North Carolina Is Feeling Finer

The fans’ mandate has been clear since Coach Roy Williams returned home to North Carolina: Bring back the glory.

He’s working quickly.

North Carolina on Sunday took another significant step, returning to the Sweet 16 with a 92-65 victory over Iowa State in the second round of the Syracuse Regional at the Charlotte Coliseum.

The top-seeded Tar Heels (29-4) easily advanced from the Charlotte subregional, outrunning the ninth-seeded Cyclones (19-12) and winning consecutive NCAA tournament games for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. North Carolina faces fifth-seeded Villanova (24-7) in the regional semifinals.

The Tar Heels still aren’t where they want to be, but they’re getting closer in Williams’ second season at the helm in Chapel Hill.

“This team is getting better because they’re realizing that five guys play better together,” said Williams, a former North Carolina assistant under Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith.

“People talk about talent too much. Give me five guys who will work their butts off. That’s what you want.”

The Tar Heels have both.

“It’s a tremendous feeling for Carolina to be back in the Sweet 16,” said All-American center Sean May, who had 24 points and 17 rebounds.

“It’s an accomplishment to be back in the Sweet 16, but our goal wasn’t to make the Sweet 16. We’re all business right now with what we’re trying to do, and this does put us one step closer to our goal.”

Point guard Raymond Felton had the biggest role Sunday in the Tar Heels’ ascent.

Felton’s ballhandling prompted the Cyclones to alter their usual approach on defense, pressing and trapping on fewer possessions than they would have preferred.

“He’s a big factor because he’s a great point guard,” said Iowa State Coach Wayne Morgan, formerly the coach at Long Beach State. “When you have a point guard like that, it’s extremely helpful.”

Felton, who repeatedly found holes in the Cyclones’ aggressive 2-3 zone defense, had one of the best games of his standout career, finishing with 15 points and eight assists without a turnover while playing 37 minutes in a fast-paced game.

The style suited him just fine.

“We have that feeling that no one in the country can run with us,” Felton said. “Not to be cocky, but we just played our game.”

Iowa State kept pace with North Carolina early, in part because the Tar Heels shot only 43.2% in the first half. They converted 53.6% of their shots after halftime.

Sixth-man Marvin Williams -- the Atlantic Coast Conference freshman of the year -- provided another first-half boost for the Tar Heels.

The 6-foot-9 forward-center, who had 20 points and 15 rebounds, scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the first half, and North Carolina took command in the final 4:47. Leading, 31-29, the Tar Heels outscored the Cyclones, 14-4, capping the run on Felton’s 24-foot three-pointer at the buzzer for a 45-33 halftime advantage.

The Tar Heels put the game out of reach with a 10-2 spurt at the start of the second half. Rashad McCants, who had 17 points, made a three-pointer to extend the lead to 55-35 with 16 minutes remaining.

Center Jared Homan led Iowa State with 19 points and 20 rebounds, and he scored five points to cut the Tar Heels’ lead to 78-65 with 4:27 to play. Felton, however, took command again, and the Tar Heels’ depth and talent were too much for the Cyclones.

“We knew they had a thin bench,” McCants said. “We just wanted to run ‘em, run ‘em and run ‘em.”