University of North Carolina Athletics
Freshmen lead defending champion North Carolina against George Mason
March 18, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 18, 2006
STATS Senior Writer
Despite being one of the most storied teams in the history of the event, North Carolina can't rely on experience in this year's NCAA tournament.
The third-seeded Tar Heels will look to ride their freshman into the round of 16 Sunday when they face No. 11 George Mason Sunday in Dayton, Ohio.
Four freshmen - Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Bobby Frasor and Marcus Ginyard - scored North Carolina's final 29 points in Friday's first-round 69-65 victory over 14th-seeded Murray State. Tyler Hansbrough had 24 points for his 14th 20-point game - a school freshman record.
"If he was any better looking, I'd want to kiss him after every game," coach Roy Williams said of Hansbrough. "I've never seen a freshman more focused."
The Tar Heels lost their top seven scorers after beating Illinois to win their fourth national championship last season. They have reached 16 Final Fours, the most in NCAA history.
"This team is not defending anything - the school is," Williams said. "It's not the same team at all."
The young Heels had a tough time against Murray State, which is 1-12 in the NCAA tournament. North Carolina trailed 31-30 at halftime and never led by more than five in the second half.
Freshman Marcus Ginyard hit two free throws with 16.5 seconds left to account for the final score.
"They looked scared," said senior David Noel, the only North Carolina player with any significant NCAA experience. "That's what you expect.
"At the same time, our freshmen stepped up big in the final four minutes. I kind of pulled them together and said, 'This is it, the last four minutes. We haven't played well the whole game but we have to now."'
Williams, in his third season at North Carolina after 15 at Kansas, has won at least one game in the last 17 NCAA tournaments, matching former Carolina coach Dean Smith for the record. Still, he wasn't sure quite how this year's team would handle the big stage.
"I feel very fortunate, to say the least," Williams said. "A first-round game is always difficult, particularly if you've got a team that hasn't been through it because they don't know what it's like."
The Patriots (24-7) earned their first-ever tournament win with Friday's 75-65 upset victory over sixth-seeded Michigan State. Folarin Campbell scored 21 points for George Mason, which has won 17 of 20.
"It means an awful lot to the university, and it means an awful lot to me," coach Jim Larranaga said.
The Patriots, who outrebounded the Spartans 40-24, lost in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament and many wondered why they were invited to the NCAAs.
"We just used that as motivation," portly center Jai Lewis said. "We're No. 9 nationally in field goal defense, our RPI is high and we won our conference. We deserved it."
Will Thomas had 18 points and 14 rebounds after scoring a career-high 21 points, 19 and 17 in his previous three games. He has made just under 75 percent of his shots in his last four games.
The Patriots won despite being without Tony Skinn, their second-leading scorer who was suspended for Friday's game by the team for punching a Hofstra player in the groin in the CAA semifinals.
"Being on the court is a whole lot easier than being on the bench," said Skinn, who will not start Sunday. "It's a roller coaster ride on the bench."
North Carolina beat George Mason 115-81 in Chapel Hill on Dec. 7, 2003, in the only previous matchup between the teams.
The winner of Sunday's game will face seventh-seeded Wichita State, which knocked off No. 2 Tennessee on Saturday.
North Carolina-George Mason Matchup
 |
NCAA TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND |  |
| North Carolina | Category | George Mason |
| 23-7 | Record | 24-7 |
| 80 | Avg. Pts. | 69.6 |
| 68.8 | Opp. Avg. Pts. | 59 |
| 11.2 | Margin | 10.6 |
| 0.481 | FG Pct. | 0.487 |
| 0.412 | Opp. FG Pct. | 0.387 |
| 0.378 | 3-Pt. FG Pct. | 0.353 |
| 0.333 | Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct. | 0.317 |
| 6.8 | 3-Pt. FG-Game | 5.9 |
| 6.5 | Opp. 3-Pt. FG-Game | 6.1 |
| 0.706 | FT Pct. | 0.658 |
| 8.3 | Rebound Margin | 3.1 |
| -1.4 | TO Diff. | 0.6 |
| 8 | Avg Steals | 7.2 |
| 3.9 | Avg Blocks | 3.6 |
