PHOENIX - North Carolina and UCLA, both No.
1 seeds and two of the most successful ever college basketball
teams, advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament on
Saturday.
UCLA, seeking its 12th national title, beat
Xavier 76-57 to win the West Region and North Carolina, trying
to capture national title No. 5, took the East Region with an
83-73 victory over persistent Louisville in Charlotte, North
Carolina.
"They're ready to go to San Antonio," North
Carolina coach Roy Williams said of his players, who will play
the winner of Sunday's Midwest battle between No. 1 Kansas and
upstart No. 10 Davidson (Monday in Manila). "It was a great
great game. We couldn't feel any better than we do right now."
Tyler Hansbrough, favorite to become
college player of the year, took over after Louisville erased
a 12-point halftime deficit, finishing with 28 points and 13
rebounds before being named Most Outstanding Player in the
East Region.
His effort allowed North Carolina, the top
overall seed in the tournament, to advance after losing in
this same round last year.
The Tar Heels are 36-2 and have won all
four NCAA tournament games in their home state, all by double
digits.
This will be the 17th Final Four for North
Carolina, the sixth for Roy Williams, who also took Kansas to
college basketball's big event. North Carolina returns to the
Final Four for the first time since winning the title in 2005,
with Williams as the coach.
UCLA is going back for the third straight
season. It is the first time UCLA has gone to the national
semifinals three times in a row since the great John Wooden
ended his career with nine straight trips before his
replacement, Gene Bartow, capped the run in 1976.
The Bruins will meet the winner of Sunday's game between
No. 1 Memphis against No. 2 Texas in the South Region final.
