That wasn't even close to reality.
Lawson and his teammates heard all about the dreaded Cougars defense — the
one that held opponents to just 56 points per game this season. But Washington State hasn't seen anyone like Lawson before.
UCLA's Darren Collison may be quick, but he's not in the same league as
Lawson in terms of applying relentless pressure.
"He just keeps coming at you," Cougars forward Daven Harmeling
said. "He takes it down your throat. He's a bulldog."
Too much was made of the matchup involving North Carolina's potent offense
against Washington State's stingy defense. Then again, no one could have
predicted that the maligned Tar Heels defense would wind up being the
difference.
Washington State couldn't make a shot, whether it was open or contested.
Sure, Tony Bennett's team isn't exactly an offensive juggernaut. The Cougars put
up just 67 points per game this season, but Roy Williams' team held WSU to 20
below its average in the 68-47 final.
The Cougars were 18-of-57 from the field and 2-of-16 from long distance.
"It seemed like there was a lid on the basket," Washington State
senior guard Derrick Low said.
It was more than that, though. The Tar Heels' team defense is vastly improved
— and players other than Marcus Ginyard are taking pride in their defense.
"It's gotten much better," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said of his
team's defense. "We've never failed to let that be the major emphasis. We
know we have the ability to score."
At the beginning of the season, the Tar Heels figured they could outscore the
opposition without paying much attention to the other side of the ball. Just
run-and-gun and the rest will take care of itself.
"It's different now," Lawson said. "We all help each other. At
the beginning of the year, we didn't help each other at all."
Consider this: Tyler Hansbrough, the front-runner for National Player of the
Year honors, was held scoreless until a little more than a minute left in the
first half, when he sank a pair of free throws. Yet the Tar Heels went into the
locker room with a commanding 14-point advantage.
Sixth man Danny Green had a dozen first-half points, Wayne Ellington added
nine and Deon Thompson and Ty Lawson each had six.
The Tar Heels may not be 10 deep like they were a year ago, but seven or
eight is plenty in the NCAA tournament.
Washington State appeared overmatched for the final 30 minutes of the game,
but for the first 10 or so, it seemed as though the Tar Heels might have their
hands full. Hansbrough was struggling with Washington State's big Aussie, Aron Baynes.
Yet, Hansbrough didn't need to dominate. With Lawson back at full strength,
that means the Tar Heels can toss in a couple easy baskets for good measure. It
also means that Ellington will get open looks and Hansbrough's job is easier —
even if the numbers don't always support that fact.
The loss marked the end of a magical and improbable run for Tony Bennett's
Cougars, who went from the outhouse nearly to the penthouse in a two-year span.
Bennett will lose three seniors — starting guards Kyle Weaver and Derrick
Low and starting forward Robbie Cowgill — and it'll be interesting to see if
the Cougars can manage to stay in the top half of the Pac-10 with the departure
of their core.
The speculation will also begin regarding Bennett and whether he'll remain in
Pullman or look into one of the numerous job opportunities (i.e. Indiana, LSU)
that may come his way.
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels move on to the Elite Eight, where they were knocked
out a year ago by Georgetown.
"All season long, we had a bad taste in our mouth because of what
happened last year," Ellington said. "We want to make sure it didn't
happen again."
Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can
be reached at GoodmanonFOX@aol.com
or check out his blog, Good
'N Plenty.