Tar Heels dispatch Oakland

North Carolina finally played up to its standards again, ending the postseason run of perhaps the NCAA Tournament’s most unlikely participant.

Freshman Marvin Williams scored 20 points and Sean May added 19 in the top-seeded Tar Heels’ 96-68 rout of Oakland in the Syracuse Regional on Friday at Charlotte, N.C., a significant improvement from their lackluster showing in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Coming off a loss to Georgia Tech, the Tar Heels (28-4) shot 73 percent in the first half to take a 28-point lead and keep coach Roy Williams unbeaten in the first round of the NCAAs.

“I felt like we had to come out and redeem ourselves from the way we played,” May said.

The Tar Heels certainly did that. North Carolina had four players in double figures and set a school record with 12 3-pointers in an NCAA game, advancing to Sunday’s second round against ninth-seeded Iowa State.

The game ended a surprising postseason run by the Golden Grizzlies (13-19), who won only nine regular-season games but reached the NCAAs with an improbable run through the Mid-Continent Conference tournament.

Oakland was the only team in the 65-team field with a losing record.

For the Tar Heels, it was a welcome sign that the struggles of that ACC tournament might be behind them. It also marked the first time in nearly a month that they looked like the team that cruised to so many lopsided wins during the season.

Rashad McCants scored 16 points in his return to the starting lineup after an intestinal disorder sidelined him for four games. McCants went 6 for 9 from the floor with four 3-pointers.

The win improved Roy Williams to 16-0 in the first round of the tournament, with 14 of those coming during 15 seasons at Kansas.

NC State 75, Charlotte 63: At Worcester, Mass., Julius Hodge had 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to lead the Wolfpack (20-13) to a victory over the 49ers (21-8).

Andrew Brackman had 16 points, Ilian Evtimov and Cameron Bennerman each had 12 and Engin Atsur 10 for the Wolfpack, who limited the 49ers to 38.1 percent shooting and shut down their perimeter game in the second half.

Iowa State 64, Minnesota 53: At Charlotte, N.C., the Cyclones (19-11) relied on the same formula that sparked a dramatic turnaround during the regular season, using a variety of pressure defenses to beat the Gophers (21-11).

Iowa State held Minnesota to 33 percent shooting, and Curtis Stinson led a balanced attack with 18 points.

Florida 67, Ohio 62: At Nashville, Tenn., after the Gators (24-7) blew a 20-point lead, Anthony Roberson converted a three-point play with 42.3 seconds left and Florida held off the Bobcats (21-11).

Florida came into its seventh straight NCAA Tournament hoping to forget about first-round losses of the past. The Gators had lost two of their last three first-round games, including last year to Manhattan when they were a No. 5 seed.

(13) Connecticut 77, Central Florida 71: At Worcester, Mass., defending champion Connecticut withstood a furious charge by Central Florida to keep its hopes of a repeat alive.

Charlie Villanueva scored 22 points for the Huskies (23-7), who opened a 19-point lead and held on to beat the Golden Knights (24-9) despite career highs of 29 points and seven 3-pointers by Gary Johnson.

Villanova 55, New Mexico 47: At Nashville, Tenn., Chris Lowry made two sets of free throws in the final 1:38, then came up with a clutch steal as the Wildcats (23-7) held off the Lobos (26-7).

Wisconsin 57, N. Iowa 52: At Oklahoma City, Kammron Taylor scored 16 points in a reserve role, including a jumper and four free throws in the final minute, to help the Badgers (23-8) hold off the Panthers (21-11).

Northern Iowa rallied from an early 16-point deficit before having another upset bid fall short.