Heels' success a growing concern

Facial hair could hold key to future

RALEIGH -- Hockey players usually grow beards during the playoffs.

For the college basketball post-season, North Carolina walk-on Jack Wooten is sporting what he calls a "March-stache."

"As long as we keep winning, it's going to keep growing," vowed the junior, who credits his fuzzy red upper-lip covering for helping him score the first five points of his career against Mount St. Mary's in Friday's NCAA opening-round win.

Wooten said the growth "just sort of happened." He started growing it on a whim before the season-finale at Duke, and decided to keep it if the Tar Heels won.

No. 1 seed UNC, which will play ninth-seeded Arkansas at the RBC Center today, went on to win three more games in route to the ACC Tournament title, "so I had to keep it," he said. "It's working, right? So it's going to keep growing."

None of his teammates have exactly picked up the trend. "I don't know if I can grow one; this is about three days right here," forward Tyler Hansbrough said, pointing to some barely-visible hairs around the edges of his face. "And to be honest, I don't know that it's a real good look for him."

But the Tar Heels are certainly enjoying the process of watching Wooten's hair -- and perhaps the legend of the March-stache -- lengthen. They'd like it to continue for least two more weekends.

"It's been great for this team to watch the 'stache grow - to see that it came from a little peach fuzz to a nice thick red stache," junior Marcus Ginyard said, trying to keep a straight face. "Honestly, it has become a symbol for this team - a symbol of perseverance. ... It continues to get stronger, and as it gets stronger, Jack has become stronger as a person and as a player. And we just look to that as a symbol of strength, and I think the guys have picked their game up, knowing that the stache can do it."

ONE MORE TO GO: Tyler Hansbrough, a junior, needs to swish only one free throw today to pass Duke's Christian Laettner as the career ACC leader; both have 713. Laettner set the record in four seasons.

Hansbrough said breaking the mark would mean a lot, because "I know Laettner was a great player, and I know what he did in the ACC. But at the same time, I'm not just going to focus on that; I want to keep on playing."

SECOND-ROUND DIFFICULTIES: UNC coach Roy Williams has earned 46 all-time NCAA Tournament wins, second among active coaches and tied for fourth all-time. But interestingly, the second round is when his teams at Carolina and Kansas have struggled historically:

* First round: 19-0

* Second: 11-7

* Third: 7-4

* Fourth: 5-2

* Fifth: 3-2

* Sixth: 1-2

LAWSON STILL PROGRESSING: Point guard Ty Lawson may have scored 21 points and looked faster and more comfortable Friday since he sprained his left ankle (then missed six games) on Feb. 3.

But Williams isn't ready to say the injury -- for which the sophomore is still wearing a thick black brace -- is a "non-issue" yet.

In particular, he pointed to a Lawson spin move during Friday's second half. Six weeks ago, he said, Lawson wouldn't have needed to spin to get by the opponent.

"I still haven't seen him go running past everybody and nobody be able to catch him," Williams said. "Last night, the youngster was quick -- I'm not saying he wasn't -- but to me, still there's a huge difference there of having to make a move and just blowing past somebody, which I've seen him do in the past."

WELSH DOUBTFUL FOR RAZORBACKS: Arkansas guard Stefan Welsh, who sprained his left ankle during Friday's 86-72 first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Indiana, is doubtful to play against UNC today, coach John Pelphrey said.

"If we played today, he couldn't play," Pelphrey said Saturday, adding that the training staff would work until game time to try to get him ready.

"Certainly that's where we are weak anyway, we don't have a lot of guard depth there."

Welsh had started 21 of 34 games and was averaging 5.4 points and 19.8 minutes off the bench. If he can't play, Marcus Britt, who has appeared in 26 games this season, will likely get more minutes.