Tar Heels Get Their Job Done

If the question is Arizona, the answer is yes.

North Carolina’s players heard all about it.

“We knew Arizona was eliminated before the game because they announced it over the [public-address system],” said forward Antawn Jamison, whose team was beaten by Arizona in a semifinal game at last year’s Final Four and had been looking forward to a possible rematch.

“Disappointed? Not really,” Jamison said. “I don’t concern myself with who we play. We have one goal, to win the national championship, if we would have played Arizona or not. Now we’ll prepare for Utah.”

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North Carolina’s 34 victories this season gave Bill Guthridge an NCAA record for wins by a first-year coach. Indiana State’s Bill Hodges had held it with 33 in 1979. . . . The 34 victories tied the North Carolina record, set during the Tar Heels’ 1993 national championship season. . . . Connecticut is 0-4 in regional finals. . . . North Carolina is the third school in NCAA history to advance to the Final Four in consecutive years with different coaches. It happened at UCLA in 1975 and ’76 under John Wooden and Gene Bartow, and at Cincinnati in 1960 and ’61 under George Smith and Ed Jucker. Kentucky could join the list today if Tubby Smith’s team advances to the Final Four after making it under Rick Pitino last season.