Preview | Washington State vs. North Carolina, 4:27 p.m., TV: Ch. 7

By Bud Withers

Seattle Times

Where: Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, N.C.

Time: 4:27 p.m. today

TV: Ch. 7 | Radio: KHHO (850 AM), KPTK (1090 AM), KRKO (1380 AM)

The line: UNC by 8

Cougars

Record: 26-8 overall, 11-7 Pac-10 Seed: No. 4 RPI: 21 Bid: At-large

Tournament record: 6-5. Best performance before this Sweet 16 was two victories in 1941.

Last tournament appearance: Lost to Vanderbilt in double OT in second round, 2007.

First round and second rounds, 2008: Beat No. 13 seed Winthrop, 71-40; beat No. 5 seed Notre Dame, 61-41.

What the Cougars have to do to win: Methodical WSU must deny Carolina's preferred transition game by taking more pains than ever to have guards retreat on shot attempts. At the other end, WSU needs to milk the shot clock, make Carolina exert itself defensively and hit a reasonable percentage.


The starters
No.	Player	P	Ht	Hr	PPG	RPG
2	Derrick Low	G	6-2	Sr.	14.1	1.6*
10	Taylor Rochestie	G	6-1	Jr.	10.7	4.8*
25	Kyle Weaver	G	6-6	Sr.	12.2	4.3*
34	Robbie Cowgill	F	6-10	Sr.	7.4	5.0
11	Aron Baynes	C	6-10	Jr.	10.3	5.9


The bench
No.	Player	P	Ht	Hr	PPG	RPG
32	Daven Harmeling	F	6-7	Jr.	5.7	2.1
4	Nikola Koprivica	G	6-6	So.	2.6	1.0
52	Caleb Forrest	F	6-8	Jr.	3.5	2.1
1	Stephen Sauls	G	6-3	Fr.	2.1	0.8
20	Thomas Abercrombie	G	6-6	Fr.	1.2	1.5
21	Jeremy Cross	G	6-2	Sr.	0.5	0.3
42	Chris Henry	C	6-9	Sr.	0.2	0.5
*Assists per game

Tar Heels

Record: 34-2 overall, 14-2 ACC Seed: No. 1 RPI: 1 Bid: Automatic

Tournament record: 94-38. Best performances were titles in 1957, 1982, 1993 and 2005.

Last tournament appearance: Lost in Elite Eight to Georgetown, 2007.

First round and second rounds, 2008: Beat No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's, 113-74, and No. 9 seed Arkansas, 108-77.

What the Tar Heels have to do to win: It's all about quick tempo for Carolina, which can force the pace by harassing WSU in the half-court and causing turnovers or quick shots. Failing that, it always has national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough to ply for offense inside.


The starters
No.	Player	P	Ht	Hr	PPG	RPG
22	Wayne Ellington	G	6-4	So.	16.8	4.3
5	Ty Lawson	G	5-11	So.	12.9	5.3*
1	Marcus Ginyard	G/F	6-5	Jr.	7.4	4.5
50	Tyler Hansbrough	F	6-9	Jr.	22.8	10.2
21	Deon Thompson	F	6-8	So.	8.5	4.8


The bench
No.	Player	P	Ht	Hr	PPG	RPG
14	Danny Green	F/G	6-6	Jr.	11.3	5.0
32	Alex Stepheson	F	6-9	So.	4.4	4.8
11	Quentin Thomas	G	6-3	Sr.	3.4	3.1*
13	Will Graves	F	6-6	Fr.	2.4	1.5
40	Mike Copeland	F	6-7	Jr.	1.3	0.9
15	J.B. Tanner	G	6-0	Jr.	0.9	0.1
24	Surry Wood	F	6-5	Sr.	0.9	0.5
02	Marc Campbell	G	5-11	So.	0.5	0.2
35	Patrick Moody	F	6-4	Jr.	0.3	0.6
30	Jack Wooten	G	6-2	Jr.	0.3	0.4
*Assists per game

Who has the edge?

On the perimeter

WSU has one of the savviest units in the country, a three-guard attack with Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver and Taylor Rochestie that ESPN the Magazine rated behind only Memphis and UCLA. It's a slick shooting group (41 percent on threes) that takes care of the ball (WSU had 34 assists compared to only 17 turnovers on the opening weekend). Carolina counters with fleet point man Ty Lawson, shooting guard Wayne Ellington and defensive specialist Marcus Ginyard, who figures to match up with Weaver. Lawson, newly recovered from an ankle sprain that sidelined him early in the season, is one of the fastest players in the nation. Edge: WSU.

Among the bigs

Hansbrough would give the Heels the advantage here over any team in the country, save for perhaps Kansas State (whose freshman Michael Beasley is the only real competition for player of the year). No doubt, however, WSU earned respect in Chapel Hill with the effort it turned in on Notre Dame's Luke Harangody (3 for 17 on field goals). Aron Baynes and Robbie Cowgill will oppose Hansbrough and Deon Thompson, likely attempting the same M.O. that worked against Harangody — changing up between single- and double-teams, the latter of which have sometimes bothered Hansbrough. If whistles are to be a factor, it'll likely favor Carolina; Hansbrough hasn't fouled out of a game all season. Edge: North Carolina.

First off the bench

WSU has received a solid contribution from Caleb Forrest at both ends, and would like to unleash fellow Coloradoan Daven Harmeling, who went scoreless last weekend in Denver. Carolina swingman Danny Green was the ACC's highest-scoring reserve, and forward Alex Stepheson spells both Hansbrough and Thompson. Edge: North Carolina.

Coaching

North Carolina's Roy Williams shed an old label that he couldn't win the big one with his first national title in '05, and now he appears primed for a second one. WSU's Tony Bennett has been a quick study, however, climbing near the top of charts for victories (52) among coaches with two years' experience. Edge: North Carolina.

Bottom line

WSU seems to have the perfect style to frustrate the Tar Heels, but it will take a supreme effort to pull this off. The guess is that Carolina, spurred by a heavily partisan crowd, manages just enough short offensive bursts to advance. North Carolina 71, WSU 62.

Bud Withers

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