Tyler Hansbrough Lifts North Carolina to Final Four with 28-Point, 13-Rebound Game

Louisville had top seed North Carolina on the ropes Saturday night, but Wooden Award candidate Tyler Hansbrough refused to let the Tar Heels lose.

Hansbrough fired in 28 points and scored 16 out of 23 for North Carolina during a 10-minute stretch in the second half, leading the Tar Heels to an 83-73 victory to capture the East Region championship and a spot in the Final Four.

The junior shot 12-of-17 from the floor to along with 13 rebounds and Wayne Ellington chipped in 13 points, helping the Tar Heels into their 17th Final Four appearance and easing the pain of last year's loss in the Elite Eight to Georgetown after they squandered a double-digit lead in the second half.

"Yeah, I mean it was in the back of a lot of our minds," said Hansbrough of last year's exit. "One thing about tonight there was that point where they went on that run and I think the difference this year is we handled that run better and stayed poised and came back. Got some points and kept fighting back until eventually we had a run."

North Carolina (36-2) held a 12-point lead at the break but saw third-seeded Louisville rally back to tie the game at 59-59 after a free throw by Earl Clark with 10:21 remaining.

But the Cardinals (27-9) never did take the lead as Hansbrough's will and determination kept the Tar Heels in front.

"We played exactly the way we needed to play to beat them," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "We tied it up, had a chance to win, and they overpowered us down the stretch."

The 6-9 forward scored seven straight points for his team and then finally got some help from his teammates, as Deon Thompson hit a layup and Ty Lawson drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner to give North Carolina a 71-64 lead with 5:07 remaining.

After a jumper by Clark pulled the Cardinals within five, Hansbrough iced the game with back-to-back jumpers from just inside the arc and with the shot clock winding down, giving North Carolina a 75-66 advantage with 1:36 left to play. Louisville got no closer than eight the rest of the way.

"The shots he made, I mean, I was right there, were unbelievable shots because they were under duress, and he had very little time to get it off, and he came up big," Pitino said. "And obviously I don't like to lose, but you've got to give credit to a great basketball player."

Danny Green had 11 points off the bench and Lawson added 11 and nine assists for North Carolina, which shot 53 percent (31-of-58) from the field. It was the first time this season Louisville, which finished sixth in field goal percentage defense with a .383 mark, allowed an opponent to top 50 percent shooting.

Jerry Smith scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures for Louisville (27-9), which shot 53 percent (29-of-55) but were undone by 19 costly turnovers. It was the first time in 12 games the Cardinals lost a game in which they shot 50 percent or better.

Hansbrough earned Most Outstanding Player for the East Regional and was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Ellington and Lawson. Smith and Clark from Louisville rounded out the squad.

The Tar Heels will play the winner of Sunday's Davidson-Kansas game. North Carolina played a close game versus Davidson earlier in the season and coach Roy Williams has extensive ties to the Jayhawks, for whom he was head coach for 15 years.

"I will never play the University of Kansas in a regular season game," Williams said. "It will have to be a tournament, whether it's NCAA Tournament or a holiday tournament. But nobody could have more love and try to give more to that place than I did for 15 years.

"So I have no idea what the emotions will be. I'm ecstatic for this club right now to be going to San Antonio and enjoy what's going on, and enjoy the accomplishments that they have made."