East Regional Final A Star Studded Affair

Entering their East regional semifinal games, North Carolina and Louisville were finally met with a true challenge in this NCAA Tournament. Through the first two games, Roy Williams and Rick Pitino’s teams played to near perfection against lesser opponents, and made it clear that they were responsible for why the East Region was widely regarded as the toughest at the start of the competition. The Tar Heels won their first two games by an average of 35 points, and scored a diabolical 221 points in the process. The Cardinals looked just as great in winning both of their games by double digits, including a 30-poiint thrashing of Oklahoma in the second round. However, things were gonna be different in Charlotte for the regionals.

North Carolina would finally be confronted with a defensively oriented team like Washington State, a team that was also playing out of its mind. For the first time all season, the Tar Heels would be matched up with a team that played the deliberate style of ball Tony Bennett implements. The frustrating style would put Carolina’s fast paced transition game to the ultimate test. Meanwhile, the Cardinals were dealt the juiciest matchup of the third round on paper with the Volunteers and lovable coach Bruce Pearl. The Vols had put together probably the most successful season the men’s team had ever seen, reaching #1 for the first time and winning an SEC Championship. Throughout the year the Vols had shown that they could contend with anybody, preparing themselves with America’s toughest schedule. Tennessee would enter as the higher seed, and the team with more credentials, but it was Louisville that left the court with their Final Four dreams intact, a decisive winner once again in the 2008 Tournament. Similarly, North Carolina wowed the fans of their home state in dusting off the Cougars with ease.

It sets up a tremendous East Regional Final, set for Saturday night in Charlotte. The Pitino vs. Williams duel is only a small part of the star power that will take the court on Saturday night. Two former McDonald’s All-Americans Tyler Hansbrough and David Padgett will battle down low; Hansbrough’s the Player of the Year, while Padgett has finally proven to be the tough power forward we all thought he would be when he was a freshman at Kansas in 2003. Injuries have derailed him throughout his career, but Padgett has emerged stronger because of it, and his team has responded. Hansbrough continues to find ways of dominating the opponents. After a rough start where Washington State held him unusually quiet in the first half, he responded by leading the charge as the Heels turned the game into a blowout.

Both teams are filled with great complementary players, but have shown that when needed, they can become stars. Wayne Eillington has proven to be a truly dominant players at times; just ask Clemson, who Ellington buried with a 3-pointer to bury them in overtime at Littlejohn earlier in the season. Ty Lawson and Danny Green join him in double figures, with Green being a crucial spark plug off the bench. He saved the best game of his season against Duke on 8th in Durham. His 18 points and seven big blocks on defense helped the Tar Heels secure revenge and earn the pivotal #1 seed in the East that served as a huge factor in helping his team play its best ball of the season. North Carolina hasn’t played a game outside of their home state since March 1, and won’t have to for the rest of the month. Louisville is blessed with their own great set of supporters with three guys joining Padgett by averaging in double figures. Terrance Williams, Earl Clark, and Jerry Smith all are great rebounders as well, averaging 18.9 as a group. Edgar Sosa was the team’s future last year, scoring 31 points in a 72-69 second round loss to Texas A&M, but now is coming off the bench where he’s become a role player. That’s how deep Louisville is.

Although UNC won by 21 points, they were forced to do it on Washington State’s terms. Winning in such comfortable fashion while being forced to play without their transition game clicking is definitely a scary sight for teams that will use the deliberate tactic against the Heels in the future (namely, UCLA). However, North Carolina can take solace in the fact that Louisville will attempt to push the ball at will as well. Pitino’s patented full court press has worked beautifully in Louisville’s three resounding victories. It’s hard to believe that the Cardinals closest margin of victory was in the first round against Boise State. Since then, Louisville has disposed of quality teams from the Big 12 and SEC by a combined 49 points.

As good as Louisville has been, the Elite Eight presents one of the stiffest challenges in recent memory. The Cardinals will be playing a road game when they take on the Heels, a team that has looked every bit the top overall seed they were given through three games. Hansbrough hasn’t been dominant, but he hasn’t had to be as his team has just made it impossible to know where the next play is coming from. Two of the nation’s hottest teams will collide for a spot at the Final Four, but it has all the makings of a Championship Game.