Tar Heels seize moment to bury Bulldogs

South Regional | Edge: UNC-Oklahoma

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- North Carolina is ridiculous, and I can tell you the exact moment this became obvious Friday night, because I watched it, and before I watched it, I actually predicted it. I didn't predict to predict it, mind you.

I had already experienced one blowout -- Oklahoma 84, Syracuse 71 -- and had no interest in witnessing another. But I've seen this North Carolina team enough to know what this North Carolina team is capable of doing, and my only regret is that I didn't tell the Gonzaga cheerleaders, because they were right in front of me, and it would've been easy -- not to mention courteous -- to tip them off and help them avoid an unnecessary rollercoaster of emotions.

Anyway, that moment.

It came with 12:35 remaining, when Jeremy Pargo got a steal and lay-up to cut a deficit that was 21 points less than three minutes earlier to 11, forcing UNC coach Roy Williams to call a timeout. That's when the Gonzaga cheerleaders started cheering their little hearts out, and the crowd jumped up, too. That's when I turned to the guy next to me and said matter-of-factly, "Watch this. They think they're back in it, but it's about to be over, and it'll happen fast."

That was my prediction.

Twenty seconds later, Bobby Frasor sank a 3-pointer.

Twenty-six seconds after that, he did it again.

Fourteen seconds after that, Wayne Ellington got a three-point play.

The Tar Heels explode in the second half and secure the win. (US Presswire)

Forty seconds after that, Tyler Hansbrough got a three-point play.

And just like that -- quicker than you can say Sunday's Tyler Hansbrough-Blake Griffin matchup sure is going to be fun! -- UNC turned a 68-57 advantage into an 80-57 advantage, which was the knock-out punch in a 98-77 victory that has the ACC regular season champions one way away from consecutive Final Fours. In case you're too lazy to do the math, that 12-0 run took 100 seconds, meaning UNC averaged a point every 8.3 seconds in that game-deciding spurt, this despite having to actually give the ball to Gonzaga after every made basket, if only temporarily.

"We're ecstatic," Williams said. "It was a big-time game for us."

I could break this down a million different ways, but really, what's the point? All you need to know to understand what happened here at FedExForum is that the Tar Heels rank sixth nationally in tempo (measured by possessions per game) and first nationally in offensive efficiency (measured by points per 100 offensive possessions), which tells us they have the unique ability to play fast and really well.

How unique? Consider that no other school ranks in the top 20 in both tempo and offensive efficiency. But UNC entered the Sweet 16 ranked sixth in one and first in the other, and the Tar Heels did nothing to diminish those statistics against Gonzaga.

They took 68 shots and made 36 (52.9 percent).

They took 19 3-pointers and made 11 (57.9 percent).

They took 27 free throws and made 15 (55.6 percent).

They recorded 23 assists against just nine turnovers.

They gave Gonzaga no chance whatsoever to pull this upset.

So now the Tar Heels move on to the Elite Eight, where Sunday's showdown with Oklahoma should be must-see TV. It's No. 1 in the South (UNC) vs. No. 2 in the South (OU), the reigning National Player of the Year (Hansbrough) vs. the soon-to-be National Player of the Year (Griffin). Honest to God, you can't do better than this matchup, and with any luck it won't be a mismatch like Friday's regional semifinals.

Will it be?

No, I don't think so. But if I'm Jeff Capel, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping against hope, because if the Tar Heels play this well again, they'll be tough to manage, nearly impossible to control or contain, on their way to Detroit, one step closer to cutting nets on the first Monday in April.

"I've said all along that if all 16 (teams in the Sweet 16), if we all play at the top of our game, North Carolina wins the national championship," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. "I just feel like when they're playing at their highest end, they're better than the rest of us. And they played that way tonight."