After walloping No. 9 seed Arkansas 108-77 on Sunday to advance to the NCAA round of 16, that might not be the case anymore.

Sophomore forwards Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson -- who had been inconsistent throughout the season and downright bad during the ACC Tournament -- finished a combined 13-for-13 from the floor at the RBC Center, the perfect symbol for UNC's offensive dominance through the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament play.

* The game marked the first time since 1993 -- and only the 10th time overall -- that a team has scored at least 100 points in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games.

* It was only the third time in the last 25 years -- joining 1993 and 2005 -- that the Tar Heels have beaten their first two NCAA opponents by 20 points or more. UNC went on to win national championships in those two years.

* In the last two games, UNC has made a sizzling 64 percent of its shots (Thompson and Stepheson have made a combined 24 of 27).

As a result, the Tar Heels (34-2) will play fourth-seeded Washington State on Thursday at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena in the regional semifinals. The game will tip off at 7:27 p.m.

"We've been needing something from the 4 spot," said Stepheson, whose team tied the school's season record for victories. "It's about time."

The perfect time, actually.

With the Razorbacks trying to clog the lane -- and All-America center Tyler Hansbrough (17 points) -- with their bevy of tall players, both Thompson and Stepheson were aggressive from the beginning. Thompson, the starter at power forward, assisted Wayne Ellington (20 points) on a jumper that made it 5-0, scored off the glass to make it 20-6 with 13:40 left in the first half, and dunked to make it 33-11 about three minutes later.

He scored 10 of his 16 points by halftime, when UNC led 51-26. The Razorbacks (23-12) never caught up with UNC's fast-paced tempo, despite 19 points from forward Sonny Weems.

"I don't think that there was ever really a time where we got it going, or we played well for a stretch,'' said Arkansas coach John Pelphrey, whose team shot only 35.7 percent in the first half and had 11 assists and nine turnovers for the game. "That's a tribute to them and their guys, offensively and defensively."

Indeed, Thompson is now 14-for-16 in the NCAA Tournament, a huge improvement after logging eight points, total, in three league tournament games.

"I was determined to redeem myself,'' said Thompson, who spent the week between the tournaments trying to improve his offensive moves "... [I had been shooting] a lot further out - 15 feet, 3-point line, shots I don't even get in games. So [coach Roy Williams] made a great point to me. He said, 'Why practice those shots if you're not going to get them in games?' So in that week from the ACC Tournament to now, I was just staying inside where my bread and butter is and working on those things."

Stepheson, a reserve who struggled in the last two games of the ACC Tournament, was right beside him for many of those drills, and it showed Sunday, as well.

He said he "came out with a new attitude," and scored eight of his 10 points during the second half, including two putbacks. He is now 10-for-11 in two NCAA Tournament games.

"It's monumental for this team, really, their play this weekend,'' junior Marcus Ginyard said. "And it's going to be huge for us again next weekend."

That's UNC's hope. Thompson and Stepheson were two of five Tar Heels to finish in double figures, but they said they need to keep improving, particularly on the backboards, to reach the Final Four. Thompson grabbed only one rebound against the Razorbacks; Stepheson had five.

But their weekend tallies were a step in the right (and winning) direction.

"This is the perfect time of the year to prove that that 4-spot is not a weak spot,'' Thompson said. "These last two games have shown that it's not."