High-scoring Heels prove they can defend

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Ty Lawson had one of those scary nightmares on Wednesday night. North Carolina's speedy point guard looked up at the scoreboard and saw his high-powered Tar Heels with just 20 points and a handful of minutes remaining in the Sweet 16 game against Washington State.

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 or check out his blog, Good 'N Plenty.