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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- North Carolina saved its talk for the basketball court.
The Tar Heels refused to be goaded into a war of words with Missouri, instead letting Brendan Haywood and Ed Cota lead them to an 84-70 victory over the Tigers on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA South Regional.
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Fri, March 17
Brendan Haywood was an easy target all season. Sometimes he was a
force, other times he was non-existent.
If North Carolina wanted any chance of advancing in the
tournament, let alone challenging Stanford (assuming the Cardinal
beat South Carolina State), Haywood had to become more dominant in
the post.
Haywood did just that, scorign 28 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in a victory over
Missouri. Point guard Ed Cota made sure Haywood got the ball
in the right spots, giving him confidence with each possession. The
trick for Haywood will be to put together consecutive strong games.
He has the ability, the muscle and the soft touch to get around
Stanford's Collins twins and Mark Madsen. But the effort has been in
question. Haywood played with a sense of urgency against the Tigers.
There's no reason why he won't again Sunday against Stanford. If he
does, the Tar Heels -- a preseason Final Four candidate -- could start to
live up to their expectations.
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Haywood had a career-high 28 points and 15 rebounds, and Cota had 10 assists to become only the third player in NCAA history to reach 1,000 for his career.
The eighth-seeded Tar Heels (19-13) declined to comment a day earlier when told Missouri guard Clarence Gilbert said none of the current Carolina players were any good and all were too slow to guard him.
"As far as talking goes, we didn't put anything in the paper because we knew we could play like this," Haywood said. "Anyone can talk, but it takes heart to play."
At first, it looked like Gilbert might be right. He opened the game with consecutive 3-pointers, then mugged to the Missouri crowd for support.
But North Carolina quickly found an answer, taking advantage of its sizable height advantage -- seven Tar Heels are 6-feet-8 or taller compared to just two for Missouri -- by pounding the ball inside to the 7-foot Haywood.
"We wanted to use our strength, so I was just trying to get the ball inside," Cota said. "I guess that worked."
But Carolina coach Bill Guthridge had initially worried it wouldn't because first-year Missouri coach Quin Snyder -- a former Duke player and assistant coach -- was too familiar with it. It ultimately didn't matter because nothing could stop Haywood.
"I'm not going to say it was getting easier and easier, but I was using my will on them and I could definitely see them getting tired," said Haywood, who was 11-of-15 from the field.
North Carolina, which needs one more win to continue its streak of 28 straight 20-win seasons, will play top-seeded Stanford in the second round Sunday.
Gilbert led Missouri with 16 points -- but was just 4-for-15 from 3-point range -- and Keyon Dooling had 13. Dooling was 1-for-7 from behind the arc.
|  | | North Carolina's Ed Cota, left, had 10 assists to reach the 1,000 mark for his college career. |
"Some nights we can't miss and some nights we can't throw it in the ocean," Dooling said.
Gilbert was still talking after the loss. Although he acknowledged Haywood was the difference against the Tigers, he said he wouldn't be enough to carry the Tar Heels through the tournament.
"Haywood was the question and we didn't have the answer," Gilbert said. "But he won't be able to get them past Stanford."
The Tar Heels, who lost 76-74 to Weber State in the first round of last year's tournament, led 41-31 with 1:19 to play in the first half. But ninth-seeded Missouri (18-13) finished the half with 10 straight points to close within three at 44-41.
But Haywood took early control of the second half, grabbing the rebound of Jason Capel's missed free throw and dunking, then scoring on a turnaround jumper 32 seconds later to give Carolina a 48-41 lead.
He and Cota then hooked up for Cota's milestone assist. With 12:11 to play, Cota whipped a line drive under the basket to Haywood, who dunked for a 59-49 North Carolina lead.
"I think it was our best game of the year," Guthridge said. "Of course, Cota and Haywood had unbelievable games."
Capel added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Carolina, Joseph Forte scored 13 and Kris Lang added 11.
Missouri found itself in trouble less then two minutes into the game when senior guard Jeff Hafer picked up two fouls in about two seconds. He was whistled for his first foul with 18:57 to play, then hit again at the 18:55 mark when he reached in on the inbound pass. Hafer played just 2:16 of the first half and failed to score or take a shot.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Missouri NCAA Team Report
North Carolina NCAA Team Report
Chat: NCAA Tourney
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