GREENSBORO, N.C. --- The North Carolina Tar Heels advanced to the Sweet 16 once again after taking care of Creighton on Sunday in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Forward John Henson returned to UNC's lineup and was excellent scoring 13 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking four shots in 28 minutes of action. All five of Carolina's starters scored in double figures, led by Reggie Bullock's 18 points, and the Tar Heels looked at times like a national championship team.
However, UNC learned after the game that starting point guard Kendall Marshall fractured the scaphoid in his right wrist, which was put in a cast Sunday night mainly for comfort purposes. UNC had no other information by the time the team left for Chapel Hill. More news is expected Monday.
Carolina improved to 31-5, while the Bluejays finished their season at 29-6.
Here are both teams' grades for their performances Sunday:
Creighton offense: The Bluejays said they were going to play the way they have all year, and they didn't waver much from that. They drained 8 of 20 3-point attempts for 40 percent, but overall were at just 41.2 percent, as UNC's interior kept Creighton from having success in the paint. This was a solid effort by the Jays, they just couldn't keep up with the high-flying Tar Heels. Grade: B.
UNC offense: Carolina was awesome in stretches. UNC shot 50.8 percent from the floor on the day, including converting half of its 16 shots from beyond the arc. Five starters were in double figures, Marshall recorded 11 assists, and UNC had an amazing flow for long periods. There were a couple of stretches when jumpers were forced too early on possessions, but for the most part this was a pretty impressive effort. Grade: A.
Creighton defense: The Bluejays were helpless at times because the Tar Heels had some spurts where they did whatever they felt like. But, Creighton did a solid job of keeping Tyler Zeller from catching entry passes in comfort spots on the lower blocks. They pushed him out some, and held the ACC Player of the Year to 11 points. Grade: C-.
UNC defense: At times, the Tar Heels didn't appear to play much defense. Creighton is a nice team and averaged almost 80 points a game this season, and it does a nice job of spacing and getting good looks. It also pulled the trigger often as soon as a look opened, sometimes to its detriment. Sometimes it was UNC's defense that forced quick looks that were a bit out of the Bluejays' comfort zone. UNC did block nine shots. Grade: C+.
Creighton intangibles: Fearless. The Bluejays were fearless, not intimidated by the mighty Tar Heels one bit. They went at them and played their game. They just weren't and aren't good enough to beat a team like UNC. The hacking at Henson's wrist deal was ridiculous, though. Grade: B-.
UNC intangibles: Loved the spirit UNC played with and how it flexed its muscles after Henson's wrist was hacked at, leading to his technical foul. Carolina came together in that moment, which was awfully encouraging to Roy Williams. UNC won the battle on the glass by nine and had seven more points off of turnovers. Grade: A.
