Top-seeded North Carolina ready to run vs. Arkansas in NCAAs

By AP
Published

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) No. 1 seed North Carolina (28-7) vs. No. 8 seed Arkansas (26-9)

Second round, South Region; Greenville, South Carolina; 6:10 p.m. EDT.

BOTTOM LINE: The Tar Heels rolled in their NCAA opener and now get to play a Razorbacks team that likes to play fast, the opposite of what many teams try to do against Roy Williams' up-tempo bunch.

REBOUNDING FOCUS: Arkansas struggled Friday against Seton Hall on the boards (minus-14) and now get the national leader in rebounding margin (plus 13.1). The Razorbacks rank 207th nationally. ''It's going to be the ultimate challenge for our team,'' coach Mike Anderson said.

BERRY'S STATUS: UNC coach Roy Williams said he is ''hopeful'' that point guard Joel Berry II will be ready to play despite an ankle injury that kept him out of practice Saturday. Berry, for his part, said he was ''75 to 80 percent'' but sure sounded like he planned to play. Stay tuned.

DID YOU KNOW: The Razorbacks' last two NCAA Tournament trips ended with losses to the Tar Heels. UNC won 87-78 in the second round two years ago and 108-77 in the second round in 2008 after shooting nearly 68 percent for the game.

---

More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25