Ed Cota is going to his third Final Four.
Forte, Heels find
way to Final Four
Led by freshman Joseph Forte's career-high 28 points, No. 8 North Carolina continued its turnaround season by defeating No. 7 Tulsa 59-55 in the South Region final. The Tar Heels earned their third Final Four berth in the last four seasons and NCAA-record 15th overall.
• Guthridge moves out of Smith's shadow
MORE COVERAGE
Leading the way
Ed Cota and the Tar Heels are learning what it takes to win.
wav: 92 k
Real: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
South Region sortable stats
Want to know who's the top scorer or rebounder in the region? Here's where to look.
NCAA Watch: What the committee wanted
The Final Four offers the sort of ingredients the selection committee wanted, writes ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
As The Ball Bounces: Sunday, Elite Eight
The numbers suggest this is the least powerful Final Four ever. Numbers lie.
Daily Word: Battle-tested teams
Scheduling tough opponents during the season paid off for the Final Four teams, writes ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
Tar Heels rally late to dance past stunned Vols
Ed Cota spurred a late second-half comeback to lead the Tar Heels to a 74-69 victory over Tennessee.
Golden Hurricane storms past Miami
Seventh-seeded Tulsa advanced to its first regional final with an 80-71 victory over sixth seed Miami on Friday night in the South Regional.


REGION AT A GLANCE
ELITE EIGHT
North Carolina 59, Tulsa 55
Forte's career-high defuses Tulsa's pressure D.
SWEET 16
North Carolina 74, Tennessee 69
Cota keys Carolina's comeback after Haywood fouls out.
Tulsa 80, Miami 71
Tulsa's tough D takes wind out of Miami's offense.
ROUND TWO
North Carolina 60, Stanford 53
Heels hold Stanford to 35 percent shooting.
Tennessee 65,
Connecticut 51
With El-Amin hobbled, champs are ousted.
Miami (Fla.) 75
Ohio State 62
'Canes earn first trip to Sweet 16.
Tulsa 69
Cincinnati 61
Bearcats lose in second round for fourth straight year.
ROUND ONE
Stanford 84, S. Car. St. 65
No jitters for Jacobsen in tourney debut.
North Carolina 84, Missouri 70
Haywood domination: 28 points, 15 boards.
Connecticut 75,
Utah St. 67
Defending champs pick up where they left off.
Tennessee 63,
La.-Lafayette 58
It wasn't easy, but Vols move on thanks to late 6-0 run.
Miami (Fla.) 75, Arkansas 71
Hogs dig too big a hole to come back from.
Ohio St. 87, App. St. 61
Penn, Redd, Reese combine for 63 points.
Tulsa 89, UNLV 62
Halftime score: 44-22; Do we need to say more?
Cincinnati 64, UNC Wilmington 47
Bearcats get defensive without fallen leader.
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TEAMS
MOVIN' ON
North Carolina (8) 
MOVIN' OUT
Stanford (1) Cincinnati (2)
Ohio State (3) Tennessee (4)
Connecticut (5) Miami (Fla.) (6)
Tulsa (7) Missouri (9)
UNLV (10) Arkansas (11)
Utah State (12) Louisiana (13)
Appalachian State (14) UNC Wilmington (15)
South Carolina State (16)