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NCAA Tournament: North Carolina rolls past Butler

 
Published March 25, 2017

MEMPHIS — Joel Berry scored 26 and Justin Jackson added 24 as top-seeded North Carolina moved to their 27th Elite Eight with a 92-80 victory over Butler in the NCAA South Region on Friday night.

Luke Maye recorded his first career double double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, helping fuel a quick start for North Carolina (30-7). The Tar Heels led by double digits through the second half; they face Kentucky Sunday.

"He has the ability to shoot the ball. He has the ability to rebound the ball," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of Maye, a sophomore forward and former walk-on. "But the reason Luke is going to be successful is what he's got in his brain and in his heart."

Andrew Chrabascz led the fourth-seeded Bulldogs (25-9) with 21 points and seven rebounds.

"We let them get into a rhythm, especially in the beginning," Chrabascz said. "When you let a team like that feel good about themselves, it's tough to get them out of that with how many talented guys they have."

Butler had not trailed in the tournament until Carolina's Isaiah Hicks hit the opening basket.

UK topples UCLA

MEMPHIS — De'Aaron Fox scored a career-high 39 as Kentucky beat UCLA 86-75 for a spot in the South Region final. Fox set a freshman record for NCAA Tournament scoring. The only No. 2 seed to survive and advance, the Wildcats (32-5) won their 14th straight game. The third-seeded Bruins (31-5) leave their third Sweet 16 under coach Steve Alford short of the Elite Eight. Fans booed Kentucky coach John Calipari in his first game in Memphis since leaving in April 2009 for the Wildcats. Calipari's latest crop of talented freshmen put Kentucky into the Elite Eight for the sixth time in seven years. Calipari, asked about facing North Carolina, exclaimed: "Oh my god, how good are they?''

Trash talking

Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes is one of the more outspoken players in college basketball. Maybe a little too outspoken this week. He didn't have nice things to say about his host: New York. When asked about the Big Apple, where the Badgers played Florida on Friday night, the senior forward said, "I really don't like New York. It's too big. It's too dirty. There's trash everywhere. There's too many people. And it's cold right now." Too cold? Temperatures this week in New York did dip down into the 20s, but doesn't Hayes live in Madison, Wis.? Hayes said he already has had his fill of New York, but what happens if he gets drafted by the Knicks or Nets? "You'd have no choice," Hayes said. "It's just something you'd have to live with."

World's Most Famous

Madison Square Garden is known for postseason hoops, but not the NCAA Tournament. The World's Most Famous Arena has been home to the NIT Tournament since 1938. What many people don't realize is the NIT — founded by basketball's inventor Dr. James Naismith — used to be a bigger deal than the NCAA Tournament. But the NCAA Tournament is making a comeback at the Garden. MSG hosted a region final three years ago, but that was the first NCAA Tournament appearance in 53 years. After this weekend's tough ticket (even without Villanova and Duke), look for the Garden to become a regular part of the East region rotation.

Really, Andy North?

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The three-time Gator All-America golfer and two-time U.S. Open winner was in the stands sitting next to Packers QB Aaron Rodgers for the UF-Wisconsin game … wearing Badgers gear. North, 67, is a Wisconsin native and calls Madison home, but his orange-and-blue card might be revoked.

Burn, baby, burn

When Xavier lost six straight games in February and dropped out of the rankings, coaches tried to burn the month from the players' memories. Literally. Copies of their February schedule with all its losses were given to the players, who burned them. They've carried the ashes with them to practices and games as a reminder at what they have overcome. After upsetting second-seeded Arizona on Thursday night, the 11th-seeded Musketeers face top-seeded Gonzaga tonight in a West Region final (6:09, TBS).

Quotables

"It's not about me and my monkeys and my dogs and my cats. It's about them (the players)."

Mark Few, Gonzaga coach, irritated when asked if he felt like the monkey was off his back after the Zags advanced to the Elite Eight for the third time.

"I got off the elevator today and was coming to the bus to come over to the arena. I saw this monkey running around, and I picked him up. So if anybody sees Coach Few later on, if they want to return that monkey, it's in our locker room for him."

Chris Mack, Xavier coach

Numbers of the day

17 Combined wins for Bill Self and Dana Altman in the 1994-95 season, the first in which they matched wits. Self was coaching at Oral Roberts at the time and Altman was in his first season at Creighton. Altman won that game 68-61. Tonight, they face off in their biggest matchup, the Kansas-Oregon Midwest final (8:49, TBS).

26.7 Shooting percentage for West Virginia in Thursday's loss to Gonzaga, the lowest field-goal percentage for any team in a Round-of-32 game or later since the Mountaineers shot 24.1 percent during the Sweet 16 in 2015.

36 Years since two Kansas teammates each scored at least 25 in an NCAA Tournament game. In the 1971 Sweet 16 Dave Robisch had 29 and Bud Stallworth had 25; Thursday night Devonte Graham and Frank Mason each had 25 in a rout of Purdue.

Times sports columnist Tom Jones contributed to this report.