Times wires
Saturday, March 19, 2011
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Immediately after hitting a difficult shot in Washington's NCAA Tournament opener, ever-confident guard Isaiah Thomas turned to the loud Georgia fans to his right, put an index finger to his lips and playfully yelled, "Shut up!"
Thomas and the Huskies — 2,800 miles from home — will need plenty more big shots and clutch plays to silence the crowd again today when they face North Carolina in its back yard in an East Region third-round game.
And the 5-foot-9 Thomas, whose buzzer-beater won last weekend's Pac-10 tournament, is right where he wants to be.
"I love it," Thomas said Saturday. "I mean, our backs are up against the wall. We have very few fans here. It feels like everybody is against us like it's been the whole season. So it's nothing new.
"We know it's going to be a lot of baby blue in the crowd. We're ready for it. It's the NCAA Tournament."
It's still far from a best-case scenario for Washington to try to secure its second straight appearance in the round of 16.
No team traveled farther for the first week of the tournament than the seventh-seeded Huskies. The second-seeded Tar Heels had one of the shortest trips and have won 24 consecutive NCAA games in their home state since 1979.
"We're two hours away and we know we have a lot of fans here supporting us," guard Dexter Strickland said. "So the intensity of the crowd will help us get more intensity and play with a better sense of urgency."
Strickland and point guard Kendall Marshall will split time guarding Thomas, coach Roy Williams said. They're challenged with trying to slow a sleek guard who can score in a variety of ways.
"I would have a hard time finding very many people that can have a more significant impact on the game than he does as a point guard," Williams said.