Ohio, trying to become the first team seeded 13th or worse to make the regional finals since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1985, had a chance to convert a three-point play that would have given the Bobcats the lead with 25 seconds left in regulation. Walter Offutt missed from the line, however, and Ohio went 0 for 6 from the field in the first overtime of this year’s tournament.
Tyler Zeller finished with 20 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for North Carolina, leading four scorers in double figures.
Offutt led the Bobcats (29-8) with 26 points, including 18 from 3-point range, and Nick Kellogg added 14. But D.J. Cooper, who had averaged 20 points in the first two tournament games, finished with just 10 on 3-of-20 shooting.
North Carolina (32-5), which has won 11 straight in the regional semifinals, will play No. 2 seed Kansas on Sunday afternoon.
The Tar Heels were playing without point guard Kendall Marshall, the steadying hand behind their fast-paced attack, and his absence clearly showed. They turned the ball over a season-high 24 times and could never get a handle on the smaller, quicker Bobcats.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he didn’t think Marshall would be able to play Sunday, either.
In St. Louis, Thomas Robinson had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Jeff Withey blocked 10 shots to finish one shy of the NCAA tournament record, and the Jayhawks held off No. 11 seed North Carolina State in the Midwest Regional semifinals.
The win set up a showdown between the Jayhawks and North Carolina, led by former coach Roy Williams.
Kansas (30-6) squandered an eight-point lead in the final few minutes, and didn’t wrap up the win until Richard Howell’s off-balance heave at the buzzer came up well short.
C.J. Leslie had 18 points to lead North Carolina State (24-13), despite sitting much of the second half with four fouls. Scott Wood finished with 12 points on 2-for-10 shooting, though his biggest mistake wasn’t a missed shot but the shot he never even got to attempt.
North Carolina State had a chance to tie it, but Wood stepped out of bounds when he tried to pull in a high pass, giving the ball back to Kansas with 5 seconds remaining.
In Atlanta, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 24 points and Kentucky shook off a quiet night by freshman star Anthony Davis, pulling away from Indiana in a showdown of storied programs in the South Regional semifinals.
Davis wasn’t a huge factor after picking up two early fouls, but the top-seeded Wildcats (35-2) had five other players in double figures.
Christian Watford had 27 points to lead the Hoosiers (27-9), whose comeback season ended two wins shy of the Final Four. Indiana, which won a total of 28 games the previous three seasons, has regained its usual place among the college basketball bluebloods.
But Big Blue is moving on to its third straight regional final. Kentucky will face Baylor on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four.
In Atlanta, Quincy Acy had 20 points and 15 rebounds to lift Baylor past Xavier and into its second regional final in three years.
The Bears will face Kentucky in Sunday’s South Regional final.
The only senior in Baylor’s starting lineup, Acy sank two free throws with 31 seconds remaining after Xavier cut the deficit to six.
Baylor, wearing neon-green uniforms, never trailed and led by 18 points less than 8 minutes into the game. But the Musketeers never quit and trimmed the lead to 71-68 with 22 seconds remaining.
Quincy Jackson had 16 points and Perry Jones III scored 14 for the Bears (30-7).
Tu Holloway led Xavier (23-13) with 22 points.
