the entire conference.