RALEIGH -- Top-ranked and No. 1-seeded North Carolina needed one game to get going again, and its 113-74 blowout of Mount St. Mary's in the NCAA Tournament pleased the all-but crowd and wowed a television audience Friday.

The Tar Heels (33-2) went beyond the 100-point mark in an NCAA game for the first time since 1993, when they beat Rhode Island 112-67 en route to the national title.

On Friday, Carolina showed strength, power, all-around speed and an overall determination to play hard, together and well. The Tar Heels needed a game such as this to get going after winning a tough Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Charlotte last weekend, and following a grueling February in which the team had to overcome numerous injuries and illnesses.

"We didn't come out slow," said sophomore forward Deon Thompson, who went 6-of-8 from the field, grabbed eight rebounds, scored 15 points and blocked a shot. "Sometimes when you see teams like Mount St. Mary's, you come out a little slow and not as prepared to play. But we came out from the beginning ready to play. We're going to need just as much intensity for (today).

"So just being into the game and playing hard was a good thing; I liked how we came out and were into the game."

UNC will play ninth-seeded Arkansas (22-11), which defeated eighth-seeded Indiana 86-72 on Friday to advance to today's 5:20 p.m. game at the RBC Center for the right to play in the round of 16 in Charlotte next week.

"I feel good right now about this team and the way we're progressing," junior guard Marcus Ginyard said. "We've got to get ready, use (Saturday) as a great day to get focused for a big-time game (today). We were trying to use this game to build some momentum in the tournament. The only place we can get that momentum is to get this game under our belt."

Calling today's game against ninth-seeded Arkansas a big-time game may sound like a cliche, but it is frankly appropriate and dead-on accurate.

This is far more akin to a round of 16 meeting than one in the round of 32. Arkansas is athletic, big (the Razorbacks start two players listed at 6 feet 10), and the team can just flat-out play. Arkansas outran Tennessee 92-91 to beat the Volunteers and knock them out of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament during play at the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Although the SEC is far more known for its great football, an SEC team, Florida, won the last two NCAA championships. This league has always had athletic players and some outstanding basketball teams.

The Razorbacks are determined as well.

"We think if we played one of our best games against Carolina, we can move this thing forward," Arkansas forward Sonny Weems said.

The good news for Carolina is point guard Tywon Lawson has now gone consecutive games looking far more like his old self. After missing more layups in a series of games than he has probably missed in his career, Lawson went 7-of-9 from the field, scored 21 points, had four assists, no turnovers and four steals.

Lawson missed all but a few minutes of playing time in February with a severely sprained ankle.

Together on Friday, Lawson and fellow point guard Quentin Thomas had 10 assists and no turnovers against a quick team, and while running the ball at a furious pace all night.

"My ankle feels a lot better the last two games," Lawson said. "During the ACC Tournament, I was just trying to push off on it. I think that helped it out. I feel like I'm playing a lot better and trusting my ankle."

Lawson even had an acrobatic Phil Ford-like spin move for a bucket.

"I just pushed it," Lawson said, "and he tried to cut me off and I sped off of him. My ankle felt good on it. I was just pushing and playing like I normally do."

The key to this game for UNC will be getting another strong game from its guards in terms of minimizing turnovers, maximizing efficiency with its shooting and getting the ball to All-American Tyler Hansbrough. Maybe most important of all for the Tar Heels, though, will be rebounding.

Thompson and fellow power forward Alex Stepheson have been preparing all season for a game such as this one, whether they know it or not. Stepheson had a career-high 12 points against Mount St. Mary's to go with eight rebounds. Just as important, he did not turn the ball over. He did not fumble it. Thompson did not have a turnover, either.

Their combination of 16 rebounds would go a long way toward helping UNC win today.

This game is going to be physical game. It will be played a furious pace, and it has the potential to wreck all the Tar Heels' hopes and dreams for this tournament if they do not bring the same kind of toughness, determination, poise and intelligence that has defined this team for so much of the last month and a half.

Coach Roy Williams addressed it well when someone asked him to compare this team to the 2005 group that won the national championship.

"I felt like we had been a very good team all year (in 2005)," Williams said. "I felt like we were extremely talented in some ways. We weren't given much respect for playing as a team, and this team doesn't get much respect for the way we guard and play defense. Everybody says we are talented and we just roll the ball out and play.

"So, you know, you can make those scenarios, but I think they are two different teams. That team just had a strong, strong will to win a national championship, but it was built during the course of the NCAA Tournament. So it remains to be seen what this team is going to do."

We will begin to learn the answer to that later today.