No. 4 North Carolina overpowers Chaminade 104-61 in Maui

The 4th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels stayed ideal on the season, improving to 6-0 on the year, after defeating the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 107-75, last night. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

A field that features Georgetown, Oregon, Connecticut, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, Tennessee and the host team, Division II Chaminade, will provide action packed games in every round. After a Leath tip ended the match, the Tar Heel squad stormed the court in elation and dressed up in ACC championship gear. Two games in Maui, and four different players have scored at least 20 points. It will be hard when he is faced with the rabid Tar Heels fans screaming their lungs out whenever NC State has the ball.

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) – Marcus Foster scored 25 points, and Creighton had to rally in the second half to beat MS in the championship game of the Paradise Jam tournament. North Carolina and Hawaii are facing off for the first time since the mid-1990s.

North Carolina no longer has all-time 3-point leader Marcus Paige in the mix, but that hasn’t stopped the excellent shooting. The Wolfpack showed they’re capable of competing with the big boys when they took Clemson to overtime, and NC State should be able to shut down the run and make UNC one-dimensional on offense.

“To see six players in double figures, that’s pretty insane against a very good team”, Jackson said. I think so. Look for them to get some quality minutes tonight, which can translate to some quality performances.

“We’ve got arguably the best team in the country (Tuesday) night”. Six Tar Heels scored in double figures, led by Joel Berry with 24 and Justin Jackson with 22. They’re winning with a high level of execution on offense, and winning with toughness and tenacity – qualities that haven’t always been associated with the Tar Heels in recent seasons.

Unlike their loss to Maryland last week, the Hoyas weathered the Duck storm and advanced to the second round against No. 16 Wisconsin. Specifically, the Badgers have to be good in transition defense and at stopping dribble penetration.

North Carolina faces Oklahoma State in the semifinals on Tuesday. The Badgers won’t dominate the boards vs. The other three times, they made a trip to the Final Four the same year (1999, 2004, 2008). Instead of trying to weave between the UNC trees around the paint, the Cowboys need to pass the ball around and work for that good outside shot and knock them down.

North Carolina (6-0) shot 57.8 percent from the field.

Then again, North Carolina is likely to be better at scoring than it is at preventing scores. As well as Bronson Koenig has played early in the season – the senior point guard is averaging a team-high 17.6 points per game – he’s only shooting 28.3 percent from beyond the arc (13 of 46). Hawaii is led by UCLA transfer Noah Allen, a 6-foot-7 senior who averages 16.3 points per game.

But if No. 4 UNC’s dominant march to the title of the Maui Invitational proved anything, it’s that it’s past time to begin thinking of this team in terms of what it has gained over the past seven months.