NCAA Tournament Post-Game Notes :: North Carolina vs. Creighton

March 18, 2012

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Junior forward John Henson returned to play Sunday after missing three consecutive games with a sprained left wrist. Henson was in the starting lineup and posted his ACC-leading 17th double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Point guard Kendall Marshall suffered a broken scaphoid bone in his right wrist late in the game. His status for next Friday's regional semifinal in St. Louis is unknown at this point.
Marshall scored in double figures for the sixth game in a row, finishing with 18 points. He scored in double figures in four of UNC's first 30 games this season before doing so in each of the last six games. Marshall also tallied 11 assists and four turnovers with a career-high-tying seven field goals made.
Marshall also 11 points and 10 assists in Friday's second-round win over Vermont. He is the second Tar Heel to have back-to-back double-doubles in points and assists in NCAA Tournament play. Steve Bucknall did so in 1989 against Southern and UCLA.
It was Marshall's 17th double-figure assist game this season, extending the ACC record he set Friday vs. Vermont. He has 351 assists this season, fourth-most in NCAA single-season history. Marshall passed Jeff Lebo for eighth in UNC with 581 career assists.
Harrison Barnes shot 7 for 19 and finished with 17 points. In the first half, the Tar Heels scored 34 points in the game before Barnes scored his first points. He hit 3 of 6 three-pointers in the contest, his most three-pointers since hitting three against Clemson on Feb. 18.
Tyler Zeller finished with 11 points and six rebounds, eventually hitting 4 of 7 field goal tries. He tallied just two shot attempts and scored four points in first half.
Five Tar Heels scored in double figures, led by Marshall's 18. Barnes had 17 points, Henson and Reggie Bullock 13 each and Zeller 11.
After Henson's technical foul at the 13:44 mark of the first half, Creighton led Carolina 12-11. The Tar Heels then went on a 27-13 run over eight minutes to take a 39-24 lead with 5:33 to play before the break.
Carolina shot 54.5 percent in the first half and 50.8 percent in the game while also hitting 8 of 16 three-pointers in the contest. The Tar Heel defense held Creighton (which entered the game shooting 50.7 percent as a team on the season) to 37.5 percent in the first half and 41.2 percent overall.
The win over Creighton sends Carolina to its NCAA-record 31st appearance in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals.
The NCAA record book lists Sweet 16 appearances only since 1975 (when all teams have needed to win at least one game to reach the regional semis). Carolina now has advanced to the Sweet 16 an NCAA-record 25 times. Kentucky is second with 23.
The Tar Heels have reached the Sweet 16 in 23 of its last 29 NCAA Tournament appearances. Head coach Roy Williams is taking his 15th team to the Sweet 16 in 24 years as a head coach.
The Tar Heels are 26-5 (.839) in NCAA Tournament games under Williams. That's the best winning percentage in NCAA history by a coach at one school (minimum 25 NCAA games). Williams has 60 all-time NCAA Tournament wins, second among active coaches and third in history. His NCAA winning percentage of .759 is second among active coaches.
Carolina is now 49-9 as a No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament play. UNC is 7-0 in NCAA Tournament games in Greensboro and 31-1 in NCAA games in the state of North Carolina. The Tar Heels have won 27 consecutive NCAA Tournament games played in North Carolina.
UNC is 107-40 in 147 NCAA Tournament games. That's tied with Kentucky for most wins in NCAA Tournament history.

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NCAA Tournament Post-Game Notes :: North Carolina vs. Creighton

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Players Mentioned

Harrison Barnes

Reggie Bullock

John Henson

Kendall Marshall

Tyler Zeller

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