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Huskies head to North Carolina to play Georgia

Percy Allen Seattle Times
SEATTLE – Washington will face Georgia on Friday in Charlotte, N.C., in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The Huskies are a No. 7 seed, Georgia a No. 10. “We’re playing against a very good Georgia team,” Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar said at a packed selection party at the Don James Center. “We’re going to have to travel a long distance, but once you get invited to the NCAA tournament you go where they send you.” If the Huskies win their opener, they could face No.2 seed North Carolina on Sunday, also in Charlotte. Washington guard Isaiah Thomas, who hit the game-winning shot Saturday in the Pac-10 conference tournament final against Arizona, is getting ready for the Bulldogs. “I’m worried about Georgia right now,” he said. “It would be fun to play North Carolina in Carolina. But we got to take it one day at a time.” Romar talked to the crowd Sunday about the Huskies’ play in the Pac-10 tournament. Washington, which finished third during the regular season, beat Washington State, Oregon and Arizona on consecutive days. “These Huskies played with a purpose for three days,” Romar said. “We told our guys before the Arizona game that the tougher team would win and we were the tougher team that day.” The Huskies were one of four Pac-10 teams to make the tournament. Regular-season champion Arizona, a No. 5 seed, will play Memphis. UCLA, a No. 7, will open against Michigan State. USC faces Virginia Commonwealth in a first-round game, with the winner advancing to face Georgetown. Overton reinstated Backup point guard Venoy Overton has been reinstated and Romar said he would play in the NCAAs. Overton was suspended for the Pac-10 tournament after he was charged by the Seattle city attorney with providing alcohol to a minor. Overton said Sunday the last two months have been difficult and that public opinion was almost more of a punishment than his suspension. Overton’s case stemmed from an allegation by a 16-year-old girl that Overton sexually assaulted her at an apartment in Seattle Jan. 8. King County prosecutors declined to file charges.