East Regional Semifinal: North Carolina vs. Washington State

East Regional Semifinal
#1 North Carolina Tar Heels vs. #4 Washington State Cougars
Thursday, March 27, 7:27 ET

The first semifinal in the East Regional will match North Carolina from the Atlantic Coast Conference against Washington State from the Pacific-10. Both teams have cruised to easy victories in the first 2 rounds, and will look to build on their winning ways.

Here's a look at each team:

North Carolina Tar Heels

Who they beat thus far:
Mount St. Mary's, 113-74
Arkansas, 108-77

Strengths:
High-octane offense - The Tar Heels can run up and down the court for 40 minutes and score at will. Scoring over 100 points in both games so far only shows what kind of overall talent they have. Averaging nearly 90 points and shooting 49% on the season, they will overwhelm teams with their speed, strength, and depth.

Close wins - While they won easily in the first 2 rounds, they know how to eek out wins as well. They have defeated Georgia Tech by 1, Virginia by 1, Virginia Tech by 2, and Clemson by 2 and 5. Also, they won all 3 overtime games over Clemson twice and Florida State.

Weaknesses:
Defensive letdowns - Even though they have only lost 2 games, they have been susceptible to giving up over 80 points in a game and trying to win by outshooting teams. They gave up 80 to Boston College on March 1, 77 to Florida State on March 4, and 81 to Clemson on March 16, though they won all of those games.

No Bobby Frasor - He has not played in the last 24 games, and while they have certainly become used to not having him around, losing a talent like him is hard to overcome. They did not lose with him in the lineup, and miss his 2.5/1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Washington State Cougars

Who they beat thus far:
Winthrop, 71-40
Notre Dame, 61-41

Strengths:
Shut-down defense - On nights when their shooting has gone cold, they can thank their tight defense for keeping them in contention. Only 6 times this season have they given up 70 or more points in a game. After allowing 75 to Stanford in the Pac-10 semifinals, they have only given up 81 combined points in the first 2 rounds of the tournament.