MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- What did we learn from Sunday's South Regional final at FedExForum?
Oklahoma sophomore
Blake Griffin is indeed the best player in college basketball.
But, more importantly, North Carolina might be the best team in the country.
The No. 1-seeded Tar Heels routed the No. 2-seeded Sooners 72-60 at FedExForum, earning UNC an NCAA-record 18th trip to the Final Four. North Carolina will play East Regional champion Villanova in Detroit on Saturday.
How good are the Tar Heels? Even with four-time All-American
Tyler Hansbrough scoring only eight points after being saddled by foul trouble in the first half, the Tar Heels pretty much ran the Sooners off the floor.
UNC point guard
Ty Lawson scored 19 points with five rebounds and five assists. Forward
Danny Green scored 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting, and forward
Deon Thompson had 10 points.
The Tar Heels, who will be trying for their fifth national championship and first since 2005, simply had too much depth and balance for Oklahoma.
The highly anticipated matchup between Hansbrough and Griffin never really developed.
Griffin is expected to be the No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft if he leaves school after his sophomore season. He more than lived up to the hype against UNC, scoring 23 points with 16 rebounds. Griffin made 9 of 12 shots and went 5-for-8 from the foul line.
Hansbrough scored eight points on 2-for-4 shooting, after playing only nine minutes in the first half after he picked up two early fouls. Hansbrough also had six rebounds and three assists.
But Hansbrough won the game, which is what mattered most to both players.