Wire report
SOUTH REGIONAL
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Flawless at the start and composed throughout, Ty Lawson and North Carolina breezed to another regional final.
Lawson scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, and the top-seeded Tar Heels routed Gonzaga 98-77 in the South Regional on Friday night. They'll play second-seeded Oklahoma on Sunday for a berth in the Final Four.
Tyler Hansbrough added 24 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina, which won its 99th NCAA tournament game, breaking a tie with Kentucky for the most by any school.
Wayne Ellington scored 19 points and Danny Green added 13 for the Tar Heels (31-4), who reached the regional finals for the third straight year.
Jeremy Pargo led Gonzaga (28-6) with 16 points.
Now, we'll have a regional final with a little Duke-Carolina flavor. Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel used to play for the Blue Devils. He made one of the most famous shots in the Tobacco Road rivalry -- a running buzzer-beater from around 35 feet that tied the teams' 1995 matchup at Duke. The Tar Heels ended up winning in double overtime.
Gonzaga seemed determined to match the Tar Heels basket for spectacular basket early on. Green dunked along the baseline, and Josh Heytvelt answered seconds later with an alley-oop dunk. Green made a 3-pointer from the left wing, then Gonzaga's Austin Daye made one of his own at the other end.
At the first television timeout, the Tar Heels were 8-of-10 from the field and the fourth-seeded Bulldogs were 4-of-5. North Carolina led 19-12.
Lawson didn't seem slowed in the least by his much-discussed toe injury. He breezed past a defender for a layup to make it 23-16, then added an acrobatic layup while being fouled on a fast break to put the Tar Heels ahead 35-25.
North Carolina led by as many as 17 in the first half, and for a while it seemed the Tar Heels might go the entire half without a turnover. Ellington finally gave the ball away with an offensive foul with 5:53 to play.
The only blemish for North Carolina in the first half -- 9-of-18 free throw shooting that enabled the Zags to stay in the game.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
INDIANAPOLIS -- Louisville proved it was the best in the Big East. Now, the Cardinals are showing just how mighty they might be.
Earl Clark had 19 points and nine rebounds and the top-seeded team in the NCAA tournament delivered one of the most crushing blowouts in regional round history -- a 103-64 romp over Arizona on Friday night.
Coach Rick Pitino and the Cardinals (31-5) topped 100 points for the first time this season, hit 13 3-pointers and nearly 57 percent from the field, moving into the Midwest final in impressive fashion. They will play either Kansas or Michigan State on Sunday.
"We played great tonight because we really passed the ball beautifully," Pitino said. "It's fun as a coach to watch the guys be so unselfish."
The Big East regular season and tourney champs became the fourth team from the league to reach a regional final this season with a victory that just missed cracking the top five for most lopsided routs in regional round history. UCLA set the record with a 49-point victory over Wyoming in 1967, and all the top five were recorded before 1972.
Arizona (21-4) did little right and hardly resembled the team that shot 52.5 percent from the field in its first two tourney wins. On Friday, the Wildcats connected on just 37.8 percent and committed 15 turnovers against Louisville's pressure defense.
The Cardinals were simply too fast, too strong, too big, and shooting too well for 12th-seeded Arizona to have a chance.
At times, it appeared the Cardinals were toying with Arizona. Once, Terrence Williams grabbed a defensive rebound, whipped the ball around his back, then delivered a perfect outlet pass that led to Clark's 3-pointer.
Louisville built a 21-point halftime lead and eliminated any comeback hopes by opening the second half on an 18-5 run that made it 67-33.
It was by far the Cardinals' biggest rout in their long NCAA tournament, and easily the Wildcats' most-lopsided loss.
-- Wire reports
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