North Carolina 87, Arkansas 78
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Junior guard Marcus Paige scored 20 points in the game’s final 14 minutes to help No. 4 seed North Carolina pull away from No. 5 seed Arkansas in a physical matchup. The Tar Heels will extend its NCAA record by making its 26th official Sweet 16 appearance. Bobby Portis ended the game with another double-double 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Player of the game
- Paige made just one shot in the first half. His second basket — a 3-pointer — gave the Tar Heels a 54-52 lead. From there he could not be stopped. He made all nine of his free throws and finished with 22 points — including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc – while chipping in six rebounds and five steals.
Key stats
- Arkansas junior guard Michael Qualls starred for the Razorbacks. In his 100th career game, he achieved his first double-double with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.
- Arkansas lost a season-high 21 turnovers, and committed 23 personal fouls. North Carolina converted those fouls into a 29-of-37 (78.4 percent) mark from the free-throw line.
- The Tar Heels exceeded Arkansas’ total with 25 personal fouls.
- North Carolina shot 45 percent from the field, compared to 36.9 percent for Arkansas.
- Arkansas forward Bobby Portis scored 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting. He grabbed 14 rebounds for the double-double.
- North Carolina freshman Justin Jackson played 37 minutes and chipped in 16 points.
- North Carolina sophomore Nate Britt – who played just 1 minute in the second-round matchup against Harvard – made an impact off the bench with 10 points and four rebounds.
- In the teams’ last meeting in 2008 — the Razorbacks’ last NCAA Tournament appearance — the Tar Heels eliminated Arkansas in the second round, 108-77.
- North Carolina coach Roy Williams tied the late Dean Smith by winning his 65th NCAA Tournament game.
- The Tar Heels are now 112-43 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
After the game it was reported that Bobby Portis said he could not wait to return to the Razorbacks to get better and help Arkansas go deeper into the tournament. No word on the intentions of Michael Qualls, and neither players’ status for next year is official.
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