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2012 NCAA Bracket, North Carolina Vs. Creighton Score: Tar Heels Hit Cruise Control, Advance To Sweet 16

Mar 18, 2012, 11:36 PM UTC

NCAA Tournament 2012: Sweet 16 Set; March Madness On Break Until Thursday

The North Carolina Tar Heels had no trouble with the Creighton Bluejays on Sunday, winning 87-73 to advance to the Sweet 16 at the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The Jays never pulled any closer than their eight-point halftime deficit, shooting just 41.2 percent from the field for the game.

John Henson returned from a left wrist injury. He made an impact immediately, scoring seven points within the first five minutes of the second half, on his way to 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots for the game. He briefly left the game in the first half after aggravating his wrist injury, but it did not seem to bother him much once he was able to return.

Kendall Marshall scored 13 points in the first half, and finished up with 18 to lead all the Tar Heels for the game. He also had 12 assists for his fourth points-assists double-double in his last five games, and fifth since the season began.

Though Creighton's defense-optional gameplan didn't pan out, they did manage to put some points on the board. To no one's surprise, Doug McDermott led all scorers with 20 points, adding nine rebounds for good measure. He needed 20 shot attempts to get there.

Gregory Echenique provided the Bluejays with some muscle inside, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and one megadunk. Antoine Young and Josh Jones also scored 10 points each for support. On Sunday, the effort wasn't nearly enough to top the Tar Heels, however.

The Tar Heels will play the winner of Sunday’s later game between 12-seed South Florida and 13-seed Ohio for the right to advance to the Elite Eight.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub. There you’ll find a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.