CHARLOTTE - As much as North Carolina wanted to force Washington State into a go-go pace Thursday night, the one thing Tar Heels coach Roy Williams emphasized to his team during workouts early in the week was the importance of remaining under control against an opponent bent on a no-go tempo.

With a berth in Saturday's NCAA Tournament East Regional championship game on the line, Carolina followed Williams' instructions in the Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

There was no panic, and no one developed an itchy trigger finger, even when the deliberate Cougars took All-America Tyler Hansbrough out of Carolina's offensive flow for the entire first half.

The end result was an easy 68-47 victory that reflected Carolina's depth and rebounding more than its quickness and seemingly innate knack for cracking the triple-digit barrier on the scoreboard.

While Carolina's romp probably will have no bearing Saturday, in a game played at a quicker pace against a foe with more talent and shooting skill, it does say a lot about the team's ability to adjust to the remaining halfcourt offensive specialists in the tournament.

Given the circumstances of the first half -- when Carolina trailed 12-10 with roughly 11:30 to go and Hansbrough failed to convert a single field-goal attempt en route to a two-point performance -- Washington State could not have ordered a more inviting scenario had room service been available in the locker room.

It wasn't until the Heels got a lift from reserve Danny Green that the Cougars were forced out of their comfort zone. It happened quickly. Green's 3-pointer from the corner provided the Heels a 24-15 lead with 3:40 left in the half. From there, it was simply a matter of beating Washington State at its own game.

Hansbrough finished with 18, plus nine rebounds. Green had 15 points, 12 in the first half. Plus, Carolina's defense was perfectly acceptable. The Cougars were held to 31.6 percent shooting and could not have made a 3-pointer had a winter weekend trip away from Pullman been on the line.

Cougars coach Tony Bennett basically attempted to replicate the game plan that Virginia Tech used with much success against the Heels in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in the same building. Carolina survived that afternoon, 68-66, but only after other coaches got a glimpse of what might work against UNC.

"We wanted to see if we could get their playing pace down a little and then see how they would adjust," Washington State guard Derrick Low said. "But they're very good. They're big and they're tough, and they can deal with things."

Dealing with things, to a large degree, is what going deep in the NCAA is all about. Five of the eight remaining third-round teams scheduled to play today -- Villanova, Wisconsin, Davidson, Michigan State and Stanford -- would prefer to play the Heels at a walk-it-up tempo.

For those teams, that would be the way to go, too, if it came down to having to deal with the Heels in the Final Four. The majority of those teams would have a better chance than the Cougars of making the slower tactics work, too.

Even so, the Heels did send a message to the rest of the field -- they can win by 20 points or more regardless of the speed limit.