After ripping Gonzaga with an impressive offensive display in the round of 16, North Carolina earned a return trip to the Final Four on Sunday on the strength of its defense.

Tyler Hansbrough (8 points) and Wayne Ellington (9) scored in single digits, yet the Tar Heels raced to an early big lead and then coasted to a 72-60 victory against second-seeded Oklahoma in the South Region final at Memphis, Tenn.

"I thought we did a great job of rotating and getting to their shooters and putting a hand up," senior swingman Danny Green said. "That's why they didn't make a lot of shots they normally make. We tried to make it tough for them and make them do something they're not comfortable doing and make it harder for them and make their percentages as low as possible."

The game featured a matchup of this year's national player of the year in OU's Blake Griffin and last year's in Hansbrough of UNC.

Blake won the statistical battle, but Hansbrough and his teammates won the day on the strength of a defensive effort that all but shut down everyone except Griffin.

Griffin showed why he is so highly touted by shooting 9-for-12 from the field, scoring 23 points and grabbing 16 rebounds -- all despite being the focal point of Carolina's defense.

Oklahoma went 2-of-19 from three-point range and shot 44 percent from the floor compared to UNC's 51 percent.

"First half, I thought we were good defensively," Williams said. "We got two 35-second shot clock violations. They turned it over nine times. For us, in the second half, let's be honest, they missed some open shots.

"I always thought trying to play people and trying to play at a fast pace would hopefully take someone's legs in the second half. Also, the stress of the moment sometimes bothers you as well."

Green played an outstanding game for the Tar Heels, filling in the offensive gaps left by Hansbrough and Ellington. Green scored 18 points, second only to Ty Lawson's 19 for the Tar Heels. Green also had a block, a steal and three rebounds. Deon Thompson started and added 10 points.

"They have so many weapons," OU coach Jeff Capel said. "It wasn't lack of effort. Our guys played. They competed. I just think, if we could have made a few more threes, some of those baskets maybe would have put a little bit more pressure on them and would have made things a little bit more interesting."

Now, UNC (32-4) will play Villanova (30-7) on Saturday in the Final Four semifinals at Ford Field in Detroit. Connecticut (31-4) will play Michigan State (30-8) in the other game. The two winners will play on April 6 for the national championship.

Villanova is an athletic team that likes to run. The fact that Carolina is the top running team in the country should make for an interesting game on Saturday.

"You name the hottest team in the country right now and the way they played throughout the tournament, it just might be Villanova because they've just whacked everybody they've played," Williams said.

The Wildcats, though, are hoping to find a way to do what no one in this tournament has done yet: handle Lawson. The UNC point guard was named the most outstanding player in the South Region, and he has been exceptional since returning against Louisiana State after missing three games with a sprained toe.

"After the 0-2 start [in ACC play], everybody was complaining about Tywon wasn't as good," Williams said. "You go back and look. It wasn't just him, number one, and it's a long season.

"I can remember standing in that locker room at Wake Forest, and we're 0-2 in the league. And I told our guys, you play from here on out, and we'll be there at the end. It was not any panic with our coaching staff. The kids believed in us. Ty believed in us.

"He got a lot of criticism after Tyrese Rice and Jeff Teague, but he doesn't have to take a backseat to anybody. He's tougher now mentally. He's tougher physically. He's still 'Dennis the Menace' most times, but he's also Rambo every now and then."

Eddy Landreth can be reached at chnsports@nando.com or by calling 932-8743.

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Eddy Landreth