Mar 25, 2007, 14:50 GMT
East Rutherford, NJ - The top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels and the second-seeded Georgetown Hoyas will battle for the right to represent the East Regional in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four.
Georgetown has won 18 of its last 19 games and owns a stellar 29-6 record overall. The Hoyas are making their 24th trip to the 'Big Dance', and they hope to improve on their 43-22 record in college basketball's premier tournament. They are set to participate in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1996 and the eighth time overall. Georgetown had all it could handle on Friday, as a shot in the final seconds lifted the squad to victory over Vanderbilt.
North Carolina faced a huge deficit against USC in the Sweet 16 on Friday, but the Heels fought back to earn a 74-64 victory. They won both the ACC regular season and tournament titles, and they are a No. 1 seed for the 11th time overall and eighth in the last 17 years. UNC, which is 92-37 all-time at the 'Big Dance', has won the national championship four times, and the team has made 39 appearances in the tourney, second only to Kentucky in that category.
The all-time series between North Carolina and Georgetown is tied at 4-4, and the teams haven't met since 2003.
DaJuan Summers and Jeff Green scored 15 points apiece for Georgetown in the narrow win over Vanderbilt, and it was Green's dramatic hoop with just over two seconds remaining that proved to be the difference. Roy Hibbert pitched in 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Hoyas, who finished with a 40-26 rebounding advantage and won the game despite forcing just five turnovers.
Green averages 14.2 ppg this season, and he is pulling down 6.1 rpg while dishing out 3.2 apg. The Player of the Year in the Big East Conference, Green has blocked 42 shots as well. Hibbert, a mammoth center, adds 12.7 ppg and 6.8 ppg in addition to his 83 blocks. Jonathan Wallace is the top backcourt performer for Georgetown with 10.9 ppg. The Hoyas are outstanding at the defensive end, as they limit foes to 57.0 ppg on 38.3 percent shooting from the field.
North Carolina is racking up 85.8 ppg on 50.3 percent shooting from the floor, and the squad is limiting opponents to 67.9 ppg on 41.2 percent efficiency from the field. The top performer for the Tar Heels is sophomore All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough, as he contributes 18.2 ppg and 7.8 rpg while shooting 53 percent from the field. Brandan Wright adds 14.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg for UNC, and he is shooting an even more impressive 64.9 percent from the floor. Wright, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson are all just freshmen for the Heels, but all three have put up big numbers thus far. Ellington is scoring 11.9 ppg, while Lawson is posting 10.4 ppg and 5.6 apg.
North Carolina fought back from a 16- point second-half deficit to beat USC on Friday. After allowing the Trojans to shoot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, the Heels limited the Trojans to 33.3 percent efficiency from the field over the final 20 minutes. Wright scored 21 points to lead UNC.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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