Sun Sep 05 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- So much for the idea that North Carolina's players wouldn't be interested in playing in the NIT, even in a miserable season following a national championship run.
Instead, the Tar Heels really did look grateful to play again just as they said they were.
Dexter Strickland hit the go-ahead free throws with 2:34 left and North Carolina held William & Mary scoreless for the final 5 minutes in the Tar Heels' 80-72 win in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night.
Deon Thompson scored 20 points to lead the Tar Heels (17-16), who had slid from hoisting the NCAA championship trophy nearly a year ago in Detroit to playing in the NIT for the first time in seven years. And after weathering a flurry of 3-pointers from the Tribe (22-11), they ensured that they would avoid suffering only their second losing season in nearly half a century.
"We came into this game looking at it as another fresh start for us," said fifth-year senior Marcus Ginyard, who had 12 points. "We did a great job of getting after it, getting all the loose balls and playing together as a team -- and those are things we've got to continue to build on."
Tyler Zeller added 13 points for the fourth-seeded Tar Heels, who advanced to the second round to face Mississippi State. North Carolina had gone 39 years without a losing seasons before its 8-20 debacle of 2001-02, and this win ensured that would be the only such blip on the program's recent history.
As if the sight of basketball royalty playing in the NIT wasn't unusual enough, the game also was the first time in 24 years that the men's program played a regular-season or postseason game at Carmichael Arena. Carmichael was the program's campus home before moving into the Smith Center -- which is currently undergoing some renovation -- in 1986.
Recent renovations at Carmichael had cut its capacity from around 10,000 to about 6,800 for this game, yet it was a sellout and offered a surprisingly charged atmosphere in the building where program legends like Phil Ford, Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins once played under Hall of Famer Dean Smith.
"It wasn't as loud as it was in the old days because there were 3,000 more people in there, but it was a fun atmosphere for me to coach in," said coach Roy Williams, an assistant to Smith for 10 years. "We've had some great games in the Smith Center, but this one was special and hopefully we can get this kind of atmosphere in the Smith Center all the time."
Jacksonville 67, Arizona State 66
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Ben Smith scored a game-high 26 points, including a 24-foot jump shot with 1.5 seconds remaining and Jacksonville rallied to upset top-seeded Arizona State.
Sun Devils senior guard Derek Glasser missed the second of two free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining to give Arizona State (22-11) a 66-64 lead.
But Smith came down and hit his fourth 3-pointer of the half two steps behind the arc to give the Dolphins their first postseason win in eight games dating to the 1974 NIT.
Mississippi St. 81, Jackson St. 67
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Jarvis Varnado scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds to lead Mississippi State.
MSU (24-11) shot 40.7 percent from the field (22 for 54) and hit just 8 of 29 from 3-point range.
Jackson State (19-13) turned the ball over 16 times in the loss.
Connecticut 59, Northeastern 57
STORRS, Conn. -- Jerome Dyson scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and Connecticut hung on to win.
Dyson, who scored a total of 18 points in his previous three games, had 11 points in the final 7 1/2 minutes to help bring UConn (18-15) back from a six-point deficit. His free throws with 53 seconds left provided the winning margin.
Texas Tech 87, Seton Hall 69
NEWARK, N.J. -- John Roberson scored 22 points and Darko Cohadarevic recovered from a first-half low blow to score 12 points for the Red Raiders.
It was the 10th straight loss in the NIT for the Pirates (19-13), who have not won a game in the tourney since 1956.
NC State 58, South Florida 57
TAMPA, Fla. -- Dennis Horner scored 25 points and Richard Howell's go-ahead layup with 8 seconds left barely beat the shot clock for the Wolfpack.
The officials reviewed Howell's basket to see if he got the shot off before the shot clock expired and the call stood.
UAB 65, Coastal Carolina 49
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Elijah Millsap scored 15 points and UAB never trailed Coastal Carolina.
UAB (24-8) held Coastal Carolina (28-7) scoreless for the first 5:10 of the game in building an 8-0 lead. The Blazers led 17-6 midway through the first half and maintained at least an eight-point advantage the rest of the way.
A 19-5 run gave UAB a 40-18 halftime lead. The Blazers scored only 44 points in losing to Southern Mississippi last week in the Conference USA tournament.
Chad Gray and Danny Nieman each had 12 points for the Chanticleers, who won the Big South Conference regular-season title, but lost in the championship game of the conference tournament.
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