Why are North Carolina players all wearing cowboy hats?

Unfortunately for North Carolina (or at least potentially so), Joel Berry turned his ankle in the opening win. He sounded optimistic about Sunday’s game when asked about his health.

Williams said he held Berry out of Saturday’s practice while he continued to get treatment.

The big difference is the Tar Heels are a rebounding machine (see Bob Holt’s story on that in today’s paper), and that is not the Razorbacks’ strength by any stretch of the imagination.

The 6-foot-3 junior also came through with a pair of free throws with 18.3 seconds left following a whistle in which officials reviewed Desi Rodriguez’s foul to stop the clock and changed it to a flagrant foul. Arkansas averages better than 80 points per game, but it would be an impressive task to get to that number here in this one.

Tech, who stranded a runner in the second, answered the Tar Heels’ run in the bottom half of the third with two runs of its own to take the lead. Many fans say it was about what they expected from the heavily-favored Tar Heels.

A faster pace is something Arkansas coach Mike Anderson endorses because he said fatigue might have played a factor in his team’s favor in defeating Seton Hall.

“We’re going to worry about what we do”, Anderson said. “I want to play and that’s my goal”. We’re not going to change. “I’m not 100 percent, but I’m getting close”. Arkansas is 330th in the country at defensive rebounding while the Tar Heels rank 1st at offensive rebounding. Dusty Hannahs scored 14 as Dustin Thomas tied his season high with 13 points.

According to teammate Justin Jackson, the Razorbacks’ chaotic style should provide a favorable matchup since UNC has traditionally been most effective in uptempo games. “You’ve got to play nearly ideal basketball”.

And a potential scare in the second half seemed subdued because starting point guard Joel Berry II limped off with an injured right ankle and was taken out of view for treatment.

Berry said he remembered taking on the Razorbacks when he was a freshman.

Ahead of Sunday’s game, Berry believes there is a chance that he is pulled from the game if No. 1 seed North Carolina is dominating, but he has no expectations about his playing status. Could the roles be reversed Sunday? The Razorbacks won six of their last SEC seven games, helping build a strong case for their eventual bid into the NCAA Tournament.

“I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not”, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said of the Shockers-Wildcats pairing. “They apply a lot of pressure, trapping at random times on the court and picking up guys fullcourt”. The ensuing games probably will not be decided in two possessions. You knew the game was over when, with 2:40 remaining in the first half, announcers pivoted away from game analysis to break down how awesome the Tigers’ band is.

In the first meeting against Duke, Woods scored four points, had four assists and had no turnovers in eight minutes.