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Containing Hansbrough top priority for Southern Cal

Mar 23, 2007 - 1:45 PM No. 5 USC (25-11) at No. 1 North Carolina (30-6) Friday 10:00 pm EDT

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The mask came off and the points went up for Tyler Hansbrough.

Free of the mask he has worn since having his nose broken during the regular-season finale, Hansbrough erupted for 33 points to carry top-seeded North Carolina to an 81-67 second-round victory over Michigan State on Saturday in the East Region.

That win propelled the Tar Heels into an NCAA Tournament-record 27th regional semifinal matchup with fifth-seeded Southern California on Friday.

After blowing out Eastern Kentucky in its tourney opener, North Carolina survived a physical encounter with the Spartans, making Hansbrough's outburst more crucial.

It's likely the Tar Heels will continue to feed the ball to their sophomore center against surprising USC, which easily dispatched fourth-seeded Texas and freshman phenom Kevin Durant.

The Trojans have won their first two games by an average of 18 points and received a pair of stellar efforts from freshman center Taj Gibson, including a 17-point, 14-rebound performance against Texas.

Gibson, however, has been prone to foul trouble throughout the season and USC doesn't have much depth size-wise behind him, to his duel with Hansbrough could be the deciding factor in the outcome.

While the Tar Heels start three freshmen, including a blur of a point guard in Ty Lawson, lone senior starter Reyshawn Terry has delivered 32 points in the first two rounds.

Swingman Nick Young has gone for 22 and 20 points in the first two games for USC, which has struggled with its 3-point shooting, going just 10-for-29 from the arc thus far.