National Basketball Association
North Carolina 87, Creighton 73
When: 5:15 PM ET, Sunday, March 18, 2012
Where: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Officials:
# Pat Driscoll, # Thomas O'Neill, # Mike Stuart
Attendance:
N/A
By SportsDirect Inc.
North Carolina 87, Creighton 73: John Henson returned from a three-game hiatus with an injured left wrist to score 13 points and grab nine rebounds, leading North Carolina to the Sweet 16.
Henson, his wrist wrapped and still showing signs of soreness, was one of five North Carolina players in double figures and helped the top-seeded Tar Heels reach the regional semifinal for an NCAA-record 31st time.
North Carolina (31-5) also got an offensive lift from point guard Kendall Marshall, who made seven-of-eight from the field and scored 18 points, along with 12 assists, to record his fifth double-double in the last six games. Harrison Barnes scored 17 and Reggie Bullock scored 13, with each knocking down three 3-pointers. Tyler Zeller scored 11.
Creighton (29-6) got 20 points and nine rebounds from Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Doug McDermott, 12 points and six rebounds from beefy center Gregory Echenique, and 10 points from Josh Jones and Antoine Young.
GAME NOTEBOOK: North Carolina matched Creighton at its own game, as each team made eight shots from behind the 3-point arc... North Carolina shot 49.3 from the floor, while Creighton shot just 38.9 percent... UNC is now 7-0 in NCAA games at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Top Game Performances
Creighton |
|
North Carolina |
Doug McDermott 20 |
Scoring |
Kendall Marshall 18 |
Grant Gibbs 4 |
Assists |
Kendall Marshall 11 |
Grant Gibbs 10 |
Rebounds |
John Henson 10 |
Doug McDermott 3 |
Free Throws Made |
John Henson 3 |
Grant Gibbs 2 |
Steals |
James Michael McAdoo 2 |
Gregory Echenique 2 |
Blocks |
John Henson 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Creighton
|
73 |
41.2 |
8-20 |
9-12 |
11 |
34 |
3 |
7 |
9 |
North Carolina
|
87 |
50.8 |
8-16 |
13-19 |
16 |
43 |
9 |
4 |
9 |